SINGAPORE: In a continually changing job market brought about by rapid technological advancement, Singaporeans will need to seek knowledge, experience and skills throughout their lives, and have opportunities to use their skills effectively on the job. At the same time, Singapore-based enterprises will need to be innovative and adept at creativity and risk taking. 

These requirements form the basis of two of the seven strategies proposed by the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) in its report released on Thursday (Feb 9). The 30-member committee, which was tasked to set the direction for Singapore’s economic future, stressed the need for Singaporeans to acquire and utilise deep skills, and for companies to strengthen enterprise capabilities to innovate and scale up.

The committee pointed out that workers will need to constantly deepen and refresh their skills in order to stay relevant. Singapore should, it added, build on the momentum of the national SkillsFuture movement, which seeks to enable all Singaporeans to acquire relevant skills throughout life, regardless of their starting points.

ACQUIRING DEEPER SKILLS

In its report, the CFE recommended that more modularised training programmes be offered. It said such programmes, which are short-term learning courses endorsed by industry and approved by the Education Ministry, can “provide Singaporeans with more opportunities to acquire work-related competencies, without needing to disrupt their career or personal commitments.”

Since 2015, more than 500 skills-based modular courses have been launched, and this can be ramped up so more Singaporeans can benefit, said the committee. It added that these programmes can also be technology-enabled, so that learning can take place outside the classroom on mobile devices.

The committee also recommended that the Government set up an online one-stop education, training and career guidance portal, to help Singaporeans plan their own education and training over their working life.

USING NEWLY ACQUIRED SKILLS ON THE JOB

Even as workers continually upgrade their skills and improve themselves, employers should also ensure that they make use of these skills promptly. The committee noted that for this to happen, training should be closely linked to job requirements. For example, in the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s SkillsFuture TechSkills Accelerator programme, company-led training efforts have resulted in a 100 per cent placement rate among the programme’s graduates. The CFE therefore suggested to replicate parts of this model in other sectors, and develop more of such company-led programmes. 

The committee added that existing companies should also give more attention to in-house training. For example, work-learn programmes can be expanded beyond fresh graduates to existing employees in companies, it said.

The SG Enable Training and Career Fair held at the Enabling Village in Lengkok Bahru. (Photo: Alice Chia)

The committee also pointed out that jobseekers with the right skills set may not always be matched to employers due to “information gaps”. Hence, it suggested that the Government enhance the user experience and functionality of the National Jobs Bank. Training and employment of workers can also be facilitated via initiatives like the Professional Conversion Programme and Career Support Programme.

The committee added that the Government should also evaluate and improve its existing support schemes to ensure that older workers, persons with disabilities and other at-risk workers can all benefit from growth. It also said that agencies like NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute and other private sector intermediaries should play a role to help match harder-to-place job seekers.

DEEPENING ENTERPRISE CAPABILITIES

Even as the capabilities of Singapore’s workforce are enhanced, the committee stressed the need for a stronger push in deepening enterprise capabilities to innovate and scale up. “We want a strong core of competitive, Singapore-based enterprises as they create good jobs, attract investments and expand networks,” it noted in its report, adding that the effort requires government agencies, industry and other stakeholders to work together and build an ecosystem for innovation and enterprise growth.

One way this can be done is to strengthen Singapore’s Intellectual Property (IP) ecosystem, in order to better support innovation and technology adoption. To support this, the CFE recommended that entities focused on the commercialisation of IP generated by Singapore’s research institutions. These entities can complement the current Innovation and Enterprise Offices, it said.

The CFE also recommended developing a standardised IP protocol to be adopted by all public agencies and publicly-funded research performers, to simplify the commercialisation process and shorten IP negotiations.

MORE TAILORED APPROACH NEEDED

While there is a range of support schemes in place to help enterprises innovate and raise productivity, the committee said that a more tailored approach is needed. This will take into account their specific needs and growth stage, it explained.

For example, high-growth enterprises should be provided with more dedicated and customised support. One way this can be done, noted the CFE, is if lead government agencies are assigned to coordinate all government assistance given to enterprises that have the potential to scale up rapidly.

The committee added that partnerships should also be encouraged among enterprises, in particular between large and small enterprises. “Large enterprises can adopt corporate venture capital strategies to strengthen their capabilities, while start-ups can gain access to new sources of funding and networks by linking up with large enterprises.”

INCREASING SUPPLY OF GROWTH CAPITAL

But in order for Singapore-based enterprises to scale up, the committee said “more smart and patient growth capital” is needed. This refers to long-term capital that brings along ideas and expertise, said the CFE. And in order to provide enterprises with such capital, the committee suggested encouraging a variety of private sector funding from sources like banks, venture capital funds and private equity funds.

It recommended that the Government simplify the regulatory framework for venture capital firms. Crowdfunding can also be facilitated as an alternative source of funding.

The committee added that the Government can also encourage more private equity firms to be based in Singapore, so they can develop a deeper knowledge of the opportunities in Singapore and the region. 

The committee also noted that loans remain a key financing channel for small, medium enterprises (SMEs) and recommended simplifying the regulatory framework for finance companies lending to SMEs.

The committee also highlighted Singapore’s advantage as a regional hub in infrastructure. It recommended that the Government build on existing efforts to address longstanding challenges facing Singapore-based enterprises in securing financing for overseas infrastructure projects and critical supporting services.

SINGAPORE: The Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) tasked to set the direction for Singapore’s economic development released its report on Thursday (Feb 9), outlining seven strategies for the next decade.

Speaking at a press conference, co-chair of the 30-member CFE, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, described an “unprecendented level of change” the committee had to face when they began their work. 

“The pace of change has also been hastened by technological breakthroughs and many of these changes are quite hard to predict with accuracy.”

“What the CFE aims to do is to set out the direction and broad strategy rather than a detailed roadmap,” he said. “Because it is much harder to say with any certainty which sectors will do well. And the nature of the economy interactions are vast, complex and fast changing. ”

“So we have to develop the agility and adaptability to cope with change and to seize new opportunities. So to continue to make a good living, we must remain relevant to the world … so our strategies for the recommendations ultimately revolve around this.” 

The committee, which was convened in January 2016, held more than 80 discussions and focus groups, involving more than 1,000 students, educators, parents, union members, business leaders and academics. CFE members also joined in more than 20 panels, seminars and conferences, where they reached out to more than 6,000 people.

In a letter to the committee, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Government has accepted the recommendations and will adopt a “hard-headed and pragmatic” approach in implementing them.  

‘SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS’ IN EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

The report built on and updated the work of the Economic Strategies Committee, which released its report in 2010. But since then, there have been significant structural shifts, said the CFE in its report.

In setting the context for its recommendations, the CFE noted that growth around the world has been subdued. Global value chains are changing, new technologies can supplant entire industries, displacing workers even as new opportunities are created. 

Most worrying, it said, is the “dark shift in mood” away from globalisation in 2016, citing protectionist policies growing in Europe and the US. “The anti-globalisation trend will undermine international trade, hurting all economies, but particularly small, open ones like Singapore.”

MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR SINGAPORE

Nonetheless, despite the challenging global environment, the CFE said there are “many opportunities” for Singapore to innovate, deepen its capabilities, remain connected and stay relevant to the world.

There is strong potential in many Asian markets, it noted, and the US and Europe continue to have innovative companies and people. Singapore companies are also well-poised to tap into several growth sectors.

“In the future economy, our people should have deep skills and be learning throughout their lives; our businesses should be innovative and nimble; our city connected and vibrant, continually renewing itself; and our Government coordinated, inclusive and responsive,” said the CFE in the report. 

To achieve this, it outlined seven mutually-reinforcing strategies in its report.

SEVEN STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE ITS VISION

Foremost among the strategies is for Singapore to deepen and diversify its international connections, continue strengthening links with overseas partners and seek opportunities in new markets.

Under this strategy, the committee made three recommendations. Singapore should, said the committee, press on with trade and investment cooperation as well as reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade through initiatives such as the ASEAN Economic Community and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it added.

As ASEAN chair next year, Singapore can also help advance economic integration with ASEAN and with the regional grouping’s key partners.

The committee also recommended setting up a Global Innovation Alliance, where Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) and companies can link up with overseas partners. One possible model for this is the NUS Overseas Colleges, which has links in the US, Europe and China. 

“We should build on these links, involve more IHLs and expand our network in regional countries, so as to better expose our students to opportunities in Asia,” said the committee. “In addition, the Global Innovation Alliance can serve as welcome centres where Singapore-based enterprises and institutions can collaborate with overseas partners.”

In Singapore’s next phase of internationalisation, Singaporeans will also need to acquire deeper knowledge of regional markets, which the committee said can only be done by spending time in these markets. To that end, it suggested that potential corporate leaders be exposed to quality overseas assignments as part of the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative.

For Singaporean parents who are thinking of taking on overseas assignments, the committee said more can be done to ease their concerns about their children’s education. For example, online platforms can be used to help children stay in touch with the national curriculum, and facilitating their enrolment into the International Baccalaureate programme when they return to Singapore. 

As part of the first strategy, the committee also suggested that Singapore encourage more specialised market research firms and consultancies to develop wider and deeper market knowledge of the region. More internationalisation programmes can also be developed for students to acquire Global-Asia market insights and immerse themselves in overseas markets, it added.

DEEP SKILLS NEEDED TO STAY RELEVANT

The call for workers to develop deep skills to stay relevant is not new to Singaporeans but an important one nonetheless as emphasised by the CFE.

Workers at a manufacturing facility in Singapore. (File photo: TODAY)

In its second strategy, it stressed the need to help Singaporeans build skills in a timely, accessible way through modularised programmes, and to strengthen the connection between skills acquisition and utilisation. 

It is also important to deepen capabilities among Singapore’s businesses in light of growing competition. To that end, the committee’s third strategy is to strengthen enterprise capabilities to innovate and scale up.

Some recommendations include establishing commercially-oriented entities to better commercialise research findings and intellectual property among Singapore’s research institutions, and encouraging partnerships between large and small enterprises.

BUILD STRONG DIGITAL CAPABILITIES

In its report, the committee noted the impact of digitalisation – in creating new industries, transforming existing industries as seen in finance and healthcare, as well as offering businesses an effective means of reaching global markets.

Hence, the committee’s fourth strategy is to promote the use of digital technologies across all sectors of the economy. This includes helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) adopt such technologies, as well as having national initiatives like the National Trade Platform and National Payments Council.

The committee also pointed out the need to build strong capabilities in areas like data analytics and cybersecurity. “Data will be an increasingly important source of comparative advantage, and we need to improve our ability to use it productively in the economy,” it said in the report.

A VIBRANT, CONNECTED CITY OF OPPORTUNITY

Singapore’s capacity to flourish in the future global economy is tied to its ability to create opportunities, said the committee in outlining its fifth strategy. It said the city must be planned in a way which allows Singapore to be well-connected externally, with sufficient space to grow and rejuvenate internally.

This means Singapore should continue to plan boldly for city rejuvenation and develop ways to create new spaces, like expanding underground infrastructure, said the committee.

It also recommended that Singapore create dense clusters of mutually-reinforcing economic activities, where companies of different sizes are sited together to encourage partnerships. This could be done in places like Punggol and the Jurong Innovation District, which are next to universities, namely the Singapore Institute of Technology in Punggol and Nanyang Technological University in Jurong. 

TRANSFORMATION MAPS TO HELP INDUSTRIES

To ensure that the strategies can come together coherently to meet the needs of Singapore’s industries, the CFE also recommended in its sixth strategy that Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) be used as platforms for integrative planning and implementation.

The ITMs, which were first announced in Budget 2016, are already being implemented. By the end of FY2017, it will cover 23 industries and about 80 per cent of the economy. 

The committee suggested that the early learning points from the first batch of ITMs be used to strengthen succeeding ones. 

In its final strategy, the committee stressed the need for mutual trust and cooperation between trade associations and chambers, unions, enterprises and individuals.

It added that the Government will need to be nimbler in supporting the emergence of potentially-disruptive business activities. Some proposals include designing a regulatory environment that supports innovation and risk-taking, and streamlining its support schemes for enterprises. 

All these efforts will allow Singapore to grow by 2-3 per cent per year on average, exceeding the performance of most advanced economies, said the CFE. “Together, we can build a value-creating economy that is open and connected to the world, offering a multitude of opportunities, with sustainable wage growth and meaningful careers for all Singaporeans.”

SINGAPORE: For La Belle Couture’s female clients, making one of the most important decisions for their big-day has become easier. Since January 2016, the bridal boutique has been experimenting with an augmented-reality ‘mirror’ to help its clients visualise how different styles of gowns would look on them, without having to actually try them on.

The boutique’s owner and managing director, Teo Peiru, said the ‘FX Mirror’ takes away the stress of trying on multiple gowns. She said some brides-to-be do not know what they want, or what would suit them, and they would previously try on between 20 and 30 gowns, which weigh anywhere between seven and 15 kilograms. The mirror makes the process “magical”.

“Just to put on a dress like that and take it down, it takes between 10 and 15 minutes. What if the gown is not what you like? Then you have to keep trying,” Ms Teo said.

With the mirror, clients now only need to try on an average of five dresses, before finding ‘the one’. Ms Teo said appointment sessions are shorter, and her staff is able to handle a larger volume of clients, especially during the peak wedding season. As a result, revenue increased by almost 20 per cent last year.

The adoption of such digital technologies among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is a key recommendation in the report released on Thursday (Feb 8) by the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE), which maps out a blueprint for Singapore’s economic development. Such technologies, it said, would help SMEs increase their productivity, manage business costs, create new revenue opportunities as well as allow them to scale up operations.

For them to better adopt technologies, the report recommended that the Government provide more dedicated support, and help defray initial investment costs in digital solutions implemented by SMEs. In Ms Teo’s case, 65 per cent of the costs associated with implementing the virtual mirror and a resource planning software to help make business processes more efficient were covered by the government’s Capability Development Grant.

The use of digital technologies such as this ‘virtual mirror’ has allowed bridal boutique La Belle Couture to increase its revenue by almost 20 per cent in one year. (Photo: Monica Kotwani)

DATA ANALYTICS AND CYBERSECURITY: EMERGING SECTORS

The CFE report also identified data analytics and cybersecurity as having great potential for growth, and encouraged the government to establish “the right infrastructure” in order to support their development.

It said the government can work with key industry players to develop solutions that serve the needs of the industry. The report said that data scientists can be trained to solve specific problems within the various industries, as one example. 

The report also pointed out that National Service can can be used to develop niche skills in cybersecurity, “given its strategic importance to both national security and the economy”. It added Singapore should also attract technology firms with an expertise in specific areas of cybersecurity, and facilitate partnerships with such firms and users to create “best-in-class” solutions. 

Finally, where emerging problems are identified, the report said public-private partnerships can be established to conduct research in these areas. “There can be more initiatives like the Cyber Risk Management (CyRim) Project, supported by MAS and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, which brings together potential market participants to investigate challenges and discover opportunities in nascent cyber-insurance marketplace,” the report said. 

DATA AS AN ASSET

In its report, the Committee noted that data is becoming increasingly common as the world becomes more digitalised. Hence it suggested that data be recognised as an asset, similar to how human capital and property are treated. 

But as it is still a new area of development, the Committee said a collaborative approach between the government and the industry will be useful to drive innovation in this area. Among its recommendations, the Committee said the government should establish a dedicated programme office. The office will be tasked to drive the use of data in the economy, and work with agencies leading the roll-out of the various Industry Transformation Maps to encourage the adoption of data assets. 

The Committee also said the government can enhance its collection and supply of data, particularly those with economic value. It can also compile additional statistics using new sources of data. Finally it urged the government to share more data with the private sector, while being mindful of privacy and security concerns. 

PHYSICAL CONNECTIVITY AND LANDSCAPES

Even as the focus remains on digital connectivity, the Committee stressed the need to invest in new physical connections, such as through strengthening the nation’s status as a global air and trans shipment hub, as well as making use of its cross-border links. Here, it cited examples such as the Changi Airport Terminal 5 project, and the recently-announced High-Speed Rail between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. 

It also said the Government should keep up with its bold plans for growing and rejuvenating the city, such as through expanding the use of underground spaces, making better use of scarce land, and creating an urban logistics system that optimises the use of land infrastructure. 

The Committee report also mentioned enhancing Singapore’s lifestyle offerings to strengthen Singapore’s identity and distinctiveness. It recommended making Orchard Road an iconic street of the world and urged private sector partners to work with the Government to upgrade Orchard Road through “physical transformation an experiential programming”.

Where possible, the report said Singapore should make itself a “living lab” for innovative urban solutions, and that includes monitoring urban mobility trends and embracing them when they become technically and commercially viable.