Empowering the Workforce Through the NTUC Job Security Council: Current Progress and Future Directions

The National Trades Union Congress Job Security Council (NTUC JSC) was launched in February 2020 to enhance job matching for workers, minimise the impact of retrenchments, and support companies in their workforce and business transformation, enabling workers in these companies to enjoy better wages and career development. Managed by NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the NTUC JSC has been supporting at-risk or displaced workers with career coaching, skills evaluation, training, job-search assistance, and job-matching services. It is timely to review the NTUC JSC. The paper reviews the NTUC JSC’s progress, compares it with similar organisations in Sweden, and provides a glimpse into the future. Since its launch, the NTUC JSC has expanded its ecosystem to over 10,000 companies and 27 career and job services touchpoints in 2024, placing over 110,000 workers between February 2020 and December 2024. Beyond just placing more workers, the NTUC JSC has placed more Professionals, Managers, and Executives (PMEs) including skilled Technicians, increasing from 8,800 to 17,000 between 2023 and 2024. However, while having been successful in placing jobseekers, the NTUC JSC will need to further strengthen job-matching processes and explore working more closely with partners like the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), to better manage the flow of labour within the economy due to retrenchment. Looking ahead, the ecosystem can be strengthened with technology and consolidate resources to support job redesign and business transformation; skills upgrading; and placement and progression.