The adoption of technology and digitisation in the workplace can help workers do their jobs more easily, with greater efficiency and be more productive.
The flipside to this positive development is that some existing job roles may be adversely affected.
In the public healthcare sector, digitalisation in the hospitals is slowly changing the job functions of workers, such as patient service associates (PSAs) and medical records officers (MROs) who number nearly 5,000.
For PSAs, the automation of processes like payment and registration may see their job roles expand to include new functions, such as financial counselling and medication supply verification. For MROs, the move to digitise medical records under the National Electronic Health Record system may see their jobs get phased out.
Helping Workers Embrace Change
Ensuring that all healthcare workers get the necessary training and support to cope with changes in their workplaces, the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) and NTUC LearningHub (LHUB) have established a Healthcare Academy.
Launched on 23 August 2018 the Academy offered a pilot phase of three courses centred around mindset change and digital literacy. Subsequent phases will feature courses and programmes that will be co-created together with partners in the healthcare sector to ensure relevance. There will be a variety of delivery methods such as e-learning, coaching and on-the-job training to maximise effectiveness and to reach out to as many workers as possible.
Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng said that the Healthcare Academy has been designed as a means to link the big ideas of industry transformation with training on the ground to make progress real for workers – a very important step to helping them understand the possibilities change brings and let them overcome the anxieties that come with it.
“The Healthcare Academy will be an important institution to formalise upgrading possibilities for our workers… What we hope to achieve is having workers that are ready, relevant and resilient and embark on opportunities in the new economy,” he said.
“The union is determined to work with NTUC LearningHub to help workers smoothly transit to new jobs before their current jobs disappear. The Ministry of Health believes that the union is able to make a difference on the ground with workers and is giving their full support to the Healthcare Academy,” said HSEU President K. Thanaletchimi.
“NTUC LearningHub has been working with HSEU and the healthcare sector to understand the emerging trends and technological changes in the sector. Leveraging design thinking, LHUB customised the pilot programme for the first few batches of healthcare workers and will scale it up for the rest of the sector thereafter. Against the backdrop of a fast-changing landscape, this initiative is crucial to ensure that our workers in the healthcare sectors stay ahead of the impending changes and build up their adaptive and technology skills to stay relevant and progress in their careers,” added LHUB CEO Kwek Kok Kwong.
For enquiries on upcoming programmes offered by the Healthcare Academy, email hseu@ntuc.org.sg.
