Updating Skills
“By way of imagery, what it takes to be employable has changed over the decades, from “standing on a travelator’ to ’holding tight in a roller-coaster ride’ to ’being able to grab the next bar in a trapeze’. Since we cannot avoid rapid change and disruption, we have to strengthen our nimbleness and keep learning and adjusting so as to stay in demand. Updating skill sets is key to this. Budget 2017 reinforces this point.” NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How
“Training and re-skilling are collective efforts for both employers and workers. With these, workers are better prepared to face challenges and make improvements. Companies should not forget to reward the workers when the time comes”. Union of Power & Gas Employees (UPAGE) General Secretary Abdul Samad Bin Abdul Wahab
Courses and Older Workers
“Making programmes and courses more modularised and also shorter will cater to workers embracing some of the future jobs and skills. This is one thing which the Labour Movement had put forward. I am glad that this will be rolled out in partnership with the training institutions. I am also glad that the Special Employment Credit as well as the Additional Special Employment Credit will be extended till December 2019. This extension will augur well to give further encouragement to employers to hire older workers.”
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Future Jobs, Skills and Training Department (FJST) Patrick Tay
Adapt and Grow
“This is truly a Budget that is very focused on the future while still taking care of the immediate needs. For workers, in terms of the Adapt and Grow policies, it will allow them to take advantage of initiatives like the Professional Conversion Programme.” NTUC Industry Transformation and Productivity Director Desmond Choo
On Attach and Train
“One of the things that struck me was the new initiative that talks about Attach and Train. This is a new model of thinking, to attach and train workers and then later talk about placing them in jobs and likely these jobs are future jobs”. Nominated MP and President, Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU), K Thanaletchimi
Being Open to Change
“This budget is a continuous build up of investments in market, technology, workers and enterprise. We will need to communicate the programmes and initiatives to our workers, get them to understand its long term benefits, stay resilient and adapt to the changes. And the companies ought to translate these programmes to real jobs and wage growth opportunities for workers.” NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Cham Hui Fong
“All the initiatives that are targeted at workers and companies help to ensure our workers stay relevant and employable. New products and jobs will be created by companies when they use or upgrade their technology. We have to keep training and developing our workers for new opportunities. Be it locally or internationally, we have to be open and adapt to change." United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) General Secretary Tan Richard
