WHILE Singapore's economic growth may be inhibited in the near term by downside risks such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, manpower is the longer term challenge as the labour market continues to tighten, said Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) president Robert Yap in his May Day Message on Thursday (Apr 28).

The tripartite partners – Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and SNEF – have thus been working together to address these manpower issues to sustain growth, said Dr Yap. 

First, they are helping employers to become manpower lean, with schemes such as the Productivity Solutions Grant. 

“Employers should leverage technology to redesign jobs to free up manpower resources and be productive,” he said. Workers can also benefit from the redesigned jobs that may provide higher wages.

But such redesigned jobs will need new skills, and the second focus is thus to keep workers relevant. Workers need to embrace upskilling and reskilling to take on new jobs, said Dr Yap. 

Employers have a role to play in this, he added, which is why SNEF is strongly supporting NTUC to form more company training committees, in which the labour movement partners employers in training workers. 

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Third, slower workforce growth means that Singapore's labour market "needs to remain open to foreigners who can complement and supplement our local workforce", said Dr Yap.

Employers need access to foreign manpower to address skills shortages and keep Singapore competitive, he added. But at the same time, employers should still develop, strengthen, and retain a Singaporean core, tapping government schemes such as the SGUnited Mid-career Pathways programme and the Singapore Global Executive Programme to do so.

"Every worker matters in Singapore," Dr Yap concluded, noting that the tripartite partners aim to make workplaces more progressive and inclusive so that various groups of workers – including older workers, low-wage workers, and PMEs (professionals, managers, executives) – can have better jobs, better wages and better prospects. 

"This would enable Singapore to maintain our competitiveness and workplace harmony to sustain economic growth for a brighter future for all."