By Tay Boon Suat
(Singapore, 14.04.2026) As conflict in the Middle East continues with no clear resolution, casting a shadow over the global economy, a warning from World Bank President Ajay Banga has drawn growing attention.
Singapore’s economy has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet many SMEs face a paradox: business is there, but workers are not. Tell these business owners that in the next 10 years, 800 million people worldwide may not be able to find jobs, and many would dismiss it as alarmist.
But what if this projection comes from the President of the World Bank?
According to Banga, over the next 10 to 15 years, developing countries will add 1.2 billion people of working age—but only 400 million jobs are expected to be created. This leaves a gap of roughly 800 million people who may struggle to find employment.
This number may sound distant, but for an economy like Singapore—deeply connected to regional talent flows and global supply chains—it is anything but remote.
If we look at the post-2010 generation, they are growing up in a fundamentally different world from their parents. The old formula—study hard, enter university, secure a stable job—is no longer reliable. Instead, the future resembles a constantly shifting system where individuals must actively position themselves.
Historically, even in 1970s Singapore, university graduates—especially those from the humanities—faced difficulties securing employment, often receiving very few interview responses despite sending out numerous applications. That reality, once cyclical, may now become structural on a global scale.
At current trajectories, those economies in developing countries will generate only about 400 million jobs, leaving a deficit of 800 million jobs.
—— Ajay Banga, World Bank President
As regional employment pressure intensifies, two shifts are becoming evident. First, talent mobility will increase significantly. Second, job structures will evolve more rapidly. Today’s job market is no longer limited to local competition; individuals are competing with peers across the region—and increasingly, the world.
In such an environment, waiting for opportunities is no longer viable. One must design their own position.
The World Bank’s analysis also highlights sectors less likely to be quickly replaced by AI: infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, and high-value manufacturing. These sectors are closely tied to the “real world,” where human judgment, coordination, and physical systems still matter.
This signals a deeper shift: purely academic knowledge is losing its edge. What will matter more is the ability to integrate technical skills with real-world problem-solving. Engineers who can operate automated systems, logistics managers who understand data, and project professionals who can coordinate across borders—these are the roles gaining value.
At the same time, we must accept a new reality: skills are no longer acquired once and for all. Graduation is not the finish line, but the starting point of continuous learning.
As competition intensifies across Southeast Asia, Singaporean companies will accelerate automation and digitalisation to stay competitive. This, in turn, demands that workers continuously upgrade themselves.
So instead of asking, “What job can I do now?”, a better question is: “What can I still learn to ensure I am not replaced?”
Even traditional industries such as construction and services are rapidly integrating robotics, system management, and data analytics. These are not distant trends—they are already unfolding.
Mindset matters as well. The projected employment gap of 800 million is not only a source of pressure, but also a generator of opportunity. When certain economies cannot provide sufficient jobs, global nodes like Singapore may become hubs for talent, capital, and projects. This can give rise to new roles—regional project management, cross-border compliance, supply chain risk analysis.
But these opportunities do not come automatically. They favour those who are prepared and willing to step beyond their comfort zones.
A regional perspective is equally critical. In the past, many focused solely on local markets. In the future, work will increasingly begin in cross-border environments. Understanding neighbouring economies—and being open to overseas assignments—will become key advantages.
In other words, your job may be based in Singapore, but your competitiveness will be tested across Southeast Asia.
Of course, not everyone will enter high-tech or elite industries. But that does not mean there is no path forward. The ancient wisdom still holds: when circumstances tighten, change becomes the only way through.
The key is to identify entry points in industries that are evolving, rather than remaining in saturated, easily replaceable roles. Even starting from a basic position, one can actively acquire new skills and transition upward—rather than remaining trapped in low-value segments.
Ultimately, our generation is not facing a simple question of “whether jobs exist,” but rather, “whether you have the ability to continuously create your own opportunities.”
Global employment pressures are rising, but Singapore retains its strengths—stability, concentration of resources, and global connectivity. If you choose the right direction, commit to continuous learning, and dare to move beyond familiar paths, you may find your place not despite change, but because of it.
The world may feel uncertain, even constrained. But your choices have not disappeared.
The real question is not whether the market will improve—but whether you can become more useful.
Because, in the end, opportunity rarely comes to those who wait. It comes to those who are prepared.
