Education is a whole-of-society effort in which companies could partner academic institutions more closely to produce good learners who would be better workers as well. This should be one of the goals of Singapore’s education system as it continues to meet the challenge of producing versatile and agile students who would be assets in a swiftly evolving global economy. This is one of the key takeaways from Education Minister Chan Chun Sing’s comments on Thursday at the first session of Singapore Perspectives 2023, a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on the theme of work. Clearly, since the nature of work is changing globally, so must the degree of preparedness that countries possess in equipping their young for the job market. Singapore, which has registered one of its chief successes as an economy by preparing sound educational foundations for its young, cannot afford to fall behind now.

One important aspect of economic transformation is that lifelong jobs, held in a single company and even within a single profession, are a relic of the past. Instead, the education system is called upon to produce students who see learning as a lifelong process that stays in tune with the changing requirements of the economy. Since companies are best placed to know what those economic demands might be, companies must not wait for perfect workers to turn up on their doorsteps.