SINGAPORE - Workers in five sectors including tech, engineering and human resources will now each have a dedicated organisation looking at their skills development needs.
Five organisations were designated as Skills Development Partners by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) at a ceremony on Thursday (Aug 4) held at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar, and will be in charge of identifying skills that workers in their sectors require.
These organisations comprise both trade associations and professional bodies and are: The Institution of Engineers Singapore, the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, Singapore Computer Society, SGTech and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).
SSG chief executive Tan Kok Yam said this initiative is a key plank in SSG's efforts to enable lifelong learning, particularly in its mission to link the needs of individual workers with the evolving needs of businesses and jobs.
The five partners will help SSG know what training programmes to provide, he added.
He said: "SSG is no expert in running engineering firms, IT companies or human resources outfits, much less to be the authority on how they should transform.
"This is where we will lean heavily on our Skills Development Partners to bring in that sectoral lens."
SSG added that it would support the partners by providing structured training programmes and personnel attachments, among other things.
This will give these organisations the know-how to generate insights on the skills their sectors need, it added.
The partners will also be charged with helping companies better recognise the skills and mastery attained by their employees, said SSG.
Speaking to The Straits Times at the sidelines of Thursday's event, SGTech chair Wong Wai Meng said the initiative is timely and will help SGTech's efforts to position Singapore as a global digital and data hub for the quickly evolving tech industry.
SGTech is an association which represents more than 1,000 technology companies here, ranging from multinationals to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Wong added: "In the past, identifying the right skills for the sector was done sporadically in pockets by the Government, companies and institutes of higher learning.
"While this saw some success, as an association we can understand from our members and work systematically to communicate to SSG what skills the sector needs."
The five organisations cemented this relationship with SSG by signing memoranda of understanding on Thursday.
Moving forward, SSG will explore working with more organisations to come on board as Skills Development Partners, it said.
At Thursday's ceremony, Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang, who was guest of honour, also gave out certificates to 18 graduates of a new programme - designed by SCCCI and Nanyang Polytechnic - meant to train trade association employees.
One graduate - digital marketing and communications executive at the Singapore Furniture Industries Council Pearly Tan, 26 - said the course helped her network and gain a better understanding of the role that trade associations play in the wider economy.
