By Shukry Rashid
Singapore is not undergoing an economic crisis, but rather, a structural change, said Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong at a dialogue with union leaders on 1 November 2016 at the NTUC Centre.
Singapore is still attracting overseas investments and creating jobs. Last year, the Economic Development Board attracted $11.5 billion of foreign investments and $5.6 billion of total business spending. Some of these companies include Micron, GlaxoSmithKline and Google.
He said that the current situation will be “the new normal” as Singapore is now a developed economy.
“We can’t go back to five to seven per cent growth,” added PM Lee.
He compared this structural change to the 2008 financial crisis when global economies plummeted and Singapore had to implement a big fiscal package to sustain businesses and jobs.
He added: “It is not a crisis. There are still bright spots in the economy.”
PM Lee said that remedies of a quick solution applied to the 2008 crisis cannot be applied to the current situation.
He added: “What we need to do is to work hard in order to grow, in order to upgrade ourselves, and the secret is upgrading and restructuring.”
Growing Workforce
While both rank-and-file and professional, manager, executives and technician (PMET) jobs are important, PM Lee said more attention needs to be focused on the latter group with it making half of the current workforce.
He added that PMETs are finding it harder to get a new job once they are displaced because they have different aspirations and expectations. Compared to rank-and-file workers who require straightforward training for a new job, PMETs need customised training to acclimatise to new business environments and needs.
PM Lee said that the Government is investing more effort to help PMETs cope with the changes. This includes a matching grant of $150 million from the Government to the $50 million from the Labour Movement’s NTUC Education and Training Fund, which subsidises upgrading and reskilling courses for workers and PMETs.
Labour Movement and the Future
The Government is already rolling out the Industry Transformation Maps to help workers and businesses transform with the changing economic landscape. Other initiatives to smoothen the ride through the current structural challenges include the Capability Development Grant and SkillsFuture. However, he reiterated the importance of the Labour Movement and the tripartite partnership in facing the future.
He highlighted the important role union leaders have played in the past to encourage workers to embrace change and take up opportunities to keep their skills relevant, and that they will continue to play a critical role into the future.
