ESR committee aims to secure good jobs for Singaporeans amidst AI and global disruptions, say NTUC's Desmond Choo and MSF's Goh Pei Ming

The primary goal of the Economic Strategic Review (ESR) committee for managing the impact of economic restructuring is to ensure every Singaporean worker can access good jobs and livelihoods for themselves and their families, said NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Desmond Choo and Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming.

Mr Choo and Mr Goh are co-chairs of one of the five committees formed under the ESR.

On 9 February 2026, at NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) Career Centre, they outlined how the committee plans to support workers through global challenges such as geopolitical tensions, digital disruptions, and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation.

Mr Choo said the committee is exploring how tripartite partners can better support workers facing retrenchments. This includes helping workers in impacted sectors transition swiftly and supporting their career health.

“By building a stronger [job] placement ecosystem, we think that will give us a national capability that will help us to ride through, not only the current restructuring wave, but many more to come,” he said.

Worker support and retrenchment management

Mr Choo highlighted the inevitability of retrenchments during company restructuring and outlined possible improvements to the process.

“We need to help our workers manage the retrenchment process a lot better,” he said.

Improvements include working with tripartite partners to provide earlier retrenchment notices. This enables faster collaboration between companies, unions, and the Government to support affected workers.

Career bridges and skills transition

Mr Choo also introduced a possible concept of “career bridges” to help workers transition from impacted industries to more resilient sectors.

He added that the committee will intensify career conversion programmes. It plans to work with companies to upgrade workers while they are still employed to prevent workforce displacement.

Career health and future preparedness

Mr Choo also emphasised the importance of career health assessments for workers.

He shared that workers often neglect upgrading skills to focus on current job requirements, and urged them to approach NTUC’s e2i for a career health assessment.

“They have interesting products at their career centre. Whether it is an AI-enabled resume or career builders, [they have tools] that allow people to identify gaps in their job and then how to overcome those gaps,” he said.

Following the media session, NTUC’s e2i CEO Caryn Lim also urged jobseekers to visit the NTUC Career Festival taking place on 13 to 14 February 2026.

She said: “With more than 70 employers and over 5,000 roles on-site, we encourage workers to come down and explore what is available. We also encourage companies looking to transform their businesses to visit the Career Festival.”

About the ESR

The ESR was first introduced by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on 4 August 2025.

As part of SERT’s economic strategy, the ESR’s purpose is to chart an economic blueprint that keeps Singapore globally competitive and secures good opportunities for Singaporeans.

In close collaboration with tripartite partners, the review focuses on five priorities:

• Strengthening Singapore’s global competitiveness;

• Leveraging technology and innovation;

• Nurturing entrepreneurship;

• Enhancing human capital;

• Managing the impact of economic restructuring.

Each area has a dedicated committee with representatives from the public and private sectors and the Labour Movement.

On 30 January 2026, the ESR committees announced seven key recommendations to maintain Singapore’s global competitiveness and connectivity.

The seven recommendations are:

1. Establish Singapore as a global leader in key growth sectors

Singapore needs to harness AI, automation and sustainable technologies to transform its advanced manufacturing capabilities.

The nation needs to capitalise on its reputation and offer new trust technologies and services, such as cybersecurity and AI assurance, to extend its lead in modern services.

Taken together, these will allow the nation to capture higher-value jobs and new opportunities for Singaporeans.

2. Pursue emerging opportunities to create new growth engines

Singapore should also pursue emerging technologies that can drive breakthroughs across the economy.

These include areas such as quantum, decarbonisation, and space technologies.

Therefore, in addition to attracting leading multinational corporations, Singapore needs to nurture a new generation of globally leading enterprises and maintain a vibrant startup ecosystem with an entrepreneurial culture that encourages people to dream big and take risks.

3. Establish Singapore as a global Al leader

The ESR committees believe that AI will revolutionise economies and industries.

As such, Singapore needs to do more to position itself as a location of choice where companies and top talent come together to develop, test, deploy, and scale innovative and impactful AI solutions.

The ESR called for strong collaboration between the Government and industry to identify clear, ambitious problem statements, drive AI adoption across the economy to lift productivity, and support firms and SMEs in transforming and benefiting from AI.

4. Help our firms internationalise and connect globally

Singapore must deepen and broaden its connectivity to ensure it remains a vital and trusted node, as many opportunities lie beyond the country’s shores, according to the ESR committees.

Besides strengthening trade cooperation, the Government will do more to help firms venture overseas, bringing value back to Singapore through higher-value jobs and additional revenue.

5. Broaden the range of good jobs across the economy

To ensure growth is inclusive, the ESR recommends uplifting and transforming jobs in sectors that are better positioned to withstand global shifts.

These include jobs in skilled trades and care and social services.

6. Empower every worker to take charge of their career

The ESR also recommended making lifelong learning a practical reality by blending training with work. It added that there was a need to build AI literacy skills across Singapore’s workforce.

The ESR noted that as the economy evolves, there will be greater labour market movement and disruption.

To counter this, the Government will strengthen its career transition support for workers by working closely with the NTUC and Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF).

7. Enable businesses to proactively navigate transitions

Just as workers need to adapt and upskill, businesses must innovate too, according to the ESR.

The Government will help firms better understand and shift to more viable opportunities as the economy restructures.

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