Digital skills are considered highly valuable by workers in Singapore as compared to green skills, according to the Bridging the skills: Fuelling careers and the economy in Asia Pacific study by Google and the Economist Impact.
Nearly seven in ten (69%) employees in Singapore rated digital skills – especially those related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things – as their top priority. A quarter of the respondents say higher pay and bargaining power are some motivators for acquiring new digital skills.
Meanwhile, green skills are considered relatively less valuable, with only 12% of employees in Singapore stating that it is the most important skill for today’s workforce. Most green upskilling is also driven by employees’ personal interest in the topic.
As such, there may be a skills gap in the future workforce as the Singapore government estimated that the city-state would create 55,000 jobs focusing on sustainable development in the coming decade. The demand is expected to come from sectors including finance, agriculture, food, urban solutions such as sanitation, and climate science.
“To instil a recognition of the importance and value of green skills amongst the wider workforce, companies must lead by example and invest in cultivating a culture that puts sustainability at its core. Offering internal training and education reimbursements can be ways to encourage employees to upskill. From software engineers to marketers to finance professionals -- every job role can play a part in driving sustainability-related initiatives and making a positive impact,” says Ben King, managing director of Google Singapore.
The study also suggests that more can be done to close the skills gap. Currently, 49% of employees in Singapore do not know which skills are in demand in the job market. The majority rely on government awareness programmes (61%) to get information on the skills that will be valuable in the future.
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To further close the gap, the study recommends employers to look towards training specific skill sets for specific goals. For example, companies aiming for cybersecurity resilience should develop dedicated cybersecurity talent while working with government agencies to determine the requisite upskilling needs.
Employers should also make upskilling a workplace activity to ensure learning and working can happen in tandem.
“As the majority of employees in Singapore rely on government awareness programmes as their primary source of information, strategic public-private partnerships can cultivate greater awareness of upskilling initiatives and reach the wider community. Together, such partnerships can help build a resilient ecosystem that empowers our workforce with the necessary knowledge to tackle the challenges of tomorrow with confidence,” says King.
