NPTD's Addendum to the President's Address 2014

MR TEO CHEE HEAN
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER-IN-CHARGE OF THE NATIONAL
POPULATION AND TALENT DIVISION

We want a Singapore with a sustainable population – where Singaporeans are the heart of our nation, where we have opportunities to pursue our aspirations, and which we are proud to call our home.

The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) works with other Government agencies to develop and implement population policies towards this vision, focusing on three key areas: providing more opportunities as well as quality care for our rapidly increasing number of seniors, so that they remain active in society; sustaining our citizen population through a supportive environment for marriage and parenthood, engagement of overseas Singaporeans, and the integration of new immigrants; and taking a balanced approach to slow the growth of our foreign workforce, while maintaining a vibrant economy with opportunities and jobs of the future for Singaporeans.

More Opportunities and Quality Care for Our Seniors

As our population ages and the number of older Singaporeans increases rapidly, we will provide more opportunities for our seniors to be meaningfully employed, and tap on their wisdom and experience to contribute to society. We will also improve the quality of care and support to match the needs of our seniors, so that they can enjoy active silver years. These include healthcare, housing options, progressive work environments, lifelong learning, senior-friendly infrastructure, retirement adequacy, and silver volunteerism.

Sustaining Our Citizen Population

Strong families are the bedrock of our society. We will continue to support Singaporeans’ aspirations to marry and have children, and work with our community partners to provide more integrated support for Singaporeans in their marriage and parenthood journeys. We will also continue to engage Singaporeans abroad, so that they stay connected to Singapore.

To prevent our citizen population from shrinking and improve its age balance, we welcome new citizens who are committed to Singapore, willing to contribute, and share our values. We also welcome foreign spouses of Singaporeans who are in a stable and sustainable marriage. We will continue to help these newcomers to better integrate into our society.

Taking a Balanced Approach

As we committed in the Population White Paper, we have embarked on a new strategic direction towards a more sustainable population with slower growth in the non-resident population. Companies are already facing tight manpower constraints as we slow foreign workforce growth. We will continue to take a calibrated approach, as we help companies to raise productivity and restructure their work processes through this transitional period.

We must remain open to people, ideas and resources to generate innovation, new businesses and employment opportunities to support the aspirations of Singaporeans. We will also build and tap on the global network of friends of Singapore, within and beyond our physical boundaries. Singaporeans will remain the core of our workforce – we will continue to support skills upgrading and ensure that Singaporeans are considered fairly for jobs. We will work towards inclusive growth so that the benefits are enjoyed widely and fairly by all Singaporeans. We will broaden and deepen our efforts to promote greater mutual understanding and acceptance between Singaporeans and foreigners. We will also plan our city well, and ahead of demand, to support our population and ensure a high quality living environment.

To ensure that we have a sustainable population for Singapore in the medium- and long-term, we need to plan and implement our policies starting now. We will continue to review our policies to take into account the changing needs of Singapore and Singaporeans, as well as the changing domestic and external environment. With the Government working together in close partnership with Singaporeans, the community, businesses and institutions, we can make Singapore a truly distinctive home for all Singaporeans, and for many more generations to come.