Rita Soh Siow Lan
Singapore
“Thank you, Madam. I would like to respond to the Minister of State's clarification on conservation. My reference was to buildings that are not identified Page: 41 within the conservation areas. For those buildings outside the conservation areas, there is no incentive for building owners to look at conserving.”
“My sincere apologies for missing my cut. I would like to ask the Minister two questions. As BCA hopes to achieve a national target of grading 80% of Singapore's building stock by 2030 and to sustain a low-carbon high-quality built environment for everyone, and with the Government aiming to invest in economic and social infrastructure for…”
“Hence, in addition to the many subsidy schemes, I hope the Ministry would allow SkillsFuture Credit to pay not only work skills related courses which are subsidised by WDA, but also for soft skill courses offered by both MOE funded and the privately-run institutions.”
“I could not help but look back at my days when I was in school, where we were exposed to many different types of art mediums – potato printing, making of models with plasticine, clay, basket weaving – all these can go on.”
“The second question is, can we tie art appreciation to the subjects we learn later? Even simple building blocks teach lessons about mechanical structures. Lastly, Art programmes seem optional. Can we integrate them into the main curriculum? Education as the Social Leveller”
“Thus, in the interim, I would like to suggest that we also provide better home care options for our elderly. With better home care options, our elderly can look forward to more personalised medical care in the comforts of their homes. Back in 2014, MOH announced improved support for home care services in Singapore.”
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“Thank you, Madam. I would like to respond to the Minister of State's clarification on conservation. My reference was to buildings that are not identified Page: 41 within the conservation areas. For those buildings outside the conservation areas, there is no incentive for building owners to look at conserving. That is something which I have asked the Minister to look into. With regard to the adoption of technology, I really appreciated what the Minister of State has said. I believe the industry could work with the Government agencies to better develop vertical applications to leverage the use of BIM technology.”
“Yes. Under the current Green Mark Scheme, the legislation only provides for the construction of new buildings and retrofitting of existing buildings. There is no requirement to encourage a conscious effort in conserving the existing building structures as the first design strategy for redevelopment. I would like the Minister to consider putting in place a requirement to incentivise and recognise conscious efforts by owners as well as the consulting team that work the new development programme within the framework of existing structural systems instead of only just the need to recycle old building materials as components. On the second question, over the last two to three decades, the move to adopt technology had launched a suite of CORENet initiatives and, recently, to also embrace BIM, a technology to improve productivity and level of integration across various disciplines in the entire construction value chain. I would like to ask, as we move towards being a Smart Nation, seeking to upscale the use of available technologies, and with this introduction of BIM technology, can the Minister provide an update on the creation of a geo-spatial model of the entire Singapore island for Page: 37 which this can better assist in making a more realistic use of computational simulations and analyses required to assess the energy performance of buildings, both collectively and individually?”
“My sincere apologies for missing my cut. I would like to ask the Minister two questions. As BCA hopes to achieve a national target of grading 80% of Singapore's building stock by 2030 and to sustain a low-carbon high-quality built environment for everyone, and with the Government aiming to invest in economic and social infrastructure for the future, I am concerned that this growth may counter the 2013 Green masterplan unless there are measures being put in place to ensure we do not seek to demolish and rebuild whenever there is a sale of site. This is especially unsustainable when redevelopment —”
“Hence, in addition to the many subsidy schemes, I hope the Ministry would allow SkillsFuture Credit to pay not only work skills related courses which are subsidised by WDA, but also for soft skill courses offered by both MOE funded and the privately-run institutions. Lastly, in order to navigate the whole myriad of courses available, I like to suggest that the agency looking after the SkillsFuture Credit provides a one-stop portal, where all courses can be systematically categorised for easy reference and applications for these courses can also be done online. Helping Mature Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs)”
“Likewise, at the BCA Page: 48 Academy for those individuals who are keen to establish a career in the built environment, 75% of its courses are engineering in focus. I checked out the Creative Industries WSQ website and found its courses like Arts Management, Creative Entrepreneurship and so on very business-oriented. On the other hand, over at the Lasalle College of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, a wide variety of creative courses are offered, either full time, part time or even as enrichment classes. From Interior Design to Fashion Design, Graphic Communication to Multimedia, from Music Course to Speech and Drama. The array is impressive. Similarly, full-time courses, such as Culinary Arts, Beauty and Wellness, Community Care and Social Services offered in the ITE campuses should be modularised and rolled out to meet the needs of our working adults seeking to upgrade their existing skills or to learn new ones. In fact, WDA should proliferate its eco-system by widening its scope of accreditation to work with industry trade associations, private institutions and voluntary groups, to embrace the varied courses currently offered and those to be made available in the future. I believe monetary assistance from the Government is a great incentive for workers to upgrade their skills and expertise in the areas other than skills required for work, especially those who work part time, those who have given up their roles to care for their young families, for elderly relatives as well as those who are senior in years.”
“This same flexibility of modular, continuous learning is designed to specially help individuals balance family and career together with their learning. So, if age is not a barrier to employment, then should it also not be an impediment to lifelong learning? Each one of us has different capacities to learn which may not necessarily be age sensitive. But the types of learning and training one requires may differ as one ages; hence, there is this need to ensure a wide diversity in the courses offered as well as in the mode of learning. Madam, this leads to my second concern, on the unbalanced spread of courses and training schedules currently available. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman again mentioned that Singapore must retain her vibrancy as a city by nurturing creative talents and ensuring that we have people with the skills and empathy needed to champion our social causes. Hence, the Government will, and I quote, "help Singaporeans learn at every stage, at every age and develop expertise and flair in every field." Presently, all Singaporeans in our labour force qualify to apply for a great array of skills-upgrading courses and training under the WDA's suite of approved courses, comprising at least 33 Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Frameworks within the respective industries. Many of these come with Government funding in various modes of subsidies depending on each sector's specific courses. A quick review on the listed courses in 55 Areas of Training available on the WDA website shows the majority of courses are for the learning and training of hard skills, very technical in nature, with only approximately 16% catering to design and creativity training and another 22% on the training and development of social skills.”
“Madam, on growing our human capital, the Government advocates the need for all Singaporeans to inculcate a desire for lifelong learning, in order for us to build deep skills and advance our capacities to the fullest. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman advised that Lifelong Learning aims to empower each Singaporean to chart his own journey in life, and gain fulfilment at work. As a result, the development effort SkillsFuture "marks a new phase of investment in our people throughout life." I, for one, have always been an avid supporter for acquiring new knowledge and learning cutting-edge skills as it sharpens one's faculties and quickens the heart. However, I have two concerns; namely, on the age criterion and the unbalanced variety of courses under WDA's current purview. Page: 47 Firstly, if learning is lifelong, then should age be a criterion for entry into any Government support schemes for the uptake of skills and training? If not, perhaps, one could start to accrue the SkillsFuture credit the moment one begins permanent work at an age earlier than 25, regardless of reasons? Similarly, for the enhanced subsidies in support of mid-career Singaporeans going for further education and training, would it be better to peg the requirement on a minimum number of years of working experience, say, 10 or 15 years, instead of making it possible only at age 40 and above? This will allow flexibility to enable Singaporeans to better plan and integrate their learning journeys with their work and family commitments. In fact, this approach is in harmony with the current proposal of having Singaporeans leverage on the multiple subsidies given by MOE for its modular courses, which are conducted at levels regardless of age.”
“The second question is, can we tie art appreciation to the subjects we learn later? Even simple building blocks teach lessons about mechanical structures. Lastly, Art programmes seem optional. Can we integrate them into the main curriculum? Education as the Social Leveller”
“I could not help but look back at my days when I was in school, where we were exposed to many different types of art mediums – potato printing, making of models with plasticine, clay, basket weaving – all these can go on. But even in secondary schools, we had technical workshop classes such as woodwork, metalwork, and many of us fell in love with these craft lessons and they set a foundation for our later years in our chosen pursuits. A hands-on and integrated approach to learning art and craft benefits the students, even the majority that will go on to pursue careers in fields that are not art-related. Therefore, I have three questions: one, the focus on digital art in the later primary school years – is it really increasing exposure or should we be laying the foundation for the students Page: 66 before they learn to use Photoshop?”
“Making art also encourages the development of creativity while engendering a sense of self-worth. This equips the students to better understand and engage with the world they live in." To achieve these objectives, therefore, they are teaching under the framework of "Seeing, Expressing and Appreciating", taking into consideration the cognitive, affective and psycho-motor dimensions when learning art. Although our students are provided with opportunities to observe the environment, generate ideas and create artworks, discuss on art and how its values impact the society, I still feel that the following can be further improved. Broadly speaking, with regard to the wide spectrum of art medium that was given to the students, I feel that we often treat our art programme as a safari, where students spend more time seeing than doing. So, in the area of art techniques, in terms of painting, moulding, rendering and using digital media, it is still very general in terms of the guidelines. I did a quick scan of the websites of 12 primary schools to see what kinds of art programmes were offered. It was by no means a detailed research, but my observations are as such. A lot of the art modules are essentially co-curricular activities (CCAs), meaning they are done outside curriculum time and are non-compulsory. About half of the students focus on Arts and Crafts, using various mediums of work. A lot of schools are teaching digital art at around the P4, P5 and P6 levels. Art, Music and PE are often lumped together, which is very much a bundled curriculum, and there are very different approaches between schools.”
“Over the past decade or so, many of us have noted a gradual decline in the skill sets which require the use of our hands. Particularly in my field of architecture, which combines the need for scientific knowledge and artistic skills, employers and industry professionals alike have noticed with frustration that there is this steady decline in the level of craftsmanship among incoming batches of graduates. The use of computers and their addiction to mobile devices have further diluted the focus and training in the visualisation, sensory and tactile aspects of their crafts. Hence, I decided perhaps to look at some specific areas of focus for the arts programmes in our primary schools. When I look at the MOE Art syllabus for primary and lower secondary, I love what is written. Madam, please allow me to read the introduction. "Art plays an important role in our everyday life. Art beautifies, captures memories, communicates ideas, imparts values and evokes emotions. Art exists all around us in different forms, such as in the colours and patterns in the nature to everyday images and design on magazines, products and media. Page: 65 In history and across countries, art reflects cultures and beliefs. Learning about art provides an additional avenue through which students can understand their own and others' histories and cultures. Through making art, our students learn to reflect and express their uniqueness by communicating their thoughts and emotions using images and objects. The role art plays in our students' growth and development cannot be overstated. Through positive learning experiences in art, students develop visual literacy which enables them to observe and perceive the world with increased awareness and aesthetic sensitivity.”
“Madam, in my response to Budget 2015 on the aspect of growing our human capital, I am in agreement with the Ministry of Education's (MOE) mission to build in every child the confidence and desire to learn, studying Page: 64 from pre-primary to primary schools. It is important to start early and, during these formative years, each child is exposed to a broad range of activities for him to discover his talents and interests as he grows. Each child will be able to gain knowledge, skills and values he needs to thrive in the 21st century. And these core values, as stated in MOE's guidelines, are specifically with respect to respect, responsibility, resilience, integrity, care, harmony and even social and emotional competencies, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, responsible decision-making and also emerging competencies, such as critical and inventive thinking, communication skills collaborative and informative skills, are also very important. All these skills and competencies are an integral part of the total curriculum, as identified by MOE. I highlighted earlier, we are excellent in producing highly competent and qualified talents. However, I believe that to attain the next level of growth, we need individuals who truly love and desire to master their craft! We need to be passionate about what we are learning and to be emotionally invested in the process, especially so in the fields where design is the key competency and where the integration of the head, heart and the hands, working together, is a must. The kids must be encouraged to use their hands, heart and head in a connected manner. I had also expressed a few concerns, both as a business owner and industry representative.”
“In conclusion, this year's Budget has set the tone for the long-term development of our country. There are many challenges that yet await us in the coming years and we will have to adapt to the shifting political, economic and social challenges of our world today as we have in the past. I believe we are on the right track, and I have the utmost faith in the Government to act in the best interests of all Singaporeans, so that we can enjoy sustained growth for the years to come. Mdm Speaker, I fully support the proposed Budget. 5.03 pm”
“Thus, in the interim, I would like to suggest that we also provide better home care options for our elderly. With better home care options, our elderly can look forward to more personalised medical care in the comforts of their homes. Back in 2014, MOH announced improved support for home care services in Singapore. I commend this effort and hope such initiatives can continue as we face the challenges of an ageing society. With the modern trends towards smaller family units or people who remain singles, there is an increasing demand for nursing home or elderly care facilities when medical care is needed. Such facilities ought to be integrated into the social fabric of our society. Hence, we have to urgently correct the aversion and the "not in my backyard" syndrome among certain sectors of our population. To be an inclusive society, we need to learn how to care for each other regardless of age, race or religion. Growing old is a natural process and will affect everyone —”
“It is always good to see more funds going towards the seniors in our society, especially those of our Pioneer Generation. I believe it is not just our civic duty, but more importantly, our moral duty, to offer assistance and aid to our senior citizens where we can. This year's Budget sees several measures proposed to augment the CPF contributions of our older employees and the added credit to promote their re-employment will be welcome. Our older employees have a wealth of experience and it would be a shame if this were to go to waste. The highlight of the measures introduced to benefit our senior citizens is the Silver Support Scheme. I believe this will certainly help our elderly folk attain some measure of financial independence and sustainability in their golden years and, as some commentators have noted, allow them to age in place and in dignity. And for those who require additional care, over $9 billion has been set aside for the expansion of public hospitals, community hospitals and nursing homes and this will definitely help provide more facilities and improve the availability of care options for our ageing population. Page: 98 However, in a society with such a strong emphasis on filial piety, many still consider nursing homes a means of "abandoning" one's parents. Perhaps for those elderly who do not need constant medical care, it would be a better option to allow them to be housed in smaller HDB 1- or 2-bedroom units and have them seamlessly integrated into blocks of larger units. This will encourage families with multi-generations especially those with elderly parents to stay within close proximity of each other. This way, there will be more opportunities for parents to age in place without the unpleasant need to relocate.”
“Many of our buildings constructed over the last two to three Page: 97 decades have won BCA Construction Excellence Awards and there should be a requirement within the BCA Green Mark rating system that encourages the conscious conservation of these high-quality award-winning buildings. This is doubly true for when redevelopment on the same site sees little change in either built intensity or building height. Tearing buildings down wholesale for the sake of it wastes both labour and materials, not to mention it contributes to the feeling of detachment many have with the cityscape around them. I would like to share an example of one such building in the heart of Shenton Way. Number 137 Market Street is a commercial building where the basement right through to the 10th floor of the 15-storey tower had been conserved. Although the clients originally wanted to demolish the existing building to build a slightly taller tower, the consultants team decided on a sustainable strategy and convinced the clients otherwise. With careful computerised analysis and simulation, the team managed to demolish just the top five floors and replaced them with seven new floors using composite light-weight steel structures. Not only had the team's innovative strategy of reuse and recycling minimised wastage of building materials, they also avoided unnecessary noise and traffic disruption to its neighbourhood. As a result the client, happy with the substantial cost savings and a shortened business downtime, commissioned the team for another project! How we as a society should be responsible for the caring and welfare of our senior citizens. Finally, I would like to focus on the topic of our elderly care.”
“With that, he sowed the seeds in making Singapore a "Garden City" and now it is to us "a City in the Garden". While we encourage industry to change, I believe that Singaporeans too have a large part to play. Recently, I saw a TV commercial by NEA on using water responsibly that alluded back to a time where, as I said earlier, water was very much a precious resource. Over the years, our relative abundance has, understandably, changed our approach to consumption. Even if we now have four sources of water supply, we do need to nurture a society that will be a good steward to optimise the use of our limited resources in order to support the needs of our present and future generations. One great concern I have is the urgent need for us to work towards a Zero-Waste Nation by reducing unnecessary consumption of, as well as re-using and recycling all materials to give them a second lease of life. The Government, working with businesses and the community need to come together to put in place the infrastructure and programmes to make this philosophy our way of life. For a start, we need to speed up the provision of centralised chutes for recyclables and for these to be installed separate from the organic waste disposals in all HDB towns and private estates. In addition, we ought to embrace the use of Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System for a more efficient and cleaner automated waste collection which will also be less labour intensive. In the area of green buildings and construction, we should seek to reduce our city's overall carbon footprint.”
“More importantly, the emotional satisfaction and artistic enrichment are intangible benefits as our senior generations look to enhancing their quality of life in their twilight years. Lastly, on the issue of implementation, I do echo some of the concerns regarding the diseconomies of scale when it comes to SMEs trying to implement these courses. I share the Page: 96 opinion that we should seek to build mutually beneficial resource centres and training schedules between companies, both large and small, as well as with the relevant Government agencies. Every player stands to gain from a concerted "levelling up" of our labour force. I believe that sharing knowledge and bouncing ideas between different companies and schools of thought can also provide impetus for innovation and improvement. Reconciling our fast-paced development with increased sensitivity to its impact on our natural environment. Regarding our continued effort for environmental sustainability, in the wake of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015 "Our Home. Our Environment. Our Future", I would like to applaud the current Budget for continuing to advocate for sustainable industries, especially one through the rebates given to companies looking to overhaul their existing fleets of commercial vehicles to reduce vehicular carbon emissions and to promote a greener living environment. Singapore's journey towards sustainability started way in the 1960s when our leaders decided to consciously make nature a part of our city. It is pertinent to note that our then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew believed that "a blighted urban jungle of concrete destroys the human spirit." And "we need greenery of nature to lift our spirits".”
“Having worked for 20-over years, my goal was to expand and deepen my field of expertise, but on the condition that I must be able to engage in active practice as an architect and not to be constrained from travelling for overseas assignments nor running the office as an employer. It was only when BCA Academy set up its programme to work with overseas universities that the opportunity arose. So, at the age of 50, I finally signed up for a Masters programme in Sustainable Building Design, a two-year part-time course whose modular structure and time schedule was tailored to suit many of us in our cohort, who at this stage in our careers, had both work and family commitments. For Singaporeans above 50, I would like to suggest that the lifelong learning programme available to them offer an array of courses that extend beyond job-related skills as those in their senior years have different desires and pursuits. For instance, given their wealth of experience and expertise, perhaps a course on mentorship, to teach them how to coach the younger members in their team could go forward towards ensuring continuity of both commercial expertise and historical knowledge. Alternatively, for those approaching retirement, perhaps the SkillsFuture support could be tapped to teach our senior citizens less labour-intensive skills. For example, I am sure that some might like the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, to take up painting or attend a calligraphy class or even a culinary course. With these additional creative skills, they can even monetise their pursuit, allowing them to earn a little supplementary income after retirement.”
“Therefore, while initiatives like the SkillsFuture provides a wealth of opportunities for our students to learn both at home and abroad, we must also provide avenues for them to realise their own talents and interests and inculcate in them the spirit of artisanship – of striving to reach the next level of excellence. Secondly, we must nurture and value our creative talents. I believe this begins by valuing the outputs of the creative process. In the building industry, for example, many a time we see procurement exercises being called where offices are asked to submit several design proposals with little to no compensation. Designs, though intangible, are the result of research and gestation of ideas. Unnecessary design submissions mean that many man hours that could have been spent on other projects are wasted. At the national level, the total loss in productivity to the industry is very high and should be avoided, given our very limited Page: 95 human resources. This practice has to change and I believe our Government's procurement policies should lead the way. One good example would be the open design competition held to determine the design for our Gardens by the Bay. Thirdly, I would like to focus on the support for mid-to-late career individuals to pursue both skills-upgrading as well as enrichment courses. I believe monetary assistance from the Government is a great incentive for older workers to upgrade their skills and expertise. In addition to that, however, it is also critical to look at the availability and diversity of these courses as well as the mode of study in order to increase their uptake. This I speak from personal experience, after spending years trying to look for a part-time Masters Programme in our local institutions.”
“I fondly quote the Deputy Prime Minister's example of the brilliant young individual who discovered his love of crafting shoes and opted to pursue an apprenticeship in Europe. While we are excellent at producing highly competent and qualified talents, I believe that to reach the next level, we need individuals who truly love and own their craft. As defined by Daniel H Pink's theory on "What motivates us", factors, such as Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose, are key ingredients for drive, better performance and personal satisfaction. By activating the heart and stimulating a deep interest in the world, by building emotional safety and security, by providing sturdy and well-defined boundaries, we can then create an environment that will help nurture a society that can better adapt to the future. I believe that one way we can foster more of such people is by instilling in ourselves the love and the desire to gather skills and to expand our horizons. Why? Because to be passionate about what we are learning, we need to be emotionally invested in the process. That is the integration much needed, one of head, heart and hands working together: think, feel and do. There remains criticism that our education system is still too much mechanical and focused on the end product; so much so that we forget the importance of the learning journey and how it shapes the way our children understand and approach different issues and challenges. As we strive towards a society of innovation and creativity, it is imperative that we tackle this perception head on and seek to disprove it.”
“The world around us is changing constantly and there is a need to keep not only our skills, but our work ethic relevant to the changing needs of business. Thus, I believe that the variety of courses available through SkillsFuture will be a key asset to both employers and employees. As it stands, the modular approach used to structure the courses in our Institutes of Higher Learning should be leveraged upon for the courses in the SkillsFuture training programme as it will allow for greater flexibility be it in terms of scheduling or curriculum. I would like to express my support for the career guidance services being provided to our younger students via the SkillsFuture programme. In our modern economy, where career paths are so specialised and numerous, it can be indeed daunting for the young student to make such a decision. While we should encourage our children to explore the wide array of academic and technical fields open to them, I believe it is not only useful but necessary to have a guiding presence to help direct towards pursuing a course of study or technical training that they would enjoy. Likewise, I am also very supportive of the increased focus on securing structured internships and apprenticeships, integrating it within our formal education programmes. I believe this will be a wonderful opportunity for both employers and students in cultivating not only real-world experiences, but also sowing the seeds for stronger employee-employer relationships. Page: 94 On the other hand, do allow me to share a few concerns I have, both as a business owner and an industry representative. Firstly, and on a broader note, I feel that aside from practical and technical training, what we need right now are employees with a love for their craft.”
“I am grateful for the opportunities of education, bursaries and scholarships afforded to me, despite coming from a single-parent family where money was tight and aid was not always forthcoming. Today, we provide a wide swathe of academic programmes and vocational training in our schools. On the whole, we have made huge strides in providing our students, regardless of means and station, with good quality education that prepares them for the working world and our employment statistics are testament to this. I believe the new measures advocated in Budget 2015 will further contribute to this unceasing endeavour. Page: 93 Having said all this, and while we look back on our 50 years of growth with pride, we must not rest on our laurels but instead remain driven in bettering Singapore for the generations to come. In this spirit, I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance for a forward-looking and inclusive Budget. There are three topics that I would like to speak on today. First, the continued growth of our human capital; second, reconciling our fast-paced development with increased sensitivity to its impact on our natural environment; and third, how we as a society should be responsible for the caring and welfare of our senior citizens. The continued growth of our human capital. On the topic of human capital, it need not be repeated how people of Singapore are our only resource. Over the years, we have dedicated so much to providing the right education and training for our citizens to become highly competent in their fields of work. I feel that the SkillsFuture programme will be another big step in helping Singaporeans augment and diversify their skill set, and I am glad to see that it will benefit everyone, be they young or old.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate. I am speaking as a practising architect and am currently the President of the Board of Architects as well as the Past President, Singapore Institute of Architects. This year's Budget represents a commitment to Singapore's longevity and it is certainly heartening to see that the Government is continuing to work towards a more progressive and inclusive society for all Singaporeans. I strongly identify with Deputy Prime Minister's vision for Budget 2015 – on the importance of empowering every individual, of the need to remain competitive globally via innovations and internationalisation, of the benefits of improving our economic and social infrastructure and of the value in providing long-term assurance for families young and old, especially those less privileged. This year, we celebrate SG50, and yes, how far we have come indeed! There are many here who may still remember growing up in homes where indoor plumbing was considered a luxury in Singapore. For sanitation and waste handling, we relied on manual labour – the infamous "night soil" collectors. I also remember spending my childhood living in a kampong, where our only source of water was the well within the shared compound. We later upgraded to public taps and we would have to queue up to collect water on a daily basis. That old kampong is now part of Chai Chee public housing estate and the difference between the two is as clear as night and day. Now, Chai Chee estate is one of our mature housing estates. Looking at the new sustainable housing estates being put up in Punggol, our improvements in public housing have been remarkable over the years. Similarly, our social system has gotten more robust and more inclusive over the decades.”
“Usually, for Government projects, projection of cost is based on work done before. In view of the quest towards sustainable green buildings, there are these sustainable features that we put into buildings and those are usually not updated in the data. As such, many a time, the cost does not allow you to do all the features that you want to fit in for Green Mark compliance or to give renewable energy projections. So, can the Senior Minister of State help in this area because it just is not commensurate?”
“All right. Currently, the cost estimate for each individual Government project is done based on cost data obtained from previous projects which often do not have the environmentally sustainable features that the current policies advocate. Page: 30 Singapore's commitment to sustainability is to be proud of and we should revise current cost policies to reflect this commitment. Can the Senior Minister of State help to advance this approach?”
“Madam, I thank the Senior Minister of State for her advice. I would like to touch on the area of procurement of Government projects where companies submit tender applications to each respective agency which requires that these companies fill in their respective information into a unique template, whereas the information required from these firms is often common. Having to produce and print out many copies of this paperwork is largely redundant. In our quest towards a Smart City where information technology can be better harnessed, can the Senior Minister of State consider having a central depository that catalogues the information on companies, such as their registration status, as well as personnel track records, which could be updated on a regular basis? This would vastly improve the efficiency of the procurement process. Furthermore, incorporating technology, this system could be further automated to alleviate the burden on both ends, when it comes to extracting and processing critical information. The second bit, because towards the current state of —”
“However, the recommendations are only a starting point and the implementation will be a long undertaking which requires the support of all its stakeholders. We should aim to continue to keep the economists arguing about what has made Singapore succeed. Half a century of sustained job creation is not long enough. It is still too Page: 80 early to consign that record to history. Therefore, I would like to state my strong support for the recommendations, and I look forward to their successful implementation. 5.25 pm”
“Half a century ago, at our Independence, workers in Singapore tended to be less educated and accepted low wages because of the excess of supply over demand. As several Members have already pointed out, the same principles inexorably govern the demand and supply of graduates across all specialisations so that excess supply will always result in the same predictable outcome. When addressing the challenge of unemployed graduates, there are further dimensions, namely, the number of years and the amount of money a person has spent earning the degree. Where has that sacrifice of time and resources gone when a graduate can no longer be matched to the positions available in the job market? This is not an easy question for policymakers anywhere to answer, and other economies are also grappling with the same issue. Getting an even higher degree was one potential avenue, but that requires further investment of time and resources. In addition, if a person is not suitable for existing graduate-level positions, having a post-graduate degree could actually exacerbate his or her problems. Such a challenge must, therefore, be tackled at its root, with the focus set on ensuring that further education continues to enhance the human capital of Singapore's next generation of workers instead of confounding their chances. The ASPIRE recommendations demonstrate a conservative and responsible concern for this challenge. At the end of the day, there are only about 3.5 million Singaporeans and I believe the ASPIRE recommendations offer a valuable alternative that can maximise each individual's worth without displacing the importance of degrees.”
“The effectiveness with which such issues can be dealt with will improve with early detection. Unlike Germany, we have not had the type of relationship between employers and trainees which recognises the latter's future value to the company they train in. This trade-off would affect whether employers decide to take trainees under their wing. Without a longer term association between the trainees and their host companies, if you see trainees moving from one company to another because of relationship issues, the costs will mount and could outweigh the benefits for the companies involved. In addition to getting employers to support and participate in the scheme, we will need qualified trainers within the participating companies. Other countries who have considered adopting Germany's model, have discovered that this key ingredient – the close relationship between its employers and training providers – was not something that they could easily replicate. Despite its highly celebrated status now, Germany's apprenticeship scheme has Page: 79 also seen its share of ups and downs. In the early 2000s, for example, Germany was stung by criticism over the poor performance of its students in international PISA assessments. Throughout, it was this solid arrangement of having a tradition of qualified trainers that saw it through. We have to convince suitable students that such a scheme is worth the commitment, especially when they begin making comparisons with their classmates, former schoolmates in the academic pathway. After they have given their commitment, however, we must not underestimate the difficulties involved in juggling family commitments, course work and a full-time job.”
“For some time now, we have been constantly reminded of the lengths to which these economies have had to resort to address their unemployment woes, as observers guess at the chaos that could accompany the withdrawal of Quantitative Easing. As we move to moderate the pace at which jobs are being generated by the Singapore economy, we have to be careful to avoid severely impairing the job creation process. Once it is impaired, even literally throwing money at it may not even work. The situation is not, I believe, catastrophic, but we cannot ignore the fact that after four years of increase in foreign worker levies and tightened quotas, some businesses have been squeezed hard. Hence, being responsive to the needs of businesses when it comes to the shortfalls they experience in manpower supply is important. When employers can rely on well-trained, highly skilled, reliable workers, they have the confidence to invest in better equipment and technology. This produces a virtuous cycle which leads to better productivity performance and, in turn, encourages further job creation. The economy as a whole benefits from the improved competitiveness. This is the celebrated achievement of Germany's model which has attracted worldwide admiration. But we cannot understate the difficulties of implementation. We will face them and we should set in place performance monitoring and quality assurance systems to detect and handle them. Countries mentioned in the ASPIRE report have agencies which spearhead research into and monitor the outcomes of their vocational training programmes. Such monitoring has revealed issues, such as a lack of interest from students in certain occupations, poor completion rates and insufficient training positions provided by companies.”
“In order for Singapore to have a more secure manpower policy that does not involve excessive reliance on foreign manpower, we need to build up the technical and academic skills of our workforce. The recommendations delivered in 2012 by the Committee of University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 (CUEP) put us on a path to seeing half of each cohort achieving a Government-subsidised degree education by 2020. However, even if we were at that level of cohort participation now, it would be insufficient for the economy we have managed to create. We already have an existing ITE and Polytechnic education infrastructure that is performing well, but the excess demand for graduates could be attracting more of these graduates to go for a degree without them first making a distinction about whether the prospects they gain will result in an improvement in their employability and their long-term ability to contribute to the economy. The ASPIRE recommendations fill that gap. The emphasis on alignment with employer needs will enable ITE and Polytechnic graduates to gain a first-hand understanding of what is valued at the workplace. This will help them to inform their choices should they decide to invest further valuable resources into pursuing education. Preserving the capacity of the Singapore economy to create jobs is what I see to be the third and most important implication of the ASPIRE recommendations. Page: 78 The process of job creation does not easily lend itself to policy fine-tuning. If it did, you would not see the massive rates of unemployment many OECD economies have been struck by since the great recession.”
“Driven by their bottom line, employers have to be very discerning when it comes to skills. The voracious hiring appetite over the last decade or so had been caused by employers relying on manpower to increase their productive capacity. Choosing manpower instead of investment in new capital or technology when expanding the scale of production could be a sign that employers are uncertain about the appropriate entry point they should make into new technology. Some of this could be signs of a persistent shortage of skilled manpower, which could explain why some employers are blaming the tight labour market for forcing Page: 77 them to curtail expansion plans. Regardless of the opinion one holds about our reliance on foreign manpower to make up these gaps, the fact remains that there has been a significant numerical shortfall in the availability of local manpower to meet the needs of our economy. For example, unemployed degree holders number only about one-tenth the number of Employment Pass holders. You would need to integrate all economically inactive residents with at least diploma qualifications before you match the Employment Pass numbers we now have, something that is clearly impossible. This is what I interpret the emphasis of ASPIRE on broader and deeper skills to mean: our resident workforce must broaden and deepen its skillsets and have the range to cover more positions as we continue towards further labour market tightening. Hence, I am particularly encouraged by the ASPIRE recommendations for a Place-and-Train scheme to improve the ability of new entrants to the workforce to meet employer needs. This brings employers into the picture earlier and involves them in the training process.”
“On the other hand, students who rush headlong and unprepared into a University degree without taking time to decide on what is most suited to their aptitude and inclination may not achieve their full potential, and may actually fall behind their vocationally-trained counterparts. There is growing concern about this, not just here in Singapore, but many advanced industrialised countries as well. In Singapore, the statistics on the labour market performance of degree holders already contain some warning signs. For example, resident degree holders are the only group with a re-employment rate that falls below 50%. What this means is a majority of residents succeed in gaining re-employment after losing a job, except for degree holders. This is why it is important to work with students on applied pathways to help them to understand that merely getting a degree does not place them at the leading edge in the competition for good jobs. Secondly, ASPIRE also addresses key economic vulnerabilities which could be attributed to our size limitations. Our size limitations prevent us from relying heavily on foreign manpower. However, in the transition to more self-reliance, we have to be careful not to end up in a precarious position which compromises our economic competitiveness, especially when it comes to employment creation. The Singapore economy has developed to a stage where further progress depends on access to manpower with deeper sets of skills and a broader range of capabilities than the resident workforce alone at the present stage can supply. Without freer access to foreign manpower, the economy's manpower needs cannot be satisfied by depending on education and training through the academic pathway alone.”
“We must approach the implementation realistically without expecting a panacean change because the experiences of other countries make it clear that there are difficult challenges to be confronted. We should continue to bear in mind the circumstances within which Singapore's economy is required to operate. Mdm Speaker, please allow me to elaborate on the implications before I describe some practical concerns which I believe would have to be addressed in implementing the recommendations. First, I see the recommendations as recognising that knowledge penetration in the economy can occur through both academic excellence as well as accumulated experience, and by degree holders as well as non-degree holders. I would argue that the ASPIRE Committee has not gone out of its way to dispel well-established notions about the importance of University degrees. Its recommendations also do not constitute a challenge about the importance of University education. The fact is that degree holders and degree aspirants should not need anyone to argue on their behalf. Instead, what I see is a warning against leaving our students unprepared for the rigours of the workplace that is set to become more and more competitive over time. Page: 76 The ASPIRE report recognises that the ultimate aim, regardless of whether an academic pathway or an applied pathway is taken, is to equip students to make an impactful and fulfilling contribution before they enter the workforce. Being fully prepared for the workplace is the key, and the reality is that, given the right vocational training, some of our students will likely enjoy an equally, if not more, rewarding career over their University-trained counterparts.”
“The implementation of the ASPIRE recommendations itself will be a big step forward: instead of seeking foreign validation and certification of our abilities, our students will find enough assurance in the competitiveness of their own local training to confidently step forward as highly skilled professionals in the international arena. This will be especially relevant as local companies seek to assert a greater and bigger presence in the region and beyond. And so, I stand with Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister of State Indranee Rajah in support of the Motion, and I look forward to more holistic reforms on our country's education front. Page: 75 5.13 pm Assoc Prof Randolph Tan (Nominated Member): Thank you, Mdm Speaker, for this opportunity – my first to speak in the House. Mdm Speaker, I would like to speak in support of the Motion. I would like to provide my interpretation of the role the ASPIRE Committee's recommendations play in our economic restructuring by identifying three of its underlying implications. Singapore has enjoyed half a century of sustained jobs growth with steady resumption of employment growth after each downturn. The longer this continues without interruption, the greater the danger of believing falsely that we are specially endowed with recovery abilities denied to other countries, all too familiar with widespread joblessness. Recoveries that our labour market has been able to stage arise from nothing more than a basic philosophy imbued in our workers that productive workers and successful companies work together to create jobs. Madam, the ASPIRE recommendations are a responsible and necessary step forward. More importantly, what they do is to reiterate this guiding philosophy.”
“What is especially important is the need to encourage and facilitate those in their mid-careers to have access to such facilities without having to sacrifice their careers just to acquire additional expertise. There seems to be an ageist partiality that is pervasive throughout our society's attitude towards our older citizens, and it is something we should be consciously working to change for the better. As the official retirement age inches upwards from 62 to 65, we are hence tasked with helping more and more of our older citizens maintain and assert their cultural-economic relevance. Our cultural infrastructure has to keep up with the developments in our country's physical infrastructure: efforts by the Building Construction Authority to achieve greater public mobility through the implementation of the universal design mark have greatly improved way-finding and navigation around our city, making it a friendlier place for all. On the part of the urban planning sector and the construction industry, we are determined to reconfigure our physical landscape in a way that is all-inclusive. Universal accessibility is a key spatial indicator of a progressive city. This concept should apply to all layers of our societal reform: we will need greater improvements in our country's physical, cultural and educational infrastructure in the name of accessibility, and we will need to move even faster to catch up with our citizens' demands and seize these new dimensions of economic opportunity. Madam, I believe these internal shifts in culture will prove to be vital to the strengthening of our global representation, as Singapore and Singaporeans become increasingly dominant players internationally.”
“The Government often sees our local arts scene as self-focused, constantly asking for support, while members of the artistic community often choose not to work through the redundancy of the Government bureaucracy and start their own community-based initiatives. There has to be more mutual support between these two entities: on the part of those in Government, we need to celebrate, not dismiss or criminalise, our grassroots artistry; we need to reconfigure how we handle the processing of permits and artistic access to the community's public spaces; and, most of all, we have to start promoting art as an asset for the city, so that we may become a flourishing democracy with a strong cultural centre. At this point, Madam, it is important to recognise the nature of our demographic make-up as a population that is witnessing a rapid rise in our median age. In Singapore's fondness for everything new and everything fresh, we should not be neglecting a significant part of our population who continue to actively seek professional dynamism in their middle age and beyond. So, while I commend the ASPIRE Committee's due diligence to ensure the sustainability of these skills-training programmes post-graduation, we need to make sure Page: 74 that the same opportunities and support are accessible and affordable to all ages. Lifelong learning is a process and a journey. I am, indeed, heartened to note that a continuing education and training masterplan is in progress, as mentioned by Senior Minister of State Ms Indranee. I believe that there must not be an age limit to the acquisition of knowledge and skills.”
“This self-motivated passion for utilising their artistic capacities will prove to be a key component to the success of ASPIRE, as the degree chase will fade away in the face of a personal drive towards mastery and a cultural conviction of an individual's skills as valuable in their own right. There are already existing methodologies for holistic education we can learn from. Examples, such as Dr Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which was elaborated earlier by my fellow colleague, Ms Denise Phua, or Daniel H Pinks' theory on what motivates us, where factors such as autonomy, mastery and purpose are proposed channels for better performance and personal satisfaction. In order to achieve this shift in cultural attitudes, we need to re-examine our entire preschool, Primary school and Secondary school education. Teachers will need more training in developmental science, brain-based learning and the enhancement of their students' multiple intelligences. Apart from simply updating their skill sets, we need to prepare our kids for autonomous self-directed learning, a drive towards mastery and self-discipline for deep concentration. Moving on from ASPIRE we will thus need to further investigate our country's stance on culture and creative production. We need to build broader definitions of who and what an artist can be in our society. The pursuit of artistry should not be viewed as a leisurely indulgence, or as counter-productive to professional and industrial excellence. For the cultural health of our society, Singaporeans will have to create an environment where art is valued for its own merit, so that our children no longer see artistry, craftsmanship, skilful mastery and self-expression as merely bad financial decisions.”
“This will be the first step towards inculcating a broader curiosity in the world, so that our students realise their own gifts and develop a sense of purpose and willingness to work towards the mastery of these gifts. The ASPIRE report briefly touches upon the emotional development of the students but only nominally and the recommendations seem to go the way of token gestures by HR departments to create "better working environments" without doing anything substantial. Personal growth goes beyond financial support and a hotline. The so-called "soft skills" should also be the primary focus of ASPIRE, as well as the education initiatives to come. As such, we first have to eradicate the notion of arts and culture as deeply elitist, and place it at the centre of a holistic education. We need to create and foster cultural equity by providing equal opportunities for arts education and, hence, remove it from the ivory tower of cultural institutions, for it is through the Arts and Humanities that we can cultivate in our country's students an integration of the head, heart and hands, which is the essence of fruitful creativity. Our ITE and Polytechnic students must not be made to feel that they do not deserve to develop creatively and artistically, or that their education simply stops at the quick acquisition of skills for future employment. There needs to be instilled in our students a sense of personal artistic actualisation, which cannot be achieved by ownership of a degree or diploma alone. A holistic education should activate the heart; it should build confidence and self-assurance in one's own unique creativity without using a school degree as a security Page: 73 blanket.”
“It is with this spirit that I look forward to the implementation of the aforementioned recommendation. At the same time, I believe that this bid to strengthen our country's skills-based education will not grow in opposition to but, in fact, will inspire similar initiatives in the Humanities and the Arts. For while we equip our students with the skills needed for industry, our education system is also responsible for their growth and development as self- Page: 72 fulfilled adult individuals, which I believe cannot happen without a firm grounding in or at least personal acquaintance with the Humanities and the Arts. Arts and culture in Singapore are often framed outside of civic engagement or even more meaningful productive activity and any attention paid to them is usually, as in the case with most urban politics, expressed within the conversation of attracting tourism and economic development, rather than creative self-expression or self-fulfilment. This tendency for Singaporeans to distill everything into its pragmatic value has suffocated the intellectual and artistic capacities of our youth: the fact that the motivation for tertiary education can be so easily abbreviated into a degree chase for higher professional salaries instead of a personal thirst for knowledge is one such indicator of this trend. The loss of craftsmanship I mentioned earlier is, in fact, reflective of a deeper societal attitude that needs to be worked on. Our students are people before they are commodities in the labour market. Madam, we need to see every child as an individual with their own talents and gifts and the entitlement to an individualised education that goes beyond simple behavioural modification to comply to a particular set of industry norms.”
“The element of cultivated artisanship, of refining one's skills and priding oneself on it, has, indeed, taken a backseat in the relentless paper chase as professional success becomes increasingly defined by the number of degrees one holds. Of course, employers, too, have a part to play in affecting this work climate, and we should, henceforth, be careful not to let such arbitrary degree bias affect our hiring decisions. The ASPIRE Committee's movement to instate benchmarks for hiring and progression with sector-specific standards should go some way towards alleviating this, though with any attempt at establishing universal criteria there must be room for nuance and flexibility. ASPIRE can thus prove to be a turn in the tide: the mentorship and apprenticeship structure of the Place-and-Train programme will make strides in the development of our students' experiential wisdom, as they spend the sector-specific amount of time working with and building the necessary interpersonal relationships with industry professionals, which will effectively become important stepping stones in their careers ahead. Students receive the learning opportunities and valuable face time with future employers that can only come through on-the-ground experience, and their skills are put to good practical training with the promise of equitable remunerations. The resulting collaboration and dialogue between school and industry foster a synergy that not only provides our country's employers with a competent and well-suited workforce, but also ensures our students undergo a first-hand understanding of their prospective professions that they might not have sought for otherwise, and I believe such training is a necessary part of the preparatory curriculum.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to express my initial comments as a newly appointed Nominated Member of Parliament. I thank Minister Heng for sharing his valuable imperatives. First of all, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his commitment that "Singapore must always give our people full opportunities to achieve their potential and to give every Singaporean the confidence to shoot for the stars". I also wish to congratulate the ASPIRE Committee for the hard work done. I believe the ASPIRE recommendations have come in a timely manner, as our country's industry employers are experiencing a shortage of talent, especially at the technical mid-management level, and, as the recent #AskPMLee sessions noted, a degree of dissatisfaction amongst our nation's students. In this context, I am thus in full support of educational reform in the name of applicability and accessibility. However, I believe that the conditions and context within which ASPIRE has come into being are indicative of greater cultural problems that go beyond the scope of this report and so need to be duly addressed. Page: 71 I will first begin my speech with a statement of my support for the Motion, before moving on to a wider assessment of these cultural issues in greater detail. As a qualified professional architect with over 25 years of experience in the building and construction industry, I can affirm that the skills-based approach of the ASPIRE recommendations has great industrial relevance, particularly in the field of architecture, which combines the need for scientific knowledge and artistic skills. Employers and industry professionals alike have noticed with frustration a steep decline in the value of craftsmanship amongst incoming batches of graduates.”