Silver workforce can play a part in Singapore's future

SINGAPORE prides itself as a nation with one of the highest employment rates for people aged 65 and over. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) and other agencies have been actively promoting the redesigning of jobs and reskilling for older workers as ways for companies to mobilise the growing pool of "silver" talent.

The need for institutional intervention to support this cause has been exacerbated with the rapid automation of jobs as we know them.

Marsh & McLennan Companies' Asia Pacific Risk Center (APRC) estimates, for example, that Singapore's aging society could result in losses of US$3.3 billion in GDP (1 per cent of total) due to sickness abse…