New Chief Executive for Workforce Singapore

1. From 1 April 2023, Mr Tan Choon Shian, Chief Executive of Workforce Singapore (WSG), will be concurrently appointed as the Chief Executive-Designate of the Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board). He will succeed Mr Fong Yong Kian as Chief Executive, Tote Board from 1 July 2023.

2. Ms Dilys Boey, currently Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Industry Clusters), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), will succeed Mr Tan as the new Chief Executive of WSG with effect from the same date - 1 July 2023.

3. Expressing thanks to Mr Tan, Mr Ng Chee Khern, Permanent Secretary (Manpower), said: “The Ministry of Manpower would like to express its deepest appreciation to Choon Shian for his strong leadership of WSG over the past six years. Under Choon Shian, WSG has grown and expanded its services rapidly, both online and offline, to support jobseekers. His steadfast guidance through the COVID-19 crisis also enabled WSG to play a key role in placing thousands of Singaporeans in jobs and helping them explore new career paths. Choon Shian and his team have certainly left a positive and lasting impact on our labour landscape.”

Background

Mr Tan Choon Shian (陈俊祥)

4. Mr Tan was appointed the first Chief Executive of WSG following the reconstitution of the Workforce Development Agency into WSG in October 2016. Before this, he served as Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Polytechnic. Mr Tan also has a career spanning 20 years with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), holding various Director-level positions and key appointments such as Deputy Managing Director and Assistant Managing Director (Asia Pacific).

5. During his tenure as Chief Executive of WSG, Mr Tan played a pivotal role in formulating long-term strategies for jobseekers and enterprises, and instituting organisational changes to overcome immediate and long-term workforce challenges. Under his leadership, WSG significantly scaled up its career assistance for Singaporeans, by expanding the reach and coverage of its service touchpoints and developing MyCareersFuture into a key digital job-matching platform and online resource for employers and jobseekers. WSG also expanded its Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) to cover a wide range of sectors and job roles, and supported enterprise and workforce transformation through job redesign and various employment support programmes. As a result, the number of CCP participants grew from 2,700 conversions in 2016 to more than 5,000 conversions in 2021.

6. During the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, Mr Tan led WSG to implement several key measures to support jobseekers and manage unemployment. This included the launch of the SGUnited Traineeships and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways — Company Attachment programmes.

7. Through these initiatives, the total number of locals placed in jobs per year tripled from 21,000 in 2016 to more than 68,000 in 2021.

Ms Dilys Boey (梅铭仪)

8. Ms Dilys Boey joined the Public Service in August 2020 after over 25 years in management consulting and corporate development roles in the private sector. She was appointed Assistant Chief Executive Officer (ACEO), Lifestyle & Consumer at EnterpriseSG and subsequently appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Industry Clusters) in October 2022.

9. As Deputy CEO of Industry Clusters, Ms Boey led the industry sector teams that partner companies and trade associations and chambers on industry and enterprise development to innovate, internationalise and transform. Ms Boey also led the development of the refreshed Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) for Retail, Food Manufacturing and Food Services sectors, which were launched in 2022, as well as the Heartlands Go Digital effort and the launch of Our Heartlands 2025 initiative. As a key member of EnterpriseSG’s executive leadership team, Ms Boey was jointly responsible for organisation design and leadership development.

10. Ms Boey’s experience in management consulting and corporate development included appointments with global firms Ernst & Young (EY), Intel Technology and Arthur Andersen. During her time with EY for over 16 years, she was Partner and the People Advisory Services Leader where she led the People Consulting practice across Southeast Asia, working with private and public sector clients to build their organisation and workforce development strategies.