Inaugural national skills report on priority skills

Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, announced the launch of SkillsFuture Singapore’s (SSG) inaugural Skills Demand for the Future Economy Report. This national skills report aims to provide Singapore’s workforce with timely and relevant insights to guide their skills development journey. For this first publication, the focus is on helping Singaporeans identify priority skills to capitalise on opportunities in  growth areas of our economy over the next three years.

The report spotlights three economic growth areas – the Digital Economy, the Green Economy and the Care Economy. These are high growth areas with increasing opportunities for our local workforce to tap on for long-term career progression. SSG has also identified corresponding job opportunities and a directory of courses which individuals and enterprises can reference to pick up priority skills in these growth areas.

Digital Economy

Digitalisation is a key driver of growth across all industries. The Digital Economy is likely to sustain and build on its gains during the pandemic. Demand for tech workforce in the ICT sector will stay strong. At the same time, we foresee that many job roles in other sectors will require a level of familiarity and mastery of certain digital skills.

Job roles in the digital economy may be “tech-lite” or “tech-heavy”. “Tech-lite” job roles require workers to apply digital technologies to some extent and generally do not need specialised and advanced IT skills. They can be found in sectors such as financial services, air transport and sea transport. Examples of priority skills in tech-lite roles include technology application, data analytics and market research. “Tech-heavy” roles, on the other hand, require priority skills such as technology development, data engineering, and Internet of Things management. They are in sectors such as ICT & media, aerospace and land transport.

Green Economy

The report also spotlights the Green Economy, which concerns the development and provision of products and services that will achieve positive environmental outcomes. With increasing focus on decarbonisation, alternative energy use, and waste reduction, many enterprises will be ramping up their greening efforts by adopting greener technologies and processes. Along with this will come increased demand for green jobs and skills.

Demand for priority skills related to the Green Economy can be found across multiple sectors, which include manufacturing, built environment, ICT and financial services. While there are priority skills that are relevant to specific sectors, such as Green Buildings & Facilities Management and Solar Photovoltaic Systems Design, there are also priority skills that are more transferable across sectors. These include Green Process Design, Carbon Footprint Management and Sustainability Management.

Care Economy

The Care Economy refers to the professional cluster of jobs and skills that provide care, wellness and learning services for different segments of the population. Sectors in the Care Economy include healthcare, community care, social service, early childhood, general education and training & adult education. Globally, these are fast expanding due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ageing populations around the world as the average lifespan increases.

Jobs and skills in the Care Economy will evolve with the emergence of new care models and technological innovations. Priority skills which are transferable across sectors include Stakeholder Management and Professional Conduct & Ethics, while priority skills which are more sector-specific include Safety Management, Infection Control and Healthcare/Social Policy Design. As with many other sectors, digital skills are increasingly needed in the Care Economy, given the growing use of technology to drive better care-wellness-learning outcomes.

Individuals and enterprises to tap on growth opportunities

Mr Tan Kok Yam, Chief Executive of SSG, said “I hope that individuals and enterprises will find the report useful in assessing their skills needs, and in preparing for the future. We would like to thank our partners who have contributed to the report– leading enterprises, Institutes of Higher Learning and training providers. With the fast-changing nature of technology and skills, such reports are never final, and always a work-in-progress. We will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders and partners, and tap on their insights to improve and update the future iterations of the report.”

The full report can be found at  skillsfuture.gov.sg/skillsreport.

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