Singapore fosters tech skills training for older workers to boost city’s productivity

Most 65-year-olds would be looking to wind down their careers as they hit retirement.

But in Singapore, which has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at nearly 85 years and where the government soon plans to raise the retirement age, workers are being pushed to learn new skills to stay productive.

Valerie Yeong-Tan, who has worked for 47 years at Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), is one such example. She is an administrator in the human resources department with no prior programming knowledge, but was recently persuaded to take bot-building courses to improve her skills.

“Learning is a lifelong process, and I want to keep my mind active,” the 65-year-old said in an interview at a new Singtel office in Singapore, where it will conduct training. “I also hope to encourage and inspire the younger generation of workers, and show them that you can learn new skills no matter how far you are in your career.”

Yeong-Tan attended a four-day Bot Maker Training course and a two-day Bot Maker Hackathon, both organised by Singtel, where the basic programming terminology was alien to her. Now she uses her new-found skills to automate work processes like doing reports, drafting budgets and other repetitive tasks, saving her hours in her day.

In Singapore, where productivity is falling as the labour force gets older, workers are being encouraged to adopt new skills for a digital world.