Future of work

The Singapore Opportunity Index represents a shift in how economic mobility is measured, moving beyond employer surveys and policy statements to analyze actual workforce outcomes. Drawing on longitudinal data from nearly one million residents across 1,500 firms, the report maps how workers move through the economy based on pay, progression, and retention. The findings reveal that a worker’s trajectory is heavily influenced by their employer: top-performing firms pay 3.4 times more—and are 2.2 times more likely to retain talent—than their bottom-quintile peers, even for identical occupations.  

The analysis identifies three distinct “models of excellence” that firms use to drive opportunity. So-called Career Launchers focus on lowering entry barriers and often hire based on skills rather than degrees. Career Builders prioritize internal promotion and leadership pipelines, while Career Anchors excel at stability and long-term retention.  

However, the report warns that access to entry-level jobs is, on its own, insufficient to create lasting opportunity and sustain economic mobility. Firms that act as “career launchers” often face a revolving door problem: nearly half (48%) fail to retain new entrants past the first year due to a lack of clear advancement pathways. Conversely, “career anchors” demonstrate a ripple effect whereby retaining workers aged 50 and older dramatically boosts the firm’s overall stability and leadership growth.  

For Canadian policy-makers and business leaders, the Singapore Opportunity Index offers critical evidence of the value of experience in an aging workforce. The finding that firms that retain older workers are 55 percentage points more likely to achieve high overall retention rates challenges the bias toward youth-focused recruitment. Furthermore, as Canada grapples with its own productivity and skills gaps, the report highlights that “opportunity is a matter of design, not chance.” Merely removing degree requirements—a growing trend in Canadian human resources—may yield limited results without the internal infrastructure to support career second steps.  

Ultimately, the Singaporean model suggests that true economic mobility requires a portfolio approach that balances hiring with deliberate strategies for retention and internal mobility.