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SINGAPORE: MP for Hong Kah GRC Zaqy Mohamad said Singapore does not have enough local Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) with the skills that are needed in growing industries.
These include trading houses, the infocomm, hospitality and retail sectors.
Mr Zaqy, who was debating the Budget statement in Parliament on Tuesday, said this has led employers to take in foreign talents to fill their middle management gap.
And this is happening while unemployed local PMETs, especially those in their 40s, find it difficult to land jobs or are forced to take pay cuts when they change jobs.
He urged that more be done to re-train this group to help them find employment.
He said: "The question, I ask myself then, is – why are we not putting as much effort to develop our PMETs to take on these high-value skills and responsibilities? We have done a lot to ensure the relevance of our blue-collared workforce, emphasised more on training and subsidised employers for workforce training. Can we give as much emphasis to the PMET segment?"
The MP added: "I believe that the agencies involved in workforce development need to do more than certifications of technical and professional skills. To ensure that they remain relevant and value-add to the economy, we need to equip them with high-value skills such as management in a cross-cultural, multi-national setting, brand development, an international outlook on problem-solving and customer-facing skills."
As for employers, Mr Zaqy felt the government needs to do more to promote talent development which is especially relevant to the PMETs.
He said: "To a large extent, I believe that this component is missing, particularly in the SME segment which employs 50 percent of our workforce. Many do not have the luxury of time or money to invest in high-value training."
- CNA/so
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