Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat wants Singaporeans to move away from a certain old truism often repeated by the older generation.

To maximise the potential of Singapore's workforce in the future, he said:

"To achieve this, we have to shift away from the mantra of 'study hard in early life and get a good job later'.

Instead, we recognise that the future of skills is one where learning continues even after graduation, and our workers can and have to learn anytime, anywhere and from anyone."

Workers at the heart of government policy

Heng was speaking at the Singapore Conference on the Future of Work on Sunday evening, April 28.

Before an audience that included Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Education Low Yen Ling, Heng spoke on investing in the workforce.

He said:

"In Singapore, our workers are at the heart of everything we do. The government continues to take active steps to help our people thrive amidst changes, and reach their fullest potential."

Beyond schools, Heng mentioned SkillsFuture, job placement programmes and career conversion programmes to help workers adapt to the changing market.

He mentioned that he recently spoke to an audience of Nanyang Technological University students, who were worried about automation eliminating jobs.

Heng added that he was "encouraged" that the younger generation were thinking hard about their futures.

Tripartite model

Guy Ryder, director-general of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was also in attendance.

Heng acknowledged the 100th anniversary of the organisation.

Heng said the ILO had successfully brought together governments, employers and workers to work on labour issues.

Heng referred to a report published by the ILO, "Work for a Brighter Future", and said that it accurately laid out three global trends reshaping the nature of employment:

• Technological advancement
• Decreasing support for globalisation
• Demographic change and ageing populations

Heng paid tribute to Singapore's "tripartite model" of resolving labour issues, and said that tripartite partners are closely involved in discussions of wages and industry transformation, so their views are represented.

He added that he would speak more during the May Day rally about how the government will continue to support the unions.

International cooperation

In addition to domestic policies, Heng also mentioned the importance of international cooperation.

Addressing an audience that included ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and labour ministers from ASEAN, including from Malaysia and Indonesia, Heng highlighted that countries needed to face these challenges together.

Heng said:

"Many of us here today are ministers and tripartite leaders in charge of labour and employment. We should do our best to grow and develop our people, create different learning pathways to cater to different learning needs and utilise labour more productively, so that our workers can lead better and more meaningful lives."

The ministers from various ASEAN countries will be adopting a common ASEAN statement on the "Future of Work" after this conference.

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Top image by Sulaiman Daud.