Identifying Leading Indicators in Government Agencies that May Require Their Workforce to Undergo Significant Transformation

Dr Choo Pei Ling asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government has identified leading indicators that a Government agency's or Ministry department's workforce may require significant transformation because of changing technologies or operating models; and (b) how such foresight is translated into earlier workforce planning, skills development and redeployment opportunities for affected officers.

My response will cover the question raised by Dr Choo Pei Ling in today's Order Paper, as well as the questions by Dr Wan Rizal1 and Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari2 for tomorrow's Sitting. These questions touch on workforce transformation and our support for officers. If Dr Wan Rizal and Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari are satisfied with the response, they may wish to withdraw their questions after the session.

The Public Service needs to continually evolve and improve our organisational structure, functions, operating models and workforce requirements to serve Singapore and Singaporeans well. It does not rely on a fixed set of indicators to determine when an agency requires workforce transformation. Agencies must take into consideration their different operating contexts and technological and service delivery changes, and assess how their workforce size, shape and skill profiles must change to better suit future workforce needs. This will allow them to determine the nature and extent of transformation required for their workforce and plan ahead where possible.

As agencies transform and work changes, roles will also need to evolve. Our priority is always to reskill and redeploy affected officers within the Public Service, where possible. In some circumstances, there may be officers who are unable to be retrained and redeployed to new roles. When this happens, we will support their transition to a role outside of the Public Service with financial support as well as employment assistance, as appropriate.

Let me assure the House that the Public Service invests in the career fitness of all public officers, regardless of whether they are appointed on a permanent or contract basis. The Public Service encourages and supports officers in continually building and expanding their competencies, to take on different roles within the Service while building fulfilling careers. Officers can pick up new skills to adapt to different contexts through courses, job rotations and short-term work attachments. Officers are further supported in their career fitness journey with personalised career guidance and coaching through the Public Service Career Coaches Network.

These efforts are aligned with the national effort to invest in the Career Health of all Singaporeans.