Required: Workers with 'T-shaped skills'

Workers in a more productive economy need to have a mastery of skills and depth of expertise in whatever job they do and at whatever level, he said. For instance, PMETs, or professionals, managers, executives and technicians, need to have “T-shaped competencies”, possessing deep skills in their area of expertise as well as a broad knowledge of horizontal skills such as management, finance and business operations, he added.

Such workers require the Government, companies and unions to invest heavily in their training and education — a vital course of action recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) chaired by Tharman.

However, he noted that it was more critical to invest in low-wage workers so that they can earn a higher pay and keep up with the rest.

To produce more productive workers, the ESC recommended two moves.

One is that in five years' time, 240,000 workers should be going for Continuing Education and Training (CET) programs every year.

The other is to enhance the CET framework for lifelong learning, with the Government offering multiple skills-based programs through schools and the CET system.

It wants a more seamless link between the CET's Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) program and formal tertiary education.

This means a worker who has completed several WSQ modules should be allowed to skip the same modules at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) or polytechnics.

“This will minimize overlaps and make it easier for workers who wish to pursue higher education,” said ITE director and chief executive officer Bruce Poh, who is part of the ESC sub-committee on fostering inclusive growth.

While the Government can provide a first-class CET system, it is equally important for companies to play their part by investing in their employees, said Tharman.

He cited Atlas Sound & Vision, a local audio system retailer, which has sponsored several of its managers and front-line staff for postgraduate and diploma courses.

Its chief executive officer Michael Tien told The Straits Times: “As a small company, we are not able to pay high salaries like the MNCs. To retain staff, we had to offer something different — a chance at pursuing higher education.”

The strategy has worked well. Of the 11 employees who went for higher education in the past three years, only three have quit. The remaining eight are actively helping the company to train its other employees, said Tien.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email