SINGAPORE - The council driving the national effort to develop a workforce with relevant skills met for the first time on Wednesday.
The SkillsFuture Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, comprises 25 representatives from the government, unions, employers and education and training institutes.
In a media release, the Council laid out its focus: to develop a system of education, training and career guidance, a high-quality lifelong learning process tailored to industry needs and career progression frameworks. It also plans to foster a culture that supports lifelong learning and respect for every job.
Starting this month, it takes over the oversight of continuing education and training from the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council, which has been renamed the National Productivity Council and is also chaired by DPM Tharman.
DPM Tharman said on Wednesday that the SkillsFuture Council will start by developing frameworks for "priority sectors" next year, laying out career advancement paths based on skills.
The Council will also focus in its first year on creating deeper internships in industries like retail, logistics and food and beverage, and oversee the development of more place and train programmes.
DPM Tharman added that the push for skills mastery is part of Singapore's journey towards becoming an advanced economy and will benefit not just the economy but society as well.
SkillsFuture Council members (two-year term)
1.Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Chairman)
2.Mr Lim Hng Kiang
Minister for Trade and Industry
3.Mr Heng Swee Keat
Minister for Education
4.Mr Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence
5.Mr Tan Chuan-Jin
Minister for Manpower
6.Mr Lee Yi Shyan
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development
7.Ms Indranee Rajah
Senior Minister of State for Law and Education
8.Mr Lim Swee Say
Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress
9.Ms K. Thanaletchimi
President, Health Services Employees' Union
10.Dr Robert Yap
President, Singapore National Employers Federation
11.Mr Teo Siong Seng
Chairman, Singapore Business Federation
12.Mr Allen Law
CEO, Park Hotel Group
13.Mr Andrew Chong
Regional President & Managing Director, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
14.Adjunct Professor Aziz Amirali Merchant
Executive Director (Engineering), Keppel FELS Limited
15.Mr Bernard How
Premier Services Director, APAC Services, Microsoft Operations Pte Ltd
16.Ms Denise Phua
President, Autism Resource Centre (Singapore); School Supervisor, Pathlight and Eden School Boards
17.Mr George Quek
Chairman, BreadTalk Group Ltd
18.Ms Grace Yow
Executive Vice President (Manufacturing) and Managing Director, Singapore, Fluidigm
19.Mr Oscar de Bok
CEO, APAC, DHL Supply Chain
20.Mr Peter Meinshausen
Regional President, South East Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Evonik
21.Mr Suhaimi Bin Rafdi
CEO, Leisure & Entertainment, Cathay Organisation Holdings Ltd
22.Mr Victor Chia
CEO, Cold Storage Singapore (1983) Pte Ltd
23.Mr Zulkifli Bin Baharudin
Chairman, ITL Corporation
24.Professor Tan Thiam Soon
President, Singapore Institute of Technology
25.Mr Tan Choon Shian
Principal & CEO, Singapore Polytechnic
