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| AsiaViews, Edition: 48/VI/March2010 |
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| Onus is on enterprises |
| DPM Teo: Tech and training not enough, firms need culture to nurture creativity |
SINGAPORE - It does not involve working harder or longer at the expense of families and other aspects of life. Neither does raising productivity mean only automating existing processes, the man leading the country's productivity push said.
Instead, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said enterprises - rather than the worker alone - must take the lead in the next phase of the country's productivity efforts.
Addressing Parliament yesterday, Mr Teo sought to allay fears - articulated by many Members of Parliament (MPs) over the last two days - that the Singaporean worker may be worked to the bone. "Workers can offer suggestions about new products or markets to expand into but enterprises must have in place a culture and a system that can nurture and harness such creativity," said the new National Productivity and Continuing Education Council chairman.
While the council will drive efforts to raise productivity across the individual, enterprise and sector-levels, Mr Teo outlined three approaches it will be guided on. First, there will be no one-size-fits-all solution, and different sectors may require different strategies.
Second, a culture of constant innovation and improvement is needed to support productivity solutions. "There is no point investing in new technology, for example, if you do not train your workforce to exploit it at the same time," Mr Teo said.
Third, he acknowledged MP Zaqy Mohamad's point that the effort to raise productivity can be sustained only if enterprises gain from higher efficiency and effectiveness, and workers gain from higher skills and higher wages.
"Overall, the Government is not in a position to pick and choose winners and neither do we have all the answers. But we can certainly help those who want to help themselves," Mr Teo said.
'Not blindsided' to goal of inclusive growth
But Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) wondered if the push for productivity will sideline the low-wage worker. "It is usually the repetitive, the mundane and the low-skilled jobs that get automated and these workers may get redundant and retrenched ... Will this result in the widening wealth divide of Singapore?" he asked.
Addressing this fear, Mr Teo said the council is not going to let the pursuit of productivity "blindside us to the overarching objective of inclusive growth".
Support will be provided for all while the Continuing Education and Training (CET) system will be developed to that of a "world-class" system.
Not only will the CET system be customised to different workers and companies, the council will also develop new focus areas of growth for the system.
In a 30-minute speech, Mr Teo cited numerous examples of how enterprises and workers could benefit from being more productive. Among one worker that benefitted from CET was Mr Gerald Tan, who began work as a driver but gained two promotions in five years after re-training.
Last year, he completed the International Society of Arboriculture's Certified Arborist Programme and now supervises 30 workers from five sites. He now earns $2,600, twice his starting salary.
While the focus in the 1980s was on raising basic levels of training education, Mr Teo said the current focus will be on equipping workers with more specialised expertise to tap new growth opportunities, such as in biomedical sciences.
He acknowledged that "results will not come in months or even within the year".
"This is an effort for the long haul," Mr Teo said. "But through this journey, we will build a resilient economy that will give us sustained, inclusive growth, nurture highly competitive sectors and enterprises and workers who take pride in maximising their potential through a passion for lifelong learning and upgrading." |
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| By Leong Wee Keat |
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| Today, 04 March 2010 |
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