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Welcome Address at The HUMAN Aspect of Business Seminar and Launch of SCL Corporate Network

Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Manpower, One Farrer Hotel & Spa

Skills, training and development Employment practices

Mr Kurt Wee,

President, ASME

Mr Roland Chan,

Executive Director, ASME

Dr Robert Yap,

President, SNEF

Good afternoon.

  1. It gives me great pleasure to be here. Today’s seminar discussing manpower challenges facing SMEs, is important to ensure that our businesses can continue to thrive in the new economy.
  2. There are three pressure points affecting the majority of SMEs in Singapore today:

    (1) An economy that is restructuring;

    (2) Finding workers with the right skills, quality and fit; and

    (3) Managing costs pressures.
  3. These forces create headwinds and challenges for SMEs to navigate and grow their businesses. The Supply Chain and Logistics Academy (SCALA) together with Workforce Singapore (WSG), Association of Small Medium Enterprises (ASME), Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF), Human Capital Singapore (HCS), Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), and NTUC have come together to set up the Supply Chain and Logistics (SCL) Corporate Network with the aim of developing a sustainable support and sharing platform for organisations across all industries.
  4. You may ask; how can my company benefit from the SCL Corporate Network?
  5. The success of all businesses is often driven by the effectiveness of its supply chain processes. The supply chain process goes beyond warehousing and transportation. It encompasses a full spectrum from managing vendors, purchasing, manufacturing, sales, and payment collection.

    Companies which can innovate their supply chain processes with the fastest and most cost effective means to deliver their products or services will be more profitable, grow quickly and expand their employee pool with new talents. The SCL Corporate Network supports members by matching ready-trained Singaporean candidates with job opportunities in the sector. The cost of training workers is also reduced through development programs and support from SCALA and tripartite partners.
  6. SCALA’s Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for Logistics Officer and Executives supports hiring and training costs by 70 to 90% over a 12-month period. Companies also can receive additional salary support of $700 to $3500 a month from the Career Support Programme (CSP) when they hire retrenched or unemployed Singaporeans. To better help SMEs recruit, train, manage and retain the newly hired PMETs, companies can also tap on P-Max, a one-off $5,000 assistance grant. On top of these, SCALA is working with e2i on employability skills training to enable companies to tap onto talents who might otherwise have been overlooked.
  7. As long as there is a need for professionals, come forward, go to SCALA and seek their advice. They will know how to help you. If you’re an employee or a jobseeker, go to SCALA too if you’re willing to be in this industry or willing to be trained as a logistics professional. If you’re a company looking for expertise in this field, approach SCALA as well. That’s what SCALA has been set up to do. SCALA works with e2i to do skills training, to enable companies to place these talents and ensure that they contribute to the company.
  8. Two companies have successfully tapped on the PCP.
  9. YiHawker is a technology start-up that operates an e-hawker centre. It uses technology to predict demand, help hawkers improve their production, and ensure that food is delivered hot and fresh.
  10. YiHawker is more than just a food-delivery company. It is a supply chain expert as they manage the full process for the hawkers, from cooking to payment to delivery. YiHawker recently hired three new staff – one of whom is a mature worker – through the SCL Corporate Network. They are now working in management and operations, using technology to bring hawkers online. With funding, YiHawker stands to receive in excess of $100,000 over one year, a substantial support for this growing startup.
  11. The second company is Scanteak. You are probably familiar with them. They have operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, Canada, Germany and the USA, Scanteak has unlocked the power of the supply chain process to help them remain lean. As they expanded, Scanteak found the need to hire a Logistics Manager to handle the ever-growing supply chain functions. Through the discussions held with SCALA, and the funding provided by the Government, Scanteak added a position for a logistics supervisor.
  12. We are seeing more and more PMETs facing challenges with employment, and are encouraging them to go to sectors that are still hiring. The logistics and supply chain sector is one such sector. It’s about being trained in one function, for that function to be applied across all sectors, not just the logistics sector. The setup of the SCL Corporate Network makes the process of placing executives more efficient.
  13. Today is the launch of the SCL Corporate Network, but we already have 141 companies signed up to be part of the network, and there are 250 vacancies available for anyone who would like to be trained in logistics.
  14. I congratulate all pioneer members of the SCL Corporate Network, and invite companies which have yet join the Corporate Network to join the ever growing family and reap the benefits from the membership.
  15. I wish you a very successful conference.
  16. Thank you.