11 August 2019
The Institute of Policy Studies has proposed that the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Education be combined to ensure that Singaporean students graduate with the necessary skills needed by the economy.
Work and study are phases that are increasingly converging, with education no longer a linear process but a continuous cyclical process that follows industry cycles, according to Institute of Policy Studies’ research fellow Faizal Yahya.
A single ministry that oversees the supply and demand for labour would result in better coordination and timely government intervention.
Dr Faizal noted that there are acute shortages of skills in several sectors, especially in the info-communications and technology (ICT) sector.
Calling the shortage of skills a “key problem”, Dr Faizal said that new educational pathways need to be created so that workers would be able to access new employment opportunities that companies in the digital economy are offering.