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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) expects the number of jobs created this year to exceed that of 2009. That's in tandem with the economic turnaround and improved hiring sentiments.
Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said while the labour market's expected to remain stable this year, up-skilling the workforce to enhance productivity growth levels would be a key priority.
Singapore's labour market stayed resilient despite falling external demand and uncertainties in the economic outlook last year said the Manpower Minister.
Mr Gan added: "We have managed the downturn well and avoided massive job losses largely because of the collective effort of the tripartite partners.
“The close relationship among the government, employers and unions enabled us to come together and act swiftly to help companies stay viable, cut costs and save jobs during this difficult period."
And the better-than-expected performance of the labour market's the result of coordinated efforts by the tripartite partners to save jobs and complemented by key initiatives like the Jobs Credit scheme and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience.
So far nearly 200,000 workers have completed or are undergoing SPUR training.
On the future of SPUR after it ends in November this year, Mr Gan said the ministry was reviewing this and will announce the details in due course.
He said the Manpower Ministry will ensure that training remains affordable and will retain those programmes that were still relevant beyond the recession like programmes that address critical skills needs.
With the economic upturn, Mr Gan said there will be jobs available for both rank-and-file workers and professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in the various sectors of the economy.
Mr Gan explained: “With better job prospects, the pool of job seekers may rise as more are encouraged to return to work including those who have just completed their training.
“Nevertheless, barring new shocks to the economy, we can expect the labour market to remain stable this year. As the recovery picks up momentum, employers should review whether measures taken during the downturn should be phased out taking into account the business outlook."
And MPs note the need to make a strategic shift to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth through productivity improvement.
Halimah Yacob, GPC Chair and MP for Jurong GRC, said: "Higher productivity is not an end in itself but merely a means towards a better life. It is therefore important that we keep faith with workers so that they can see the link between their efforts to push productivity and wage growth.
“If this linkage is not evident, workers will see it as benefiting only companies and have little incentive to support it.
"I urge MOM to promote implementation of gain sharing schemes among our companies. Such schemes should be transparent and have clear objectives, agreed KPIs and provide how the profits or savings will be distributed. This could also form part of the annual NWC guidelines.”
Mr Gan added: "We need to mobilise the entire nation to make productivity-driven growth a key priority over the next decade. The journey will be a challenging but also a rewarding one.
“This will require a concerted effort by everyone - workers, unions, government and employers alike. Each of us has a critical role to play: the government providing the help of support, enterprises taking the lead in innovation and investing in productivity, workers and unions responding proactively to upskill and reskill the workforce.
“We have weathered the economic downturn together as a united team. I am confident that we have the strength and determination to build on this momentum and shift to a higher gear, decisively transforming into a productivity-driven economy.”
The key to this is to expand the continuing education and training system to serve a wide range of workers.
The Manpower Minister continued: "To bring our CET system to the next level, we will develop two CET Campuses by 2013 at Paya Lebar Central and Jurong Lake District.
“When ready, the two CET Campuses will deliver a total of 150,000 training places and train up to 50,000 workers annually. WDA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NTUC's e2i to operate and manage the East Campus. WDA itself will operate the West Campus. Through this collaboration with NTUC, we hope to make CET even more accessible."
Moving forward, the government will further its efforts in two areas.
Firstly it will cater to the differing needs of professionals who want to upskill themselves and provide an upgrading pathway for them. And next the government will develop deeper expertise amongst practitioners of continuing education and training.
The Workforce Development Agency is also working on an online integrated database where an individual can view his training records and skills pathways.
The system can also be used to search for jobs that match a person's skills and the training he has undergone.
It's expected to be ready next year. - CNA/vm
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