Aviation, IT sectors ‘present good jobs, opportunities for S’poreans’

SINGAPORE — Amid a subdued job market and concerns over the health of the global economy, Acting Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said yesterday that aviation and information technology are two of the bright spots that will provide opportunities for Singaporeans.

Mr Ong’s comments came a day after labour chief Chan Chun Sing urged Singaporeans to work hard and not be overly despondent about the state of the economy.

Adding that jobs in healthcare and early childhood education are unlikely to be totally replaced by robots, Mr Ong reiterated that tremendous opportunities will be available for Singaporeans in the medium to long term, albeit different from those today. These opportunities can be seized by entrepreneurs as well as those willing to venture to overseas markets such as China, India and the region, he added.

Two sub-committees developing economic strategies for the future met for the first time yesterday. Mr Ong, co-chairs the sub-committee on Future Jobs and Skills with Singtel chief executive of group enterprise Bill Chang, was speaking to reporters after his 17-member sub-committee concluded its meeting at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

His team will seek to be “practical yet bold” in coming up with “recommendations that can make a difference”, and will consult parents, students, workers and employers, said Mr Ong.

Some sub-committee members have remained in one sector throughout their careers while others have gone through “drastic changes” — such as Mr Izzat Mohd Ismail, who went through the vocational institute system before going to polytechnic and upgrading himself in various ways.

Mr Izzat, managing director of the EDN group of companies, is now an entrepreneur dealing in education software, said Mr Ong. Other sub-committee members include Ogilvy Public Relations Singapore managing director Chong Ee Rong, The Ascott Limited chief executive Lee Chee Koon and Ngee Ann Polytechnic principal Clarence Ti.

Separately, the sub-committee on Future City, led by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and PSA International group chief executive Tan Chong Meng, also met and will seek feedback from “all segments of society”, it said in a press release.

Areas it will study further include strategies to increase mobility options for individuals and companies, and promote greater participation from the community in management of spaces.

Other Future City sub-committee members include Ms Janet Ang of IBM Smarter Cities, Urban Redevelopment Authority chief executive Ng Lang and the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities director Malone Lee Lai Choo.

The Committee on the Future Economy, chaired by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, is made up of three other sub-committees and aims to complete its work by the end of this year.