What we need is a continued sense of urgency: MOS Josephine Teo

The Minister of State for Finance and Transport said this and the enthusiasm for fresh ideas will “bring productivity to new highs”.

In a speech at the Singapore Economic Review Conference, she said, “I don’t just mean labour and firm-level productivity which can be achieved through skills upgrading, technology adoption and continuous process improvements. To generate much higher value-add for the same level of inputs economy-wide, there are relatively unexploited areas well worth further investments of time and effort. These include restructuring of industries, reorganisation of supply chains, proliferation of innovations, enhancement of relationship networks, development of new markets.”

Minister of State Teo also cited the need for continued investments in the education and training of Singaporeans. “Today, 47% of economically active resident between ages 25-29 have degree qualifications. The desire to upgrade is strong. We know, for example, that 60% of all polytechnic diploma holders attain degree qualifications within 10 years of graduation. Others attain advanced vocational qualifications,” she said.

One key area to focus on, according to Minister of State Teo, is Continuing Education and Training for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians who typically hold white-collared jobs. She noted PMETs comprise more than half of Singapore’s workforce.

“It has been estimated that during the global financial crisis, 9 million white-collar jobs were wiped out in the US and Europe, off-shored to lower-cost locations like China and India in the same way as blue-collared jobs were off-shored, never to return. Can Singapore buck such a trend? What will differentiate a Singapore PMET from his or her counterpart in China or India,” said the MOS.

The Singapore Economic Review Conference was held at Mandarin Orchard Singapore on 4 August 2011.