Opening Address at DBS FutureForward Week

Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower, DBS Auditorium

Mr Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS

Ladies and Gentlemen

Opening Remarks

A very good morning! It is good to be back at DBS FutureForward Week!

1. It is important, though not an easy thing to do, to plan ahead for growth and to seize new opportunities. DBS FutureForward is an excellent example of how businesses can partner workers in their transformation journeys.

2. This is especially so amidst the global economic uncertainties and new disruptions confronting us. How we work and the types of jobs that exist will rapidly evolve. The rise of automation and Generative AI will also lead to greater churn in the labour market. Job security is no longer guaranteed, and continuous learning must become the new constant. Organisations and the workforce need to keep up with such accelerating change.

Prioritising Career Health

3. That is why, at the Ministry of Manpower, we are looking closely at building up the employment resilience and prospects of our workers alongside employers like DBS, unions, as well as workers like yourselves. We call this “career health” because it is analogous to physical health.

4. For employers, the career health of your employees is paramount because people are your most valuable resource and asset. So, as you think about how your business can continue to thrive in the ever-changing economic environment, you should also consider what skillsets are needed among your workforce to keep ahead of the competition, whether jobs need to be redesigned, and how to upskill and reskill your employees to be adept for those roles. Their career health will dictate your business success.

5. For workers, career health, just like our own physical health, requires constant effort to upkeep. We do regular health checks. Likewise, we urge all of our employees to do regular “career health checks” to find out what new opportunities exist in the labour market and what the adjacencies are in terms of the skillsets that are needed to seize these opportunities. Take charge of your career and develop “healthy habits” like planning your career goals, and actively pursuing upskilling and training, to continue to stay ahead.

6. For DBS employees, iGrow, an in-house platform that leverages machine learning and AI to provide personalised career development recommendations could be where to start.

7. The Government has also recently rolled out CareersFinder. It is a beta feature on MyCareersFuture portal where you can similarly obtain personalised jobs and skills insights, beyond those available within DBS! We hope that CareersFinder will be a starting point for your next steps to move up the career ladder –be it through taking a course to upskill, gaining more experiences in your present role or by making a career switch!

A holistic approach to talent attraction and retention

8. To be clear, I am not encouraging anyone to leave DBS. But realistically, I think we expect a lot more adjacencies and jobs to be created and churned, and some will be destroyed going forward. The vast majority of workers are unlikely to stay in the same job for their entire careers or lives. Beyond career health and upskilling, organisations need to take a holistic approach towards attracting and retaining talent. Naturally, workers want to work for organisations that provide purpose in their careers, and, very importantly, make them feel cared for, connected and valued.

9. I am glad that DBS understands this, as demonstrated through their recent ‘Best of Me, We and E (for work environment)’ initiative.

10. There are three key things that I think DBS got right with this initiative. First, enabling workers to take ownership of their own careers and well-being, to build a better ‘me’. Second, recognising the critical role that managers play, and equipping them to develop effective teams and build a good work culture and ethos that achieves the best of ‘we’. Third, building the best work ‘environment’ that takes care of the needs of everyone in the organisation, regardless of the job roles that they are in, while supporting productivity. Specifically on work environment, I am heartened by DBS’ efforts to tap on flexible work arrangements. For example, DBS has made telecommuting possible for 80% of their job roles. For those in job roles that cannot telecommute, job sharing, flexi-time and other workplace support like sabbatical leave are also available.

Conclusion

11. The pressure of a tight labour market will continue to mount as our workforce ages and shrinks. I hope that more employers will embark on similar innovative efforts to attract talent and maximise the potential of our workforce.

12. I also wish and hope for more workers to take the initiative in managing their own career health and work closely with their employers and managers to create enabling, productive workplaces that will allow all workers to be the best that they can be. I look forward to learning about your experiences at DBS at our dialogue later, and hear ideas on how we can promulgate some of these good practices to other companies and the rest of the workforce. Thank you very much.