Budget 2023: New job-skills integrators to optimise training, job placement in certain sectors

THE Singapore government is looking to develop labour market intermediaries who can bridge skill gaps in the nation’s workforce, and optimise training and job placement.

These intermediaries, dubbed Job-Skills Integrators, will link up industry, training and employment facilitation partners to ensure training translates into positive outcomes.

“The integrators can be existing institutions. But they will have new responsibilities and outcomes to deliver,” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 14).

The government will pilot the scheme in the precision engineering, retail and wholesale trade industries, where there are higher concentrations of mature workers and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The integrators will be responsible for engaging enterprises to understand manpower and skill gaps in the sector. They will also need to work with training providers to update existing training programmes or develop new ones.

These integrators will also need to work closely with employment facilitation agencies, get buy-in from industry partners and unions, and identify individuals with the right aptitude and fit for training.