Alliance For Action Calls on Employers to Adopt Skills-First Hiring and Workforce Development to Increase Talent Competitiveness
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) will work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), the Human Resource (HR) community and employers to implement the eight recommendations by the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Widening Access to Talent. This was announced by Senior Minister of State for Manpower, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, at the People Behind People Forum 2024.
Objectives of the AfA
2 MOM and SNEF invited NTUC, TACs, business leaders and industry representatives to form the AfA on Widening Access to Talent in January 2024. The AfA aimed to develop industry-led solutions to increase talent competitiveness amidst rising manpower constraints due to an ageing resident workforce. The AfA is jointly led by Dr Bicky Bhangu, President of Rolls Royce SEA, Pacific and South Korea, and Council Member of SNEF, and Ms Aileen Tan, Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Singtel and a Master Professional certified by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP). The AfA comprises industry representatives from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Manufacturing and Retail sectors, representatives from the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), SGTech, Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), IHRP and NTUC. The full list of AfA members can be found in Annex A.
Recommendations by the AfA
3 Over the course of nine months, the AfA members conducted pilots within their own industries and firms to understand the manpower challenges faced by employers and test solutions. Through this hands-on and iterative approach, the AfA members identified four key areas that will support employers to widen their access to talent notwithstanding growing manpower constraints:
a. Leverage transferrable expertise from adjacent talent pools through skills-first hiring practices.
b. Improve workforce agility and retention through skills-first workforce development to promote internal mobility.
c. Increase job accessibility for workforce segments with diverse needs through job redesign, and
d. Uplift HR capabilities to enable skills-first practices, and support SMEs to access HR services.
Under these four key areas, the AfA has made eight recommendations as set out in the full AfA report.
MOM and SNEF’s Response to the AfA Report
4 MOM and SNEF support all eight recommendations. We thank industry partners for coming together in this industry-led AfA to develop tangible solutions that are grounded in real business needs and operating environments. MOM and SNEF call on all employers to adopt skills-first hiring and workforce development practices to increase talent competitiveness amidst slowing resident workforce growth. MOM and SNEF will work with NTUC, TACs and the HR community to develop and provide programmes and resources to support employers to do so.
5 The AfA is part of Career Health SG (see Annex B) which seeks to maximise the potential of Singapore’s talent pool. The AfA’s recommendations will enable employers to better attract, develop and retain talent, which will in turn improve productivity and support business growth. Details of the recommendations and the response from MOM, SNEF, and other ecosystem partners are in Annex C.
AfA Co-Leads' Response
6 Dr Bicky Bhangu, co-lead of the AfA on Widening Access to Talent said: “A productive and agile workforce is pivotal in driving business growth. I am proud of the pilots and recommendations that the AfA members have co-created to enable employers to adopt skills-first hiring and workforce development practices. With the support of SNEF and the TACs in driving these efforts forward, businesses will be better positioned to attract, retain, and engage talent to overcome manpower challenges and remain competitive in the long run.”
7 Ms Aileen Tan, co-lead of the AfA on Widening Access to Talent said: “The AfA members have dedicated their time, effort, and resources to offer valuable insights and practical ground-up recommendations. HR plays a pivotal role in setting the stage within our organisations to enable the adoption of skills-first practices. By creating the right environment for these practices, we can better address talent challenges and ensure that our workforce is equipped for the future. I am encouraged that MOM, SNEF, and industry partners are supporting these efforts to scale.”
For More Information
8 The full AfA report is available at https://go.gov.sg/afareport2024.