SINGAPORE, March 20 — The slowing economy and its impact on the job market are the top concerns for Singaporeans, going by feedback collected by the government’s feedback portal REACH ahead of the Budget on Thursday.

Of the 3,600 pieces of feedback collected from February 1 to 26, one-third related to these areas. Specifically, people wanted to know more about government measures to stabilise the economy and also sought assurances on job security in the future.

Mid-career workers asked if there could be short-term schemes to help affected workers cope financially while they get new skills to re-enter the workforce into other sectors. They suggested the government provide Singaporeans with guidance on the types of training courses to take up to improve their prospects of finding jobs, and sought financial incentives for companies so that businesses would come up with “place and train” schemes.

Noting that skills upgrading will be important for workers to stay relevant for jobs in the future economy, some said the government should do more to raise awareness of the SkillsFuture initiatives. They called for more regular top-ups of SkillsFuture credits.

To encourage skills upgrading, the parameters for using SkillsFuture credits should be expanded to allow students to use these credits for school modules, and for companies to make claims for these credits when they initiate staff training courses.

Among older workers, those in their late 40s to 50s expressed concern about income stagnation and the lack of job opportunities available to them. Some also wondered if there could be more stable employment conditions, especially for those who want to work beyond the retirement age. Tax rebates could be one way to incentivise companies to hire locals, some suggested.

The latest Ministry of Manpower (MOM) labour market report released last Tuesday showed that workers aged 40 and above made up a sizeable proportion (64.5 per cent) of lay-offs here last year. Of the 15,580 workers retrenched here last year — the highest recorded since the global financial meltdown seven years ago — professionals, managers, executives and technicians were the hardest hit, forming 71 per cent of lay-offs last year, up from 66 per cent in 2014.

To boost the economy, there were suggestions that new start-ups be exempted from taxes in their first year, and tax reliefs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to tide them over the current challenging economic conditions. In general, there were also calls for several taxes to be lowered, including the Goods and Services Tax, property tax and fuel tax.

For the longer term, some among those who gave feedback said companies need to tap technology and innovation to be more productive and lower business costs. They suggested for even more help, especially for SMEs, to restructure. There was also a suggestion that the government includes technology and innovation as evaluation criteria in contract tenders.

Those who gave feedback said there should be a shift in the education system, away from textbooks to applied learning. More emphasis should also be given to strengthen skills in the areas of mathematics, science and technology.

Overall, it is important for the education system to focus less on academic results, so that students grasp a passion for lifelong learning, innovation and entrepreneurship, some contributors said. The education system could also be streamlined to allow Singaporeans to enter the workforce or venture into business start-ups at an earlier age. This could help to address the challenges of a greying workforce, they added.

Outside of issues concerning the economy and jobs, the topic of volunteerism generated strong interest among students at several exercises to collect feedback. They asked for more youth volunteer programmes to be started, and efforts to raise awareness and knowledge of volunteerism.

Other suggestions include doing more to take care of vulnerable groups such as the needy, the unemployed, the disabled and the elderly. Some noted that these efforts should go beyond handouts, which could lead to over-reliance on the government. Instead, help for these groups can come in the form of support from the community. — TODAY