While the Labour Movement has always been helping displaced and unemployed workers secure jobs, structural changes in the economy have resulted in a more pressing need for a workforce that is agile, able and adaptable, said NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Patrick Tay in an exclusive interview with NTUC This Week.
Heading the Labour Movement’s new Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) capability, ASG Tay said that FJST’s role is a strategic one that will help the ‘future unemployed’ take on ‘future jobs’.
To do so successfully, he said that FJST cannot work alone and that work has already started to build up an expanded network.
“It requires the collective and combined mindshare, co-operation and focused efforts of the entire Labour Movement. Internally, we have our unions and associations, U Associate, U SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) partners and U FSE (freelancers and self-employed) and institutions like NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
“Externally, we have our tripartite partners such as the Singapore National Employers Federation, Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Workforce Singapore (WSG), SkillsFuture Singapore, Singapore Economic Development Board and of course institutes of higher learning (IHLs) and private sector consultancy companies who do a lot of research work. So, instead of us trying to do our own research, we can work together with them,” he said.
The Proactive Approach
For a start, ASG Tay shared that FJST’s main objectives are in information gathering and analysis. This includes information on new job opportunities as well as sectors where there are job losses.
“Right now, with MOM making the reporting of retrenchment mandatory, it has solved one big chunk of our sensing challenge to locate where job losses are. We are kept abreast of what’s happening through our unions network and the tripartite Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment to know where the layoffs are and we can respond more proactively through e2i and WSG. That plugs the sensing gap,” he added.
Immediate Objectives
ASG Tay revealed that FJST will be focusing on the healthcare, finance, infocomms and technology, and engineering sectors as these are four sectors where there is jobs growth.
ASG Tay also shared that other performance indicators include regularly communicating the information on job opportunities and have the hiring companies share details about the in-demand skills.
Enabling Workers
FJST’s role will also be in actualising the transition of workers to jobs and requisite skills available in the future.
“We will leverage the NTUC Education and Training Fund to further strengthen our value proposition for union members and workers to embrace all these future jobs, with e2i as the best facilitator. Training institutions like NTUC LearningHub can also help customise the necessary courses and skills training with quick speed-to-market turnaround in order to realise the transition.
“It’s not just about putting people in those jobs of the future, but also to help them grow in those roles. This is for all workers, at all levels,” he said.
Patrick’s Blog Post
In his recent blog post titled ‘Future Jobs, Skills and Training – A Question of Ability, Agility and Adaptability’ published on labourbeat.org, ASG Tay highlighted how a mixture of international events and structural changes in the economy will contribute to long term challenges for Singapore.
To cope with an increased rate of change, ASG Tay emphasised the need to be ready with new skills, be relevant to new jobs and resilient to new change in order to be able, agile and adaptable to changes.
He also called for a concerted change in mindsets among the government, employers, workers and the society to be open and accepting of disruptions and changes.
