Government urge SMEs to participate in productivity drive

SMEs play a critical role in Singapore's economy, said Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Manpower.

According to his speech, Singapore SMEs employ seven out of every ten workers, contribue 60% of the national GDP and generate about 49% of total value-add.

"Productivity and innovation are vital to the survival and profitability of SMEs in sharpening their competitive advantage," said Mr Gan Kim Yong. "We must recognize that productivity is a long term journey and we must never stop seeking better ways of doing things, re-examining our work processes for higher efficiency, creating a culture of innovation for higher value-added products and services as we continue to acquire new skills and disciplines."

Business chambers and industry associations can play three major roles in the productivity drive.

The first is to leverage on industry networks to deepen collaborations and stakeholder partnerships to help enterprises embark on the productivity journey. Second, business chambers can also assist its SME members to tap on the available resources to improve productivity. Third, it is important that Singapore's workers possess the right skills so that Singapore can attract good investments and create new jobs.