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SINGAPORE: It is time for Singapore to develop a national focus on efforts to improve labour productivity. That is the view of the enterprise productivity sub-group of the Economic Strategies Committee.
Sub-committee chairman and Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong explained this in an exclusive interview with MediaCorp. He said the need to improve productivity now extends across many ministries and agencies.
An announcement on this national focus plan will be included in his sub-committee's report early next year, he added.
Singapore's labour productivity levels have been falling for six consecutive quarters starting in the fourth quarter of 2007. The decline has been worsening each quarter, with the first three months of 2009 seeing the largest drop so far at minus 14.7 percent.
Mr Gan said: "There are several issues. One is the slowdown in investment in innovation and productivity measures.
"When the economy grows very rapidly, companies have a lot of opportunities to benefit from the growth and the expansion of the economy. So the focus on productivity may be lacking behind. So it is important to refocus attention of companies on productivity growth.
"There are many measures we can put in place to encourage enterprises to invest in innovation, to invest in research, to invest in benchmarking so that we can raise the overall productivity effort in our economy."
Mr Gan explained that the issue of productivity improvement has become a priority for many ministries and agencies. But what is needed is more coordination in this area.
He said: "EDB (Economic Development Board) has to look at how to attract more productive and higher value-added investments.
"From MOM's (Ministry of Manpower's) point of view, we have to see how we can encourage workers to go for more upgrading and training so that the workers themselves can become more productive.
"I think it is important for us to have a multi-ministerial representation focused on this productivity efforts. Only by working together with the various parties will we be able to successfully raise the productivity standards of our industries and workers."
To improve the productivity levels of workers, Singapore also needs a comprehensive continuing education and training masterplan.
For this, the two new Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres which are going to be set up would be able to provide as much as 150,000 training places annually.
Mr Gan said a Tripartite Steering Committee has been set up to oversee the development of the two centres.
It is chaired by Mr Chan Heng Kee, chief executive of the Workforce Development Agency, with both the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) actively participating.
The committee will consult and engage industry players during the project. Mr Gan said: "As to which particular sector they would be focusing on, we would take some time to discuss with industries to see how best to position them.
"But it is important to recognise that both these CET campuses would need to provide integrated services that will help our workers not only in training and upgrading, but also prepare them for careers which will help them in their employability.
"And this would include career counselling, placement services and also offer a place for employers to come and recruit their workers. We would also collaborate with employers to provide employer-related training."
- CNA/ir
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