S’pore To Have Several Thousand New Jobs In Next Few Years, Thanks To $13b Investments

High Investments During Covid-19 Period May Create A Few Thousand New Jobs In The Near Future

The Covid-19 pandemic may have put many people’s source of income on the line, what with retrenchments and unpaid leaves being meted out.

But there may be hope yet, as Singapore has managed to draw large investments during this period, which will create many new jobs in the future.

Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing revealed the news in a press conference today (30 May).

A few thousand new jobs to be available in the next few years

In a report by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mr Chan explained how the Economic Development Board (EDB) has obtained $13 billion in investment commitments from Jan to Apr this year.

The amount which far exceeds the $8-10 billion they initially estimated brings good tidings.

With these large investments, Singaporeans may expect “a few thousand” new jobs in various sectors over the next few years.

Source

Sectors include IT and electronics, with some companies, according to TODAY, pledging jobs in the following figures:

• Micron plans to hire 1,500 more employees
• Lazada and Shoppee seek data analytics, business, and product development applicants
• Thermo Fisher Scientific in search of manufacturing technicians and quality control managers to meet demands for their Covid-19 test kits

More jobs means a promising future for Singaporeans, especially those who’ve lost theirs during the pandemic, and fresh graduates struggling to find work.

Unemployment increased, but still lower than expected

Mr Chan noted that this period saw unemployment increase by 3% in Singapore.

Despite that statistic, CNA quoted him as saying that “this is still much better than what was feared”, in comparison to many countries that experienced unemployment rates of over 10% in a short time span.

Source

While the government couldn’t possibly save every job, they are doing their best to keep Singaporeans employable, be it through apprenticeships or upskilling opportunities.

Singaporeans will have to adjust to changing economy

Of course, these investments wouldn’t have been possible if we had not diversified our economy.

With that in mind, Mr Chan reminds Singaporeans to not be complacent.

We should take the opportunity now to learn new skills and improve ourselves, to adapt to the changes. We live in a rapidly evolving world after all, so we have to do what we can to survive.

Featured image adapted from The New York Times.