25/02/2015

Sectoral Manpower Plans (SMP)

1. The Sectoral Manpower Plan (SMP) is a key initiative under SkillsFuture that brings together employers, unions, education and training providers, trade associations and the Government, to project future skills needs and set out a systematic plan to develop those skills in the local workforce. It takes a sectoral and forward-looking approach to developing the skills needed for our economic and social sectors.

What are the objectives of a SMP and what will a SMP include?

2. The SMP seeks to achieve three key objectives at the sectoral level:

• To identify the current and future skills needs¹ for the sector and quality jobs for Singaporeans. Each SMP will take into account the outlook of the sector, how the sector will develop in the future, the manpower and skills needs, including new skills needs that can arise as a result of technology advancement and other macro driving forces.
• Based on the skills needs identified for the sector, the SMP will articulate and develop clear career progression pathways that will set out the key competencies and skills needed to progress at each stage of the individual’s career. These progression pathways will be closely integrated with education, training and development, to ensure greater fluidity between learning and working as the individual progresses in his or her career.
• The SMP will lay out plans to attract, retain and develop a deep pool of talent in the sector. This will ensure that Singaporeans, at different stages of their careers, can pick up relevant skills that will allow them to advance to the next milestone of their career; and employers will be able to benefit from a more highly skilled workforce.

Which sectors will have a SMP?

3. As a start, the SMP will focus on the following:

• Lead sectors that have more pressing manpower needs. These lead sectors include essential services such as healthcare, early childhood care and education, and social services.
• New growth sectors that provide exciting job opportunities for Singaporeans, which require a larger pipeline of workers, such as the biopharmaceuticals sector.
• Sectors facing significant manpower challenges such as retail, and food services.

4. The SMP will be progressively extended to other key sectors in the economy.

¹ The Singapore Skills Framework (SSF) will support the development of the SMPs by using a common skills language that can be referenced by the different stakeholders, including individuals, employers and training providers. For individuals, SSF will help them to make informed choices about career development and progression. For employers, it will enable them to make better decisions about continuing education and training investments and strategise their talent recruitment, development and management. For training providers, it will change the way education and training programmes are designed and delivered, to achieve better alignment with industry needs.