Education and future economy
Changing global trends in industries, markets and governance models have made it essential to develop economic strategies that will help Singapore successfully navigate the new environment and drive future growth. Academics, business and industry leaders, and economists came together at the IPS-CFE Conference on the Future Economy of Singapore, held from 12 to 13 July, to discuss the new industries of the future, the ecosystem necessary to support growth, and how work structures need to evolve.
NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye was one of the speakers on the Future Work panel. This panel discussed the trends that will affect the work force in the coming years and analysed potential responses.
Prof Tan’s presentation centred on the impact of education in this new landscape. He highlighted some challenges that employees will face, including having multiple careers across one working life, opportunities that may come and go extremely quickly, and the increased susceptibility of jobs to technological disruptions.
Prof Tan believes that education can help job seekers by providing them with skills they will need to survive in such a changeable environment. In particular, he emphasised the need to develop soft skills. NUS has many programmes that help build these skills in their graduates, he shared. One example is the NUS Overseas Colleges programme that encourages entrepreneurial interests; its success can be seen through the sale of 12 companies in the last three years. One company, Zopim, a live chat software, was sold to Zendesk for $40 million (US$30 million). Another initiative is the Roots and Wings programme to develop intra and interpersonal life skills.
Encouraging lifelong learning is also something that is important, Prof Tan said. In line with that, NUS set up the School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE) for adult learners. According to Prof Tan, two important features of SCALE are its “gamification model”, using elements of games in teaching and motivating students in their studies; as well as breaking up certifications into “bite-sized” pieces.
“It can be quite formidable for a working adult if you tell him or her that they may have to spend five to seven years doing a degree part time,” he said. “Instead, we start with certificates which can slowly be stacked up towards a degree. Each of these certificates will imbue the participants with certain skillsets or competencies.”
The other panel speakers included Ms Wong Su-Yen, Chief Executive Office of Human Capital Leadership Institute, and Dr Luuk van Breda, Managing Director of WWBS 4 Pillars Methodology Pte Ltd and Worldwide Business Solutions Ltd. Ms Wong spoke on the impact of future work on human capital while Dr Luuk dwelt on the development of core skill sets in the labour force. The panel was chaired by Mr Jonathan Asherson, Regional Director, ASEAN & Pacific, Rolls-Royce Singapore Pte Ltd.
Associate Professor Ng Teck Khim and Dr Francis Yeoh from NUS Computing, Professor Richard Liew from NUS Engineering, and Professor Ivan Png from NUS Business also took part in the conference, which was organised by the NUS Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), in collaboration with the Committee on the Future Economy.
See media coverage.
