Disruption and transformation may be taking place all around us, and while the changes will mean new and different ways of doing things, they will also present fresh opportunities for working people.
Themed Transformation in Action, the second edition of NTUC’s Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) Forum saw union leaders, government agencies, tripartite and management partners come together in panel discussions. Topics included successful examples of industrial change as well as job and training trends that will impact workers today.
The FJST Forum 2019 took place on 1 February 2019 at the NTUC Centre and attended by 500 people.
Speaking as guest-of-honour, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng highlighted the Labour Movement’s commitment to transformation as it continues to help workers gear up for the future with better welfare, wages and work prospects.
[Watch: These workers have benefitted from industry transformation]
Transforming Workers
For a start, the Labour Movement will adopt a more proactive and pre-emptive approach to gear workers up for the future. Findings from a Worker 4.0 Study by the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute (OTCi) which will be ready later this year will offer insights on how workers today can be supported with training and upgrading as they evolve to meet the demands of changing job scopes. This is where the Labour Movement can harness the network of tripartite and training partners to identify training needs and prepare workers with the necessary adaptive, technical and technology skills.
Transforming the Labour Movement
As the profile of workers in Singapore evolves into a majority PME (professionals, managers and executives) workforce, the needs of this group of workers will span beyond representation and workplace protection. Their needs will now include career development and progression.
SG Ng said that the Labour Movement will continue to transform itself and focus on supporting workers with training and upgrading to enable them to achieve their aspirations.
Emphasising the need for innovation in the Labour Movement’s core mission of placement, protection, privileges and progression, SG Ng shared how, in the last year, there had been inroads in more inclusive representation with new unions and associations such as the Supply Chain Employees Union, Tech Talent Assembly and National Instructors and Coaches Association.
Transforming Tripartism
Describing tripartism as the secret sauce for Singapore’s success, SG Ng highlighted how tripartism has enabled our country to grow the number of jobs, grow the wages of working Singaporeans and grow their work prospects.
While this formula has worked, he said that the Labour Movement will continue to work together with tripartite partners to adopt a systems-thinking and leadership approach that looks at problems and considers solutions that can be turned into opportunities that all stakeholders – the Government, business and workers – can benefit from.
“The FJST Forum is a platform where various stakeholders can share best practices and solutions for transformation that are tangible, and offer real benefits to companies and workers.
“We look forward to greater partnerships with Government agencies and other key stakeholders to take more proactive and pre-emptive steps to bring industry transformation efforts to the ground and help workers in this time of change,” said NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and FJST Director Patrick Tay.
Budget 2019 Calls
Speaking on the sidelines of the FJST Forum 2019, ASG Patrick Tay also detailed what he will be lobbying for ahead of this year’s Budget 2019 announcement.
Citing structural changes in the global economy and new technological developments, ASG Tay said that he hopes to see a greater focus on helping workers with training, upgrading and helping them stay employable through existing progammes.
For a start, he hopes the Government will consider topping up the SkillsFuture Credits of all Singaporeans because there are many of them who have found the credits very useful in picking new skills to stay resilient.
“Second, we hope to see a continuation of the Special Employment Credit which expires at the end of this year. It will help mature workers – of which we have an increasing number of – to stay employed and remain employable.
“Thirdly, we hope to see the continuation of the Career Support Programme that will also end in the middle of this year. In the last couple of years, we are seeing successes and we hope that more PMEs, particularly mature PMEs will be able to find support from employers and would-be employers,” he said.
