\n<\/p>\n
Mr Ong reassured students that Singapore is still competitive and creating jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not entering a declining or stagnant economy. You are entering an economy that is growing, that is attracting investments, and that is still dynamic,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Singapore remains relevant and competitive, and it has strengthened its position as a key node in global supply chains.<\/p>\n
The country also has an open economy, a strong network of free trade agreements, tripartite cooperation, as well as stable institutions and political climate, said Mr Ong.<\/p>\n
While some specific jobs such as programmers, editors and translators might be replaced by AI, \u201clarge swathes\u201d of jobs remain relevant, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know for a fact, healthcare workers remain as busy as ever. In fact, they are hoping that AI can help reduce some of their routine work, some of their tedious work, such as automating record-taking during a consultation with a patient, planning their work rosters … and providing with an extra pair of eyes when they do diagnostic scans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
An interior designer told him that he uses AI to improve renderings for clients, but still coordinates contractors, applies for permits, liaises with clients and iterates ideas.<\/p>\n
Mr Ong said a young executive from the MICE industry who organises road shows for government agencies also told him that AI can help with some artwork. However, the executive still has to design the overall experience, curate the themes and narratives, and work with partners and media to bring everything together.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the feedback by many of these conversations is quite consistent from people across many professions. Most of the time, AI is replacing certain tasks, but not entire jobs \u2013 at least not yet. So it is not resulting in mass job displacement, but it is used as a tool, which can result in some job redesign,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister also urged graduates to tap the support available to them, such as free access to AI tools at some universities, career guidance and career fairs.<\/p>\n
Mr Ong added that the Singapore Business Federation and employers have a \u201cvery big part\u201d to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployers can help prevent hiring from becoming an ever-escalating arms race. If I put it frankly, the intensity of this arms race is ultimately shaped by how employers hire. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking employers to lower their hiring standards. But every additional signal that employers send \u2013 hiring candidates with more internships, more credentials, better grades \u2013 becomes something that students feel you must chase to curate your perfect CV,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Ong said that hiring a fresh graduate is always about spotting potential and taking a chance.<\/p>\n
Some students have spent years training and playing competitive sports, dedicated themselves to the arts, gone backpacking around the world, volunteered or taken on caregiving responsibilities at home.<\/p>\n
While these experiences may not \u201cfit neatly\u201d into a conventional CV, they reflect a candidate\u2019s resilience, initiative, discipline, empathy, character, and work ethic, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I encourage, and hope, that employers will look at candidates more holistically, beyond GPAs and internships. Help assure applicants that this is how you hire, and cool down an arms race that is energy-sapping, and I think making the undergraduate experience less holistic for young people at a critical formative age,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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JOBS REMAIN RELEVANT Mr Ong reassured students that Singapore is still competitive and creating jobs. \u201cYou are not entering a declining or stagnant economy. You…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--YsbVynJy--\/c_crop,h_1125,w_2000,x_0,y_1\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_mediacorp:cna:watermark:2021-08:cna,w_0.1\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2026\/09\/07\/ayt_6301.jpg?itok=ympRlupF","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3747,1244,4783,2613,4093],"class_list":["post-83017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-entire","tag-jobs","tag-kung","tag-replacing","tag-tasks","wpcat-2-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}