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Government to help workers land jobs in 5 growth sectors

SINGAPORE — Five industries have been identified by the Government as potentially major sources of job openings in the years ahead, and more will be done to help jobseekers land these positions, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say announced on Wednesday (July 19).

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say speaking with jobseekers during the official opening of Careers Connect at the Lifelong Learning Institute on July 19, 2017. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say speaking with jobseekers during the official opening of Careers Connect at the Lifelong Learning Institute on July 19, 2017. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — Five industries have been identified by the Government as potentially major sources of job openings in the years ahead, and more will be done to help jobseekers land these positions, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say announced on Wednesday (July 19).

The five industries are financial services, professional services, healthcare, wholesale trade and infocomm and media.

Mr Lim said help for jobseekers will come in the form of existing retraining programmes, or where needed, new initiatives would be set up, with inputs from the relevant agencies, employers and unions in these industries.

Second Manpower Minister Josephine Teo will oversee the effort to pinpoint the types of workers and roles in these industries that are affected by the ongoing economic restructuring, as well as find out what upcoming positions there are.

She will be supported by four Senior Ministers of State. Ms Indranee Rajah (Finance) will look into professional and financial services, while Dr Janil Puthucheary (Communications and Information) will oversee infocomm and media.

Wholesale trade will come under Dr Koh Poh Koon (Trade and Industry) and Dr Amy Khor (Health) will manage the healthcare sector.

Speaking to reporters at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar on Wednesday (July 19), Mr Lim said the five industries were identified because they are being “most impacted” by rapid technological advancements or are likely major sources of jobs of the future, or both.

But he was quick to add that other sectors would not be neglected, and could be added to the list later on. “We will still be supporting our jobseekers to look for jobs in all sectors,” he said.

Noting the protracted nature of economic transformation, Mr Lim said improving the employability of workers was a “journey with no end”.

He added: “In future, more and more of our workers would have to refresh their skills ... even more frequently than before.”

Mr Lim used the example of the financial services sector where traditional jobs, such as in consumer banking, are on the decline, versus new roles on the rise, such as in digital banking and data analytics.

Those seeking jobs in banking would want to know how they can take on the roles with brighter prospects, he noted.

To help them, the Government’s Adapt and Grow programmes will be customised to each sector’s needs. Where needed, new programmes would be set up.

For instance, Mr Lim said the Government was working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and banks, to see if those in affected banking jobs can be retrained to move into new ones.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Mrs Teo noted that new jobs are being created despite slower economic growth, adding that over the next few years, the five industries identified are expected to account for about half of the 25,000 to 40,000 jobs created each year.

She added: “Even against global headwinds, these five sectors in Singapore are growing and creating new jobs for PMETs. Our goal is to help Singaporeans access these opportunities. It won’t be easy, but let us not give up on this tremendous opportunity to help them adapt and grow.”

Mr Lim also said this new effort was needed not only to give the workforce “more opportunities and support”, but also to speed up the pace of the economy’s transformation.

Since focusing on becoming leaner on manpower, there have been some results, Mr Lim noted.

Last year, productivity rose by 1 per cent after staying flat for five years. This, coupled with 1 per cent workforce growth, saw the economy growing by 2 per cent, said Mr Lim.

This combination of “workforce expansion and productivity gains” took the Republic a step closer to its goal of keeping workforce growth at 1 per cent and raising productivity to 2 per cent. This will expand the economy by 3 per cent, said Mr Lim.

Clarification: In an earlier version of this story, we reported that Mrs Teo said 25,000 to 40,000 PMET (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) jobs are created each year. The Manpower Ministry has clarified that 25,000 to 40,000 jobs created each year are for all job grades, not just PMET. 

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