Singapore has to bring in more foreign talent, but crucial to integrate them into society: PM Lee - CNA

He cited the evolving role of bank tellers in the finance industry as an example.

“They sit there, you come, they smile, they chop your bank book, and then they do the transaction. But now, everybody is on ATMs,” he said.

Banks have been training tellers to redeploy them to other jobs within the system, instead of just letting them go. Some of them, for example, become customer service officers, shared Mr Lee.

“You need them because ATMs are good, but you want a personal touch,” he said.

“If the ATM frustrates you and you press the help button, you want somebody smiling there, and not just – if you do not know how to press this button, press two. And then you are dealing with a robotic voice and you get very frustrated. They are there, a face comes up, smiles, says ‘How can I help you’ as a real person, and talks you through it.”

Mr Lee said the jobs landscape will continue changing. For example, the advent of artificial intelligence may free up a real person from a particular task to do something else.

“We will work very hard to make sure that he or she can do something else,” he said.

He highlighted the SkillsFuture movement and the setting up of a dedicated organisation SkillsFuture Singapore, as part of national efforts in this area.

Mr Lee also pointed to a S$4,000 (US$3,000) SkillsFuture grant in this year’s Budget, which Singaporeans aged 40 and above will receive from this month. Younger Singaporeans will receive the same amount when they turn 40.

The S$4,000 will be more targeted in scope and can only be used for selected training programmes, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also Finance Minister, announced in February.

This includes part-time and full-time diploma, post-diploma and undergraduate programmes, as well as courses for the Progressive Wage Model sectors, he said.

The existing basic tier of S$500 in credits can be used for a wide range of courses.

“It is not such a small amount of money, but it is a token of how seriously we take it and how much we want you to go and improve yourself and improve your opportunities,” said Mr Lee.

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2024-05-10 10:00:00Z
CBMigwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jaGFubmVsbmV3c2FzaWEuY29tL3NpbmdhcG9yZS9wbS1sZWUtaHNpZW4tbG9vbmctZm9yZWlnbi13b3JrZXJzLWxhYm91ci10YWxlbnQtd29ya2ZvcmNlLW1hbnBvd2VyLWluZGlhLXNvY2lldHktNDMxNDc1MdIBAA