The city-state’s digital development and information minister Josephine Teo said its approach combines reskilling with income support to give displaced workers time to rebuild their careers.

“For those who are aged 40 and above and have lost their jobs, the government is prepared to offer them a subsidy to enable them to pursue a second diploma qualification so they can return to school and upskill themselves.

“We also understand that people still have to pay their bills, put food on the table, and service the mortgage.

“So, we have created a new scheme that pays the person up to S$3,000 every month for two years, to help them get back on their feet and continue in a new or adjacent sector,” she said in a recent interview with Malaysian journalists here.

Teo said this initiative, dubbed the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, is part of her ministry’s effort to help workers stay relevant for the job market of the future.

“We recognise the fact that they may need new skills, and there may be occasions when these new skills cannot be acquired through short-term courses, and they really need to spend a longer period of time to give their careers a new uplift.”

She said companies may downsize for a variety of reasons, whether to boost efficiency or because of unfavourable business conditions.

However, her ministry does not discount the possibility that AI may have an impact on jobs, and the Singaporean government wants to deal with this by enabling the workforce to upskill and stay relevant.

For instance, Teo said, AI will be able to do a lot of the basic work of an accountant. While this may affect accounting jobs, it also provides accountants with the opportunity to pivot to other disciplines such as digital forensics.

“We have also observed many individuals signing up for cyber security training as it has become relevant and useful to learn,” she added.