The government will appoint intermediaries in various institutions to help workers across the spectrum, says Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget 2023 speech on Feb 14.
Known as “Jobs-Skills Integrators”, these intermediaries will be appointed to work with industry, training and employment facilitation partners to optimise training and placement. Trade associations and chambers, unions and training providers are examples of institutions well-placed to be such "Integrators".
These intermediaries will help develop workers, says Wong. “Workers themselves may not know what training programmes to go for, or what competencies and skills they need to secure better jobs.”
They will also help employers, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), identify manpower and skill gaps, adds Wong. “They will have to work with training providers to update existing training programmes or develop new ones that will close the skills gap.”
The scheme will be piloted in the precision engineering, retail and wholesale trade sectors, where there are higher concentrations of mature workers and SMEs, notes Wong.
More details will be shared at the Ministry of Education’s upcoming Committee of Supply (COS) debate around the turn of the month.
