The struggle is real but it’s about to get better.
Struggling to land a job?
More will be done by the government to help jobseekers land a job, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say announced on Wednesday (July 19).
The government has identified five sectors, namely financial services, professional services, healthcare, wholesale trade and infocomm and media.
These five industries have been pinpointed by the government as industries that potentially have major sources of job openings in the future.
Despite so, these industries are identified to be the ones facing the highest amount of threats from disruptive technology. Workers in these industries would require more training in order to adapt to the sweeping changes that are coming their way.
Ministers In Charge
In order to expedite the process, several ministers will be working to oversee the efforts to help jobseekers land positions in these industries.
The Second Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has been appointed to take charge of pinpointing the types of workers and roles in the industries that are currently affected by the continuous economic restructuring.
Her system of support will be four Senior Ministers of State.
Ms Indranee Rajah (Finance) oversees both professional and financial services, while Dr Janil Puthucheary (Communications and Information) will be overseeing infocomm and media.
Dr Amy Khor (Health) will be managing the healthcare sector, whereas wholesale trade will be under Dr Koh Poh Koon (Trade and Industry)
Traditional Jobs VS New Roles
An example of the financial services sector was used by Mr Lim – traditional jobs like consumer banking are declining, whereas new roles such as digital banking and data analytics are on the rise.
He noted that those seeking jobs in banking would want to know how they can take on the roles with brighter prospects.
To help them, the Government’s Adapt and Grow programmes will be customised to each sector’s needs. Where needed, new programmes would be set up.
For instance, Mr Lim said the Government was working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and banks, to see if those in affected banking jobs can be retrained to move into new ones.
Growing Industries
Mrs Teo noted on her Facebook post on Wednesday that new jobs are being created despite slower economic growth.
She added that over the course of the next few years, the five industries are expected to be accountable for about half of the 25,000 to 40,000 PMET (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) jobs created each year.
“Even against global headwinds, these five sectors in Singapore are growing and creating new jobs for PMETs. Our goal is to help Singaporeans access these opportunities. It won’t be easy, but let us not give up on this tremendous opportunity to help them adapt and grow,” she continued.
However, more details have yet to be released such as the criteria for the job seekers or the platforms that they can turn to for help.
