Singapore's aging workforce has a silver lining

As one of Asia's fastest aging populations, it is estimated that one in six Singaporeans will be at least 65 years of age by 2020. So encouraging older employees to continue working is no longer optional but key to maintaining Singapore's economic vitality.

The Retirement and Re-employment Act passed by the Government in 2012 now enables older employees to work beyond the current statutory retirement age of 62, and many Singaporeans are deciding to choose this option.

This may seem like a gloomy subject but there is potentially a silver lining to this social and demographic change. The swelling ranks of mature workers are a valuable resource for businesses as they can teach the rest of us a thing or two about the world of work – and if a company’s employees are willing to listen to their insights, their careers will benefit. 

A proportionately high number of mature workers are found in sectors such as manufacturing, transport, healthcare, and education, and the Singapore economy will face significant skills shortages when these professionals retire. These sectors benefit significantly from the depth of experience and knowledge this older workforce brings to their jobs every day.

Employers in Singapore can do more to use older team members to train up younger employees so that the knowledge and wisdom acquired from decades of work can be handed on to the new generation. This will allow organisations to maintain know-how and keep competitive advantage.

There is a significant opportunity for employers in Singapore to exploit the talents of more senior members of staff. This is especially true for small and medium-sized businesses that may have limited resources to dedicate to formal skills development. By using older staff to give in-house training to their younger peers, knowledge can be successfully passed on.

For companies to not use this potential training resource is a waste. So how should employers in Singapore ensure their staff benefit from the wisdom of older colleagues?

Encouraging staff to find a mentor is a good first step. Younger employees can learn a lot from mature workers who have already achieved the career goals they aspire to. So employers should support staff in finding a mature mentor, either within their organisation or externally within their industry or field of experience, and let them tap into the veteran’s knowledge when making career development decisions.

Next, help employees try to up-skill. Often older workers enjoy imparting the benefit of their years of experience to a protégé. Many are only too happy to teach their expertise in a particular system, skill, or task to employees who would like to add to their repertoire, so allow employees to ask if they can be coached.

Thirdly, we can all benefit from the lessons mature workers have learned. Those who have been with an organisation for a number of years possess a great deal of corporate insight they can pass on. Experience acquired through lessons the business has previously learnt can be shared with younger employees so that they can be more aware of the potential pitfalls.

Last but not least, we should be aware of skills gaps that exist. Many employers in Singapore tell us that skill shortages remain an issue and this is likely to limit the country’s potential in the future, especially when a large percentage of the workforce will retire in coming years.

This gap can be bridged if employees work with a mature member of staff to learn the technical knowledge that their industry cannot do without. By doing this, a company can set itself up to plug the skills gap and in turn make the mature Singaporean employee a valuable asset to any organisation.