Speech at "The Role of HR Practitioners in The Productivity Thrust” Human Resource Youth Forum 2010

Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister Of State For Trade , Industry And Manpower, Nanyang Technological University

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. 

Introduction

1.   It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning for the Nanyang Technological University’s HR Youth Forum 2010. I would like to commend NTU for organising this event, which brings together professional HR practitioners and students to discuss the vital role HR plays in the development of successful organisations.

2.   I am also particularly heartened to hear that this event is organised by a group of undergraduates here at Nanyang Business School’s Human Resource Consulting (HRC) Club. I think it reflects very well their appreciation of the significance of human resource development as an academic subject as well as a career to pursue. It is my belief that the best organisations attract the best talent because they have the best HR practices.

Silver lining after the Storm  

3.   We left the challenging 2009 behind us to usher in a more sanguine 2010. Our economy is expected to expand between 4.5% and 6.5% in 2010 with good prospects, following a contraction of 2% in 2009.  Job creation accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2009. With strong employment growth, the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate improved significantly to 2.1% in December 2009, from 3.4% in September 2009. Among the local labour force, the unemployment rate fell to 3.0% from 5.0% over the same period. Singapore’s labour market has shown resilience, an outcome of the concerted tripartite efforts among the Government, unions and employers to save jobs. Workers too, played an important role as they upgraded themselves to acquire new skills.

4.   Going forward, we will have to moderate the inflow of foreign workers, such that the ratio will remain at around one-third of the total workforce as it is today. Given our long-term economic growth target of 3-5%, our future growth will have to come from innovation and productivity gains, rather than labour injections in the economy.

5.   What does this mean for the HR fraternity in terms of HR development and management? How do we prepare the workforce for tomorrow? To answer these questions, we first need to understand the characteristics of our economy.

Building a productivity driven economy 

6.   Firstly, Singapore is an open economy. Our firms need to compete against regional and global firms. This is obvious for firms that manufacture for exports. Consider the retail, hospitality and food and beverage sector. They are also subject to regional competition as local consumers have diverse choices on where to consume. Our firms and workers must therefore realise this reality and continually upgrade their business models and skill sets to stay ahead of the competition.

7.   Secondly, at around SGD$51,000 per capita¹, Singapore also competes against advanced economies. We cannot seek to compete with low cost producers but to instead create products and services of higher value that is compatible with our level of development. Value creation through research and development, innovative business models, intellectual property creation, branding and marketing become key drivers for growth. To do the above, we need a talented and creative workforce.

8.   Thirdly, the pace of industry restructuring will continually quicken because of globalisation and technology obsolescence. Re-training and re-skilling will become a norm for workers so that their skills remain relevant. This will allow them to be re-employed and remain economically active.

9.   This is why Budget 2010 focuses on a productivity-driven growth for Singapore in the next decade. Productivity as a concept is simple - value-add divided by number of workers. Raising productivity on a sustainable basis will however require concerted and collaborative efforts of entrepreneurs, business owners, CEOs and supervisors, managers and workers. Institutions of Higher Learning, polytechnics, schools, research institutions and government agencies can play facilitative and supporting roles.

The Evolving Role of HR

10.   In this context, HR practitioners can play a strategic role - in bridging a company's growth strategy with sound human resource policy anchored in talent management and development, harnessing individual skills with strong teams and nurturing strong corporate discipline with creativity.

Successful HR Case Studies

11.   For CEOs and HR practitioners today, one of their biggest challenge is talent attraction and development. For firms operating in Singapore with business interests and operations overseas, attracting talents savvy with international markets becomes a key growth factor. In the end, how far and fast a firm grows depends on the talents it attracts. In order to attract international talents, your organisation must have sound HR practices and one that allows talents to be fairly and fully rewarded.

12.   Once you have hired the right talents, the next task is to focus on developing the right values, skills and team work that would enhance productivity in the workplace.

13.   OCBC Bank for instance, leverages on technology and conducts training through video conferencing for staff throughout the island and the wider Asian region. Their training initiatives include virtual classrooms, which cater to a variety of banking and finance modules, as well as leadership and personal development programs. The bank has also piloted sharing of learning video clips, articles and ideas amongst employees on the web. The bank is currently reaping benefits from its investment in training and development launched at the height of the global downturn.

Developing a future generation of "T-shaped PMETs"

14.   As business becomes complex, products and service offering become sophisticated, our workforce also need to be multi-skilled. Having deep functional skills is very commendable, but they may not be sufficient in today's environment. This is why the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is working with the various industry associations to introduce new skills qualifications aimed at developing "T-shaped professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs)". What is a "T-shaped PMET"? Simply put, he is a functional specialist with a repertoire of horizontal skills. We believe horizontal skills such as project management, HR, sales, finance and management and professional continuous development courses will render functional specialists to work more effectively in teams.

Launch of the 2010 edition of Career Compass

15.   For those who are thinking about your career options, wondering – Which career should I pursue? Which industry is growing and hiring? Do I follow my passion or my academic background? What are my options?
 
16.   Well, good news. I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has launched the 2010 edition of Career Compass for students. Constructed on a dedicated internet portal, the Career Compass is a career guide designed to help students better understand the opportunities in the current and future job market.  It will provide you with current and future industry outlook and manpower trends across industries. Career Compass provides occupational information such as skills needed, employment conditions and wages that students will find useful.

Continuing Education and Training (CET) system for working adults

17.   Another important piece of infrastructure supporting a productivity-driven economy is the CET Masterplan launched in 2008. CET stands for "Continuing Education and Training". Under the masterplan, the government will build more CET centers, run more CET courses and raise the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to ultimately $5 billion. The CET Masterplan represents an important paradigm shift towards lifelong learning and continual skill acquisitions beyond formal education.

18.   Our immediate target for the CET Masterplan is that by 2015, at least 240,000 individuals will have undertaken CET annually, up from 100,000 in 2008. WDA has developed a strong network of about 50 CET centres, and it will aim to attract best-in-class foreign institutes to Singapore along with continued investment in local CET institutions. We hope to see more companies and their HR directors sending their employees for such training. Employees of course have to take a personal interest in their own training and development.

Building Strategic HR Capabilities and Career Prospects 

19.   HR practitioners need to walk the talk themselves, and upgrade themselves for others in the organisation to follow suit. Together with WDA, MOM organises public forums, roundtables and executive education programmes to promote best practices and mutual learning. This year's Singapore Human Capital Summit (SHCS 2010) has been scheduled for 29th to 30th September 2010 and it is another key event on HR practitioners' calendars. We hope to see business leaders, C-suites and HR practitioners congregating to discuss leading edge ideas and people strategies practices in human capital management. This is in line with our vision for Singapore to be a Human Capital Hub of Asia.

Conclusion

20.   On this note, I wish everyone a fruitful and inspiring day ahead. Thank you.