More flexible jobs, career switches for mature workers, as 32 firms pilot new solutions

Mature workers in Singapore will have more opportunities to pursue flexible careers, reskill for new roles, and transition into mentorship positions as 32 organisations pilot innovative employment solutions tailored to their needs and aspirations.

The initiatives, ranging from hobby-based recruitment to structured mid-career transitions, aim to empower workers to continue contributing meaningfully to the workforce while balancing their life goals – whether that means switching careers, taking on part-time arrangements, or moving into advisory roles.

These are part of the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers (AfA-EMW), which was officially launched on 17 November 2025 at the Civil Service Club @ Tessensohn, marking a significant step in tripartite efforts to support senior employment.

AfA-EMW was convened under the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment (TWG-SE), co-chaired by Manpower and Health Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Desmond Tan, and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) Vice-President Tan Hwee Bin.

“By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. Life expectancy, because of good healthcare delivery, has also increased, from 76.2 years around 30 years ago to 83.5 years today,” Dr Koh said in his opening remarks.

He added: “In that short 30 years, our life expectancy has extended by almost 10 years. With advances in healthcare, we are living longer and healthier, prompting a fundamental shift in how we approach our later years.

“Whether you like it or not, all of us will get there one day. And so, what we do today is laying the foundation for not just the aged of today, but for all of us here tomorrow.”

Dr Koh emphasised that career paths once following a linear trajectory now offer more flexibility, with today’s workforce increasingly motivated by diverse aspirations – from transitioning to new careers to engaging in part-time roles or shifting to mentorship positions.

Prototypes across four key areas

Over the coming months, the 32 selected organisations will develop and test prototypes in four key areas: redesigning jobs to better suit mature workers’ needs and strengths, new models of flexible work arrangements, skills upgrading and structured career planning, and phased retirement options.

The Government will provide funding support to organisations as they come on board to co-create these solutions.

The selected organisations comprise companies, labour market intermediaries and non-profit organisations spanning a wide spectrum of industries including manufacturing, hospitality, security and financial services.

Among the innovative prototypes being developed are initiatives that leverage workers’ personal interests, create pathways into high-demand social service roles, and enable mid-career pivots within established corporations.

Hobby-based recruitment at Mandai

The Mandai Rainforest Resort is pioneering a unique approach by recruiting seniors based on their personal interests and hobbies. The resort will break down jobs into ‘micro-jobs’ that can be tied to individual interests and undertaken by seniors in shorter shifts.

Director of Human Capital Samuel Sobrielo explained the thinking behind the initiative: “The overarching intent is to change the mindset – can we let these seniors look at the job as a means to pursue their interest, to pursue their hobbies, not just from a monetary perspective?”

The resort will also develop an AI scheduling tool to automatically generate micro-job bundles, assign them based on workers’ skills, and schedule tasks according to seniors’ requested times and availability.

Structured training will be provided using the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union’s (FDAWU) Senior-Centred Employment programme.

Opening pathways in social services

Homage, a caregiving and disability support services platform, is creating structured employment pathways for mature PMETs to take up high-demand roles within social service agencies in community-based aged care and disability support.

The platform believes that mature workers can bring valuable lived experience, empathy and stability – qualities foundational to high-quality care.

The prototype aims to widen pathways for mid-career and mature workers to transition into fulfilling care professions and strengthen Singapore’s long-term care workforce.

The initiative includes developing a practicum-based curriculum, redesigning full-time care roles into fractionalised positions, and partnering social service agencies to encourage hiring of mid-career entrants.

Mid-career mobility in banking

HSBC’s Project 4orging Ahead aims to normalise mid-career mobility by supporting mature workers to successfully achieve relevant certification in a different domain or pivot into a different role after equipping them with new skills, mindsets and pathways.

The programme represents a shift towards helping mature workers transition into meaningful, future-ready roles within the organisation rather than viewing career progression as a single-track journey.

Strengthening tripartite partnership

The TWG-SE was established earlier this year by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), NTUC and SNEF to develop policy recommendations in two key areas: empowering senior workers to be productive and employable, and promoting age-friendly jobs and multigenerational workplaces.

Dr Koh said the AfA represents a new chapter in efforts to support senior employment: “It is a testament to the strength of our tripartite partnership and our shared commitment to building a more age-friendly workforce.”

NTUC’s Desmond Tan said NTUC has been actively engaging with senior workers to understand their needs and aspirations.

“This grounds our work in the Tripartite Workgroup for Senior Employment to make sure that we continue to secure good opportunities for our senior workers, to give them optionality, to create more flexibility ... and to ensure they continue to have dignity in their work, that their skills and experience are fairly compensated.

“Many of these companies are also unionised companies working with us on the company training committee. This is a strong testament that the tripartite arrangements can support different segments of our workforce,” said Mr Tan.

The prototypes developed through the AfA-EMW will provide valuable insights and practical solutions that, where feasible, can be adopted more widely across different sectors to benefit Singapore’s ageing workforce.