According To A Study, 20.6% Of S’porean Workers Will Lose Their Current Job By 2028

Last Updated on 2023-03-06 , 11:09 am

Back when you were young, you’d think that in the year 2018, you’ll have flying cars and robots roaming the streets

Or maybe, the occasional hobo screaming about how the world is ending.

Now, as much as we dislike being the hobo, we do have a doomsday message to share with you guys.

Don’t worry, it’s got nothing to do with environmental-friendliness and all that. Our boss goes through so many burgers the number of wrappers used could’ve killed all Pulau Tekong’s neatly arranged trees.

It’s about jobs. Jobs displacement, to be exact.

Study Shows Around 20% Of S’poreans Will Lose Their Current Jobs By 2028

Cisco and Oxford Economics set out to study the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on workers in six South-east Asian economies.

And it was found that Singapore is one of the countries that will be badly affected by the mismatch of skills and available jobs by 2028.

Here are some hard figures to drive the point in:

• 20.6% of Singaporean full-time workers will lose their current jobs by the year 2028.
• That equates to about 500,000 Singaporeans
• 85,000 existing roles will become history
• 80,000 jobs in the wholesale and retail sector will be lost
• 55,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector will be gone
• 50,000 jobs in the transport sector will be lost

We’ve also done a video on some of the jobs that might be displaced soon. Here, take a look:

So, why are our jobs disappearing?

Reason: S’pore Is Trying To Be A Smart Nation

It’s no secret that Singapore is trying to be a smart nation. I mean, you’d have gotten that vibe, don’t you? What with driverless trains, cashless payments and more (hopefully one day got bossless companies).

Ironically, that’s the reason why Singapore will be one of the hardest hit in terms of job displacements.

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Because Singapore is geared for technological advancement and innovation, it means that businesses here are quick to adopt new innovations.

That, coupled with our small size and our modern, upgradeable infrastructure, will make it much faster and easier for jobs to be displaced.

Feeling demotivated now? Don’t be.

Because Not All Is Lost

Reskilling is the keyword here.

If you’ve never believed in SkillsFuture or lifelong learning, now might be a good time to believe in it.

Notice I said current jobs? 

Because as technology advances, current jobs might be gone but at the same time, new jobs will be created.

And that might just be the key you need to keep on paying your instalments for your HDB flat with CPF monies.

According to the study, new job opportunities in Singapore that are likely to be created are “highly skilled managerial and professional roles”.

Right now, Singapore needs people in information technology (IT), or more specifically, programming and systems evaluation as well as operations skills like installation and operations analysis.

Also, the wholesale and retail sector will see 85,000 jobs gone by 2028 (I am so not surprised), but 100,000 new jobs will be created.

Similarly, the manufacturing sector will see 70,000 jobs created and finance and insurance, 60,000.

Here are the core skills you’ll need to survive in the harsh world after 2028:

• Problem-solving
• Design and critical thinking
• Leadership
• Collaboration
• Conflict resolution
• Empathy

Because, hey, going hungry sucks. No matter whether there are zombies around or not.

But then again, the simple question arises: would you lose your job first, or would aliens land on Yishun first?

Maybe in 2028, you might be working in Mars. Who knows.