WHILE Singapore’s labour market is still healthy, proactive action is needed to tackle skills mismatches, said Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) president Robert Yap on Sunday (Apr 28).

He noted that despite a tight labour market, retrenchment numbers rose to 14,590 in 2023 from 6,440 in 2022, driven mainly by business transformation.

There are also two longer-term trends that mean employers must think about skills development “more strategically and systematically”, he added: workers are working for longer, and skills are getting obsolete more quickly.

In his May Day message, he laid out a three-pronged approach to tackling skills mismatches: closer school-industry partnerships, better career planning, and a deeper appreciation of skills.

First, closer school and industry partnerships can help to bridge the gaps between what students learn in school and the skills required by employers.

With skills requirements changing more rapidly, some of the skills that students acquire would be “less relevant and current by the time they are entering the workforce”, Dr Yap noted.

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On this front, SNEF has inked agreements with educational institutes to strengthen internship programmes and provide more opportunities for students to be exposed to realistic work environments.

Second, employers and employees should have regular conversations to help mid-career workers better chart the next phases of their careers. That is because “businesses will continue to transform and workers’ aspirations may change”, Dr Yap said.

To that end, SNEF encourages employers to implement structured career planning. This can help to identify skills gaps and training for the employee to stay relevant or reskill for a new role.

Third, there must be the recognition that career growth is not just about becoming a supervisor or manager. Instead, it is also about deepening skills to attain mastery in one’s role.

To achieve this, there must be alternative pathways to recognise and reward workers who seek such mastery.

“The society could also play (its) part by having a deeper appreciation of technical and vocational skills which are critical to business operations and our daily lives,” Dr Yap said.

As the economic situation becomes more dynamic, possessing the right skills is “one of the best” ways for workers to stay employed and grow in their careers, he concluded.

“SNEF is committed to (working) closely with our tripartite partners to foster a culture of lifelong learning in workplaces for both employers and workers to thrive in the future economy,” he added.