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Looking beyond govt efforts to upskill workers

Jobs in a variety of industries, from transportation to tourism to even healthcare, have been affected by technological disruption.

Crowds in the Central Business District in Singapore. Singapore's government has introduced various measures such as SkillsFuture and Workforce Skills Qualifications to ensure that Singaporeans remain employable in the face of automation. TODAY file photo

Crowds in the Central Business District in Singapore. Singapore's government has introduced various measures such as SkillsFuture and Workforce Skills Qualifications to ensure that Singaporeans remain employable in the face of automation. TODAY file photo

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Jobs in a variety of industries, from transportation to tourism to even healthcare, have been affected by technological disruption.

To counteract this, the Government has introduced various measures such as SkillsFuture and Workforce Skills Qualifications to ensure that Singaporeans remain employable in the face of automation and to keep Singapore a prime business and talent hub.

However, as Singapore navigates through the challenges of the future economy, the efforts of the Government alone might not be enough.

To boost national upskilling endeavours and to grow Singapore’s innovation capital, other segments of society must be responsible for preparing workers for the future economy, beginning with educational institutions.

For the longest time, schools have been training students for specific vocations. While adequate in the past when workers took up jobs that they were trained in school for, educating today’s students for one job alone runs the risk of putting them out of work when technological developments render their occupations obsolete.

Considering the big disruptive shifts brought about by global connectivity and smart machines, there is no question that the future employability landscape will change. This will demand an entirely new set of skills. Technical skills valued at the start of the digital revolution, such as programming and equipment operation, may be less relevant.

Increasingly, applied learning and social skills are placed high on the priority list of the hiring manager. Flexibility and adaptability are the buzzwords of the new economy, which thrives on innovation.

Schools must prioritise developing skills such as critical thinking, creativity and collaboration to give emphasis to soft skills beyond just academic knowledge.

To help students make sense of data and facts, and distinguish between fake news and real information, schools must integrate new-media literacy and basic-level statistics programmes into curricula.

This will equip students to navigate through the maze of information and facts in a wired future.

As graduates’ employability will increasingly rely on their ability to pick up new skills quickly, customised, on-demand learning that would allow workers to stay up to date with technological changes could add value to their traditional degrees.

Interdisciplinary learning, where students are encouraged to address real-world challenges by applying knowledge gained from multiple disciplines and approaches, should also be encouraged.

Another way to help students stay competitive is to tap the knowledge and talent of industry practitioners. Schools must build a link for students to network and learn from experts in the marketplace. This can be done through seminars, internships and even collaborative projects.

These out-of-classroom platforms serve as a gateway for students to be exposed to the real challenges and expectations of the industry, and there is no better training ground for students to learn to react and adapt to changes quickly.

The experience that comes with such industry attachments can give students a leg-up to securing employment in their relevant fields.

 

PRIVATE SECTOR’S ROLE

 

Amid the nation’s blueprint for growth and productivity in the recent Committee on the Future Economy report, there was a striking emphasis on the need for the private sector to take a bigger role when it comes to creating opportunities to help workers acquire and deepen skills.

What can companies do to drive sustainable upskilling?

First, traditional talent acquisition mindsets must change, especially when the education system is not yet producing work-ready graduates for the new economy.

Technological disruption has produced a severe shortage of workers who are equipped to handle the new changes in the work environment. To tackle this manpower shortage, companies must start supporting employee transformation to build a versatile skills base.

For a start, businesses can commit to in-house training to sharpen the expertise of workers, and equip them with skills necessary for navigating through the nebulous future.

Jurong Port, for instance, launched the Jurong Port Academy in an effort to help create a future-ready workforce from within its ranks. As a multipurpose port operator in one of the industries most affected by the fourth industrial revolution, the management recognises the need to leverage new technology and innovation to enhance capabilities, increase productivity and upgrade the skills of port workers.

To enable manpower to be deployed in higher-value functions, the port has introduced new machinery to automate processes and reduce the manual nature of work, especially in light of the ageing workforce and slowing productivity growth.

Their upskilling curriculum includes classroom-based training, online learning and simulator classes that give workers the opportunity to learn how to manoeuvre cranes in a safe and controlled environment before progressing to the actual operations — these lessons are complementary to practical training in real-world environments. Such efforts not only empower workers in terms of building confidence and job security, but also train them to become more resilient in the face of change.

That being said, upskilling programmes must go beyond mere skills development to nurturing workers in areas such as problem-solving, innovative thinking and mental agility.

In doing so, employees would have more doors opened to them, in the age of rapid digitisation and automation.

Fundamentally, the nation’s workforce is as strong as its weakest link. As a small city-state, every person counts, and helping workers to develop the right skills and experience requires collaboration beyond what the Government alone can do.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Derrick Chang is chief executive officer of PSB Academy.

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