Why are 65-year-olds learning how to program software in aging Singapore?

In Singapore, where productivity is falling as the labor force gets older, workers are being encouraged to adopt new skills for a digital world

Most 65-year-olds would be looking to wind down their careers as they hit retirement.

But in Singapore, which has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at nearly 85 years and where the government soon plans to raise the retirement age, workers are being pushed to learn new skills to stay productive.

Valerie Yeong-Tan, who’s worked for 47 years at Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., is one such example. She’s an administrator in the human resources department with no prior programming knowledge, but was recently persuaded to take bot-building courses to improve her skills.

“Learning is a lifelong process, and