Gearing up for a Smart Nation workforce

The emergence of cutting-edge sectors such as life sciences and sports sciences and access to education programs of this nature will mean that companies have to reorganise themselves, engage with talent early, to meet both the challenges of the new competitive global economy and the needs of the future workforce.

In Singapore, the greatest challenges for organisations are talent acquisition, retention, and development. Singapore’s low unemployment rate – 3.1 percent in 3Q 2015 – and regulations protecting Singaporean jobs also add to organisational stress with candidates becoming more selective.

This has led to a rise in competition among organisations to attract employees through perks such as flexible hours, quarterly incentives, and holistic training which in turn make doing business untenable.

The recent online backlash against “window dressing” office perks – like cereal walls, lunchtime yoga, and sleeping pods – has seen companies re-examine workplaces and work standards.

It turns out that workers value the same things they always have – the opportunity to progress, to be paid fairly for the work they perform, and to be valued by their peers and their superiors.

In October 2015, Singapore’s Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat, framed Singapore's challenges through the lens of the "five futures" – of jobs, of companies, of resources, of technology, and of markets.

By setting up The Future Economy committee the Singapore government is looking to answer the question "How do we build skills and redesign jobs so that workers can be at their best and that talent can be maximised?” As part of its commitment to creating the workforce of the future, the government set aside S$12.8 billion in the recent Budget for education.

Productivity continues to be a key focus for the government – the government will spend over S$450 million over the next three years under the National Robotics Programme to support the development and deployment of robotics in sectors such as healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and logistics.

This should not only help companies cut labor costs with more automation but also create higher value-added jobs. Experts predict an acceleration of this momentum, as Singapore evolves to becoming a Smart Nation by 2030.

The emergence of cutting-edge sectors such as life sciences and sports sciences and access to education programs of this nature that groom graduates for these Smart Nation sectors, will mean that companies have to reorganise themselves, engage with talent early, to meet both the challenges of the new competitive global economy and the needs of the future workforce.

Here are two tips for employers as they gear up for our Smart Nation workforce:

1. Tap on industry-ready talents from forward-thinking institutions
Just as automation dramatically changed the manufacturing lines in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Singapore’s increasing focus on higher-value sectors such as bio-medical sciences and product invention, will force more workers up the value chain into higher skilled positions that will be in demand in Singapore and beyond.

As workers become more mobile, companies will have to work harder to attract and retain talents with the right skillset, by tapping on the right talent pool from the source – on campus. Those that partner with educational institutions that offer forward-thinking programs will stand a greater chance in hiring industry-ready talents to fuel their evolution up the value-chain.

2. Industry engagement during the education process will become key to win-win-win outcomes for business, graduates, and institution
The constantly changing workplace will mean that the hiring process should start early. Beyond the usual industrial attachments and internships, companies of the future should be more forthcoming in collaborating with educational institutions and foster active networks on an ongoing basis to build goodwill, while also benefitting from the competence and skills of these industry-ready students – layer upon layer along their education journey.

Close collaborations with education partners can take place on various fronts to arrive at win-win-win outcomes for the company, for students, and for the institution. Some of these industry collaboration avenues can range from career fairs, and networking events to job placements from industry partners on career portals, and Industry visits for students, to name a few.