Manpower minister Josephine Teo highlights the importance of proactively supporting staff to grow and progress
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is focusing on enabling career mobility in Singapore, shared minister Josephine Teo.
Speaking at MOM’s annual workplan seminar, she highlighted programs that aim to enable employees to progress in their careers through their own efforts, supported by employers and the government.
This will especially help employees cope with digital disruption and move forward regardless of which stage of life they are at.
"Most want the opportunity to learn, to grow,” Minister Teo said. “This desire for career mobility is very similar to the desire for social mobility.”
Since we spend much of our adult lives working, she added that it is important to offer rewarding ways for career advancement, even if it involves equipping them with the necessary skillsets to adapt in different roles and/or fields.
“People may find opportunities that have nothing to do with their current jobs, their current employers or their current industries, and how we help them to access these new opportunities will become increasingly prominent,” she said.
This is why MOM will also focus on employers who can proactively adjust their manpower to prepare ahead for oncoming challenges, reported The Straits Times.
In her speech, she highlighted how career mobility affects three groups of workers:
- Senior workers – It helps them to continue working if they want to, but with the option of less intensive work. It also helps them remain adaptable and be able to take on new job roles
- Employees affected by digital disruption – Minister Teo mentioned professional conversion programs can help them adapt to changes in job roles and growth sectors
- Employees facing stagnant growth – These are workers who are not senior or at risk of losing their jobs but have failed to experience much improvement in years. Firms can use technology, for instance, to enhance job quality so they can upgrade their skills and progress