28 September 2019
Even as Singapore embarks on a digital transformation, there is a severe shortages of skills in several sectors, especially the info-communications and technology (ICT) sector. According to industry reports, there was an estimated shortfall of 30,000 technology specialists at the end of 2017.
In the ICT sector, the skills shortage has meant that companies have relied on importing foreign labour. That, however, has lowered wages, leading to Singaporean workers avoiding this sector.
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.
Additionally, Singapore faces a tight manpower situation — a problem compounded by an ageing workforce and a low birth rate.
A report by the Institute of Policy Studies has proposed that the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Education be combined to ensure that Singaporean workers have the skills the economy needs. This is because 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.