Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say stated on Wednesday (July 19) that the Ministry is planning to design more initiatives in assisting job seekers in five growth industries. The Minister also explained that he will deploy political office holders to monitor and coordinate each sector.
He added that five growth industries chosen to be the main focus of the program’s development because these sectors are considered to be most likely affected by technological disruption. In addition, these industries are considered to have great potential for job growth in the future.
Second Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo has been assigned to lead the effort, while working together with four Senior Ministers of State – each will bear the responsibility in different sectors:
– Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary will supervise the infocomm and media sector;
– Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon will supervise the wholesale trade sector; and
– Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah will supervise the financial services and professional services sectors
Mr Lim said that the government, employers, and unions in each sector will together learn and observe how current jobseekers will be affected by inevitable changes in the modern industry. Further, they will provide preparation and training for them to face upcoming jobs, for example by using Adapt and Grow schemes such as professional conversion programs.
It is stated that more conversion programs might be added in the future. New initiatives can also be customised for each sector, if that is deemed more helpful for the jobseekers. Speaking to reporters at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar, Mr Lim said that these customisations and changes need to be done, given that the challenges and opportunities in each sector are different.
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The office holders have already started work, and there is possibility that new sectors might be added to the list of focus areas later on, he said.
Mr Lim asserted that the ministry’s efforts over the years to transform the economy towards more manpower lean growth are bearing fruit. Economic growth increased 2 percent last year, which comprised of 1 percent of workforce growth and 1 percent productivity growth, showing significant improvement compared to productivity growth in previous years, Straits Times reports.
“The transformation of our economy will continue … By spreading the use of technology we will be able to create more jobs of tomorrow, and we hope the jobs of tomorrow will be better than the jobs of today,” he continued.
Besides the Ministry of Manpower, more initiatives to connect jobseekers and jobs was also introduced by Workforce Singapore (WSG) on Wednesday (July 19), which added five new free programs at its rebranded career centers.
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