Measures to mitigate the skills gap

Economies around the world facing shortage in skilled workers are coming up with various ways to ease the problem, even as others are also addressing an ageing and shrinking population base like Singapore.

Hong Kong, which likewise has an ageing population and shrinking labour, is working on attracting talents abroad to fill the skills gap especially in certain sectors such as IT and financial services, the same talents Singapore needs.

In the United Kingdom, the skills shortage is said to be mostly in technology and engineering, too. SMEs are looking at recruiting outside of the European Union and are hoping this can be facilitated, even to the extent of reassessing immigration policy to enable employers to enlist highly skilled people.

However, in the case of Singapore, the economy continues its restructuring and government policy shifts towards less reliance on foreign labour. This move has badly affected the SMEs. By slowing down the inflow of foreign workers and as the manpower crunch remains unresolved, wages go up forcing business owners to cough up more to hire qualified workers.

On the other hand, this has seen increased participation in the labour pool among the women and older members of the labour force, noted the International Monetary Fund. Still, it’s a long way towards bridging the skills gap and a lot of recommendations are being floated to contribute to a long-term solution.

To address the shortfall in skilled manpower, action plans proposed or implemented in various economies include extending the retirement age to allow senior officials to train successors, opening up international hiring to get the best and the brightest, and specific to SMEs, marketing aggressively to applicants as well as building a strong employer branding.

The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry said SMEs must adapt to the changing business environment to thrive. The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises suggests developing a curriculum or setting up a framework wherein SMEs can provide certification to students they hire.

They are hoping for measures that would help SMEs find qualified local talents and make it attractive for applicants to pursue their job openings. It hasn’t been easy as they compete with large enterprises, which can pay higher salaries and skilled workers would rather work for. Also, the reality is Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly compared to other ASEAN economies.

To upgrade the skills of Singaporeans, the government rolled out the SkillsFuture initiative which can be tapped by working adults and students alike. It will include internships and support mid-career studies as it focuses on career development and acquiring skills needed to equip the workforce for the future.

It encourages continuous learning and training at every stage of one’s life. As a national movement, SkillsFuture also involves the participation of workers, employers, educators and training providers.

This drive also promotes adapting new technologies. After all, technology can be a tool to speed up the knowledge transfer and acquisition of skills as well as aid in the training, as SMEs are urged to support the development of their employees.

With the challenging business landscape, looking at IT solutions for added support can also help SMEs be more productive and competitive. Business technologies for SMEs can empower their workforce to operate at optimal levels and enable the company to adapt to the changes in the market.

IT solutions applicable to certain facets of the business such as accounting, payroll and customer relationship management could aid in its survival, as SMEs continue to face a difficult environment in the near-term.