STOCK OF MANPOWER (Status report)

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STOCK OF MANPOWER:

(Status report): 8.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Manpower if he will provide a status report on how the Ministry is preparing the stock of manpower required by the Singapore economy in the next 10 years so as to ensure that, internally, Singapore will have a stock of manpower with the right skill sets, competencies and right mindsets for the economic success of our industries.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, the National Manpower Council (NMC) was convened

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in 1999 and this is the body that reviews periodically at a centralised level our manpower needs. The NMC comprises top officials from various Ministries and economic agencies, including MTI, MOE and EDB, to identify the skill sets and competencies required by the economy, especially growth industries, and this is for the medium and long term, in other words, five to 10 years. How is this done? This is done through projections, surveys of employers' projected manpower needs, consultants' reports and then validation through company visits and other feedback channels. For instance, the National Manpower Demand and Skills Needs Surveys were conducted to obtain qualitative and quantitative data from companies in the manufacturing and selected services sectors for the manpower needs and demands for each occupation over the next two to three years.

We work closely with individual agencies to develop sectoral manpower plans. For example, we have been working with EDB on the needs of the manufacturing sector, with the Singapore Tourism Board on the requirements of the tourism-related industries, and with MICA on the emerging needs of the creative industries.

There are two key ways in which MOM prepares the workforce to take on these jobs. First, we work with MOE and the educational institutions to help train students to the right skill sets and competencies for these new jobs. MOM sets Pre-Employment Training targets for the various Post-Secondary Educational Institutions (PSEIs) to ensure an indigenous capacity to meet the needs of strategic growth industries. To make sure that our projections are relevant, the Post-Secondary Educational Institutions conduct detailed employability surveys of their graduates, and their results serve as

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inputs to the NMC to further refine their manpower planning. Second, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is tasked with upgrading the skill sets of the existing workforce and retraining the unemployed, equipping them with the right skill sets and competencies to take on the new jobs.

WDA has developed the National Continuing Education and Training Framework (NCETF), which is an integrated and coherent system that facilitates flexible adult learning, improves access to skills upgrading and provides clearer progression pathways for workers. WDA works with partners, such as NTUC, to reach out to workers, especially the lower skilled, and their companies, to facilitate skills upgrading.

MOM and WDA have also been producing and disseminating labour market information reports on potential job opportunities to help students, workers and employers make better-informed decisions in choice of study or skills upgrading.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Sir, I would like to check with the Minister how often do the industries actually come together with the relevant Ministries to conduct such an exercise and how often is the national training needs analysis carried out. Secondly, how are our schools actually preparing our female students with the mindset for technical jobs, for example, as aerospace technicians and engineers, given that more than half of our population are females?

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, the National Manpower Council meets annually to review papers that are put up. But the agencies that are involved have ongoing discussions. Basically, the job is to, within the limits of information available to the NMC from companies, from our economic projections, from our economic agencies, if you like, form a masterplan

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for our manpower development needs. Not only are we collecting information, we are validating previous projections. So, for example, the polytechnics and universities conduct standardised labour market surveys on employability of the graduates six months after they graduate, not only across the board, but by specific occupations, so that we know, for example, both specifically and over a time trend, whether our projections have been correct. In other words, if it is a creative industry or a growth industry, then we want to see whether indeed they are employable. This information is fed to the NMC, to the companies as well as to subsequent cohorts of students who are going to apply for these courses because we want to provide choices by giving more information.

As to how we can prepare them for the younger students and those entering the labour market with the right skills, this is an issue which our educational institutes are very much seized with. So in line with also the employability surveys, they are also asked qualitative surveys - to ask them what they need. Many of our institutions have now responded to this, in terms of hybridised courses, in other words, there is a business component in engineering, for example, or people can take double degrees, or they can take particular modules. Indeed, that proportion of common items, in terms of skill sets, is larger historically, as compared to the past. In other words, there are both the content expertise as well as the general expertise, in terms of work skills.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Sir, is it the policy or intention of the Government to permit more foreign workers to come to work in Singapore so as to help fill these manpower needs? And if that is so, will our Singaporean workers be disadvantaged in this policy process?

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, as I have said in this House before, it is quite wrong to say

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there is a plus and minus, there is a win-lose situation, in other words, one foreign worker who comes into Singapore takes away a Singaporean job. If I may illustrate what Mdm Ho brought up, in terms of the aerospace industry, we started and became a hub for MRO, or what we call maintenance-repair-and-overhaul industry, when we had no indigenous capacity to support their hub in the first place and we could only do that when we brought in a number of foreign technicians to jump-start the industry. And now that we have an established MRO industry, it creates job opportunities for Singaporeans. But the polytechnics need certain timeframe to get students, to train them and, when they graduate, to go into the industry to get the necessary experience. So to cast this debate as "I win, you lose" is entirely unrealistic. It does not show the point and it is not true.

As we have mentioned often, if we do not have certain foreign workers to do the night shift which our local workers do not like to do, and some with good reasons, then a lot of factories cannot operate. So I take it that this is a healthy balance. The challenge is to make sure that there is an optimal mix, to make sure that there are adequate job opportunities for Singaporeans, which we will continue to do because, at the end of the day, we are using foreign workers to help our Singapore economy grow and Singaporeans will benefit.

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Sir, as the IR is expected to create about 10,000 jobs, I would like to ask the Minister whether planning has been done already to identify what kind of jobs would be created and to prepare Singaporeans so that they are able to do these jobs because some of these may require them to go through a course of training which may require a few years.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, the short answer is yes. Now that we have decided to

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proceed with the IR, we must make sure that it succeeds. We have to build the IR, but that is not a guarantee to its success. The real issue is our service culture. We have to make sure that those who come to Singapore do have a good time and enjoy the experience. And that really starts from the moment they arrive - they may come by air, land or sea - to the moment they leave. It may be in the greeting, it may be our taxi drivers, it may be how they are greeted, the concierge or what entertainment there is. So that is a broader issue. As I mentioned, there is an inter-Ministry team working at how we can upgrade the service standards. So for specific jobs, yes, we are working with various agencies, in terms of manpower plans, to see what skills are required. It may also mean bringing in expertise that we never had to teach, whether it is Disney or some of these entertainment companies, to help others enjoy themselves.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Sir, I just want to clarify.

Mr Speaker: No.