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Singapore-In a panel discussion on future skills, a poll of the audience showed that 64.5% of people are only slightly confident that their skills will work in a few years.

However, business leaders said that this is a positive response, showing that Singaporeans are not complacent about their skills and willing to upgrade.

The poll was conducted among about 550 participants of the Future Economic Skills Demand Forum held as a mixed event on Wednesday morning (December 8). The Minister of Education Chen Zhensheng announced the first report on future economic skills demand at the meeting.

The report identifies the top 20 skill clusters in the digital, green, and care industries that are most needed in the next one to three years.

The panel discussion was held after Mr. Chen’s speech and was attended by Dr. Gog Soon Joo, Chief Skills Officer of Singapore Skills Future; Mr. Shee Tse Koon, DBS Bank Group Executive and Singapore Country Director; Mr. Yuan Guanwen, CEO of Singapore Telecom; Sembcorp Industrial Mr. Robert Chong, Chief Corporate and Human Resources Officer; and Ms. Chin Wei Jia, CEO of HMI Group.

In the public opinion survey, another 19% of respondents said that they do not believe their skills will work in the next three to five years, and the remaining 16.5% of respondents said they are very confident.

Dr. Gog said that it was exciting that most of the interviewees were in a state of “conscious incompetence”, adding that a survey conducted by SkillsFuture last year revealed that employers and employees have gaps in their perceptions of the relevance of workers’ skills.

She said that employers are more likely to believe that the skills of their workers are not important in the next few years, while employees are less likely to think so.

Panelists also discussed how their organization seeks to help its employees acquire new skills or switch jobs and occupations, and how individual workers can remain relevant in a rapidly evolving industry.

They also answered questions from the audience, including the question of whether it is realistic for a mid-career employee to acquire new skills such as data analysis.

Mr. Yuan said that it is absolutely possible for workers to make a leap. Workers should consider how to rebuild their skills instead of focusing on roles they are no longer competent.

He said: “For example, if a worker learned coding years ago and his technical skills are no longer relevant, he should tell himself,'Well, I won’t be a programmer, but I can learn some new skills. Fill another related job.'"

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MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. The number is 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. all rights reserved.

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