Speaking in Parliament during the Budget debate on 1 March 2017, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing emphasised that NTUC has three priorities this year – they are jobs, jobs and jobs.
SkillsFuture-Enterprise Future
“Let us be frank with ourselves. Grants and subsidies alone will not create jobs, especially sustainable jobs. The crux must come from our businesses, their access to markets and innovation,” he said.
How good Singapore’s businesses are will depend on several factors, and among them is the speed with which workers keep pace with the demand for new skills.
“NTUC as the apex organisation will work with institutes of higher learning, the Manpower Ministry and the Education Ministry to ensure that we train up a new generation of workers to be ready for tomorrow. I hope the Singapore Business Federation and other trade associations will similarly perform their roles for businesses so that not only will we have a SkillsFuture programme but also an Enterprise Future programme,” shared SG Chan.
Jobs of Tomorrow
Turning to the jobs of tomorrow, SG Chan said there is a need to strengthen the job placement system for everyone.
“We have to prepare to help tomorrow’s unemployed into tomorrow’s jobs and we have to do well to overcome potential structural unemployment,” he added.
It is for this reason that NTUC is raising $200 million for the NTUC- Education and Training Fund to work with institutes of higher learning to develop just-in-time training modules which workers can tap on to upskill themselves.
Improving productivity is another key area for the jobs of tomorrow.
“There is no magic bullet to increase productivity. What is most important is that each and every business has to re-examine their business processes together with workers and management to raise productivity. We are committed to do this and this is where the 23 Industry Transformation Maps come in. They are the amalgamation of the efforts of the Government, businesses and the Labour Movement. If we get this right, we move the needle for 80 percent of the market. If we don’t get this right, there will be no productivity gains and no sustainable wage increases for our workers,” cautioned SG Chan.
