[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – There is no need to worry about robots and machines replacing humans or whether people can learn to beat computers.
Instead, the way forward for tomorrow’s workers is to double human strengths, Education Minister Lawrence Wong said.
For example, robots and computers will never be able to think creatively, have face-to-face conversations, exchange ideas and challenge each other or come up with solutions as a team, he added.
Spontaneous “social learning” is also something that machines will never be able to do, he said.
Mr. Wong spoke on Friday (September 25) in a dialogue on the future of jobs and skills for Singaporeans.
Joining him on the panel were the five mayors: Ms. Low Yen Ling (Southwest District), Ms. Denise Phua (Central Singapore District), Mr. Desmond Choo (Northeast District), Mr. Alex Yam (Northwest District) and Mr. Fahmi Aliman (Southeast District).
Mr. Wong said: “People start thinking, what should I do to be better today? Should I learn more programming, coding, IT? I think these are all important skill sets.
“We need to understand technology better, to be able to work well with machines … but we don’t have to learn to be better computers to beat the computer.
“The way forward is for us to redouble our human strengths … It should not be taken for granted that human soft skills are natural and innate, and that everyone can do it well. We need to practice and improve on them.”
Phua said that not all future skills have to be related to technology and that there are emerging sectors such as elderly care and care for the disabled that are not necessarily “technological”.
“Most of us feel that the jobs of the future, everything, has to do with technology and that is why the main words we hear today are ‘data analytics’ and ‘cybersecurity,'” he said.
But there are other jobs, such as healthcare, that will focus on models of care or the process of patient care, and the technology will be used more for communication purposes, Ms Phua added.
Choo discussed how recent graduates and young job seekers should be prepared to adapt to change. She said: “The changes are quite fast. But the positive side that we have seen is that workers who are prepared to make changes and adapt, are willing to retrain, generally find that getting a job is much easier.”
For example, an engineering graduate would have a number of transferable skills and may take a six-month course that builds on what they learned in school and then switch to another job, he added.
The dialogue session followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ms Low, SkillsFuture Singapore Executive Director Ong Tze Ch’in, and Employment and Employability Institute Executive Director Gilbert Tan.
Ms. Low represented all five Community Development Councils (CDC).
The three-year agreement will run until August 2023 and aims to provide Singaporeans with information about SkillsFuture’s programs and how they can take advantage of various resources for their career planning and refresher needs.
The SkillsFuture Advice initiative was launched in 2017 and more than 110,000 people have attended more than 4,300 SkillsFuture Advice workshops since then.
On Friday, the agencies said they will roll out SkillsFuture @ CDC 2020, a virtual event offering professional workshops and a resource guide for skills training.
It was initially conceived as a one-week event from August 10 to 16. In that time, it attracted more than 257,000 participants and now runs through July next year rather than ending this month as previously planned.
The event is hosted by the five CDCs, and highlights include workshops to help residents better understand the job market and skills trends amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and live talks with experts from various industries. .
Ms Low said: “The extension of SkillsFuture Advice comes at a time when Singaporeans need exceptional employability support. Our priority is to accelerate job search opportunities and scale up programs and initiatives to meet the growing demand for improvement and recycling “.
Mr Ong added: “In this challenging period, we want to reach as many Singaporeans as possible, to let them know what they can do to retrain and improve their skills and remain employable.”
[ad_2]
