With rapid technological advancements it has become increasingly more challenging to anticipate and meet the demands of the future economy. How would jobs look like in the future? Singapore’s preparation for such a future is in need of addressing.
From July to September 2016, IPS organised an Action Plan scenario planning exercise, which gathered experts and stakeholders from various sectors of Singapore to brainstorm possible future scenarios and discuss strategies that could get us more future-ready.
Some primary concerns that emerged were how Singaporeans could ensure their employability and how Singapore could nurture a creative and adaptable workforce in a technologically disruptive world. Some mentioned the need to develop mathematical, statistical and computational reasoning as a core foundational, which would enable adaptive learning and the application of skills in a data-driven economy. Participants also spoke about soft skills such as intercultural competence, transferrable skills and dispositions such as the ability to “learn and re-learn”, and the capacity to innovate.
To enable Singapore’s educational and training institutions to build an adaptable, employable labour force, participants called for the fostering of closer collaboration between education institutions and industry. This would closely align the demand and supply of relevant skills and produce more flexible pathways and transitions between education and work. Another issue raised was the need for educational assessment and recruitment criteria to go beyond credentials to build a better link between education and industry.
This forum aims to further discuss and fine-tune these ideas, to forge better communication, understanding and collaboration. Each stakeholder has its own objectives, roles and functions, which should be considered in the exploration of a sustainable collaborative relationship. The building of such a relationship requires both an awareness of the realistic needs and demands of the economy, as well as an understanding that education nurtures not only productive workers but also well-rounded individuals. We invite stakeholders from the various sectors to this forum to discuss topics related to the future economy, which include but are not restricted to the following:
- Roles and functions of each sector
- Structural and mindset transformations needed for the future economy
- Common goals and potential areas of collaboration
- Ways the education institutions and employers could create smoother transitions between education and work
- Assessment of students and job seekers beyond credentials
- Anticipated challenges of each sector in fulfilling common goals