Out of the box Security of jobs
In the future, jobs will become more uncertain due to globalization, trade disputes, economic recession, uncompetitiveness and other factors.

What can a country do to ensure that its citizens have jobs?

Here are my ideas:

a) It needs better manpower planning. It needs to identify the jobs that are available locally and the jobs that can be created by its businesses that can compete globally. It needs to train its people to have the skills for these jobs

b) It needs to have systems that allow workers to move from one job to another, due to changing demand, or from one employer to another. It needs to provide interim financing at a modest cost, to help this transition.

c) It needs to create jobs in the domestic economy to improve the quality of life and to encourage families to have more children, so that the population can reproduce itself.

Manpower Planning

Manpower planning sounds like central planning that did not work in the past. We are now in a different era. With the use of big data and communication through the internet, manpower planning can be done effectively.

Let us see where the current system fails. We do not produce workers who are willing to take up the service and production jobs. We need to rely on foreign workers.

We train too many graduates who are not able to find jobs. The employed graduates do not have the skills for the jobs that they are recruited into, and have to be trained at considerable expenses.

What can be done to overcome these systemic problems?

We need to raise wages for the "unwanted" jobs to a level that can attract the local workers. If the wages are adequate, some local workers do not mind to  do these jobs, as it suits their aptitude.

We need to avoid an oversupply of people who are interested in the "good" jobs. The wages of these good jobs should be flexible (and may be adjusted downward) to avoid the oversupply. It may take a few years for a person to be trained with the skills for these jobs. They should have some security that the available jobs wll be given to them, so that they can embark on the training. 

I advocate licensing of these jobs to facilitate the planning. If a person spends a few years to be trained to be an engineer, he needs to be assured that there will be a job available for him, instead of the job being given to a foreign worker.

Financing of Workers in Transition

In spite of good planning to avoid massive disruptions, workers may have to move from one employer to another or to work in a different industry at some stage during their lives.

We need a good system to provide interim financing at a low cost. 

Many countries have unemployment insurance to provide some benefits for several months to help workers in this transition.

Beyond unemployment insurance, we need a way for them to get extended financing if it is required. The workers can draw on their retirement savings (i.e. the Central Provident Fund) or some financing from the state at a modest rate of interest (e.g. negative balances in the CPF).

We can also make it easier for these workers to have temporary or part time jobs in the gig or the informal economy.

 Improve Quality of Life

The state can create many jobs that improve the quality of life for the people. These jobs can provide a better standard of care for the elderly and for children or to provide guides to help people, including tourists, to move around and have access to services. 

The state should also make it possible for families to raise children. The cost of raising children should be largely borne by the state, and not the families.  This requires the state to provide free child care, education and medical care for children. 

If more families have children, many jobs can be created for teachers, child care minders, doctors, nurses, bus drivers, food providers, etc. The domestic economy can be vibrant.

Conclusion

A well run country has the means to create useful and productive jobs for its people and to ensure that that everyone, who is willing work, can be assured of a good paying job.

This requires a visionary and effective government.

Tan Kin Lian

Vote - do you agree that the government should work towards ensuring that its citizens have security of jobs that pay adequate wages?









 

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