The Office for Skills-First Practices (OSP) at the Singapore University of Social Sciences–Institute for Adult Learning (SUSS-IAL) held its second Skills-First Working Paper Series Roundtable event at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Centre on 7 August 2025. In attendance were a dozen Labour Alliance co-laB (LAB) members and over 200 in-person and virtual stakeholders from across the career development ecosystem, including policymakers, educators, employers, and researchers.
Each Roundtable is held in tandem with the release of a Working Paper on skills-first futures. Working Paper 2, Skills-First: What Does It Mean For Me? examined a skills-first future in Singapore from individuals’ perspective, focusing on individuals' agency and skills-first as a new individual-centric career paradigm that redefines success in work and learning.
Hosted by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay, the lead co-author of Working Paper 2, the Roundtable explored new perspectives on how individuals can be supported in a more skills-powered ecosystem. The other co-authors were Jeremiah Wong, Dr Albert Liau, and LAB member Ruby Toh. The Roundtable was moderated by LAB member and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Research Assistant Professor Samuel Chng.
ASG Tay reflected on how Singapore stands out globally for its continuous and generous investment in Continuing Education and Training (CET), as well as a national commitment to lifelong learning, through schemes such as SkillsFuture and other training subsidies. This proactive and progressive approach to funding stands in contrast to many other countries, where unions and workers often have to lobby for uneven training and upskilling opportunities. ASG Tay shared that both NTUC and SUSS-IAL remain committed to supporting individuals by enhancing and re-imagining lifelong learning and workforce development beyond traditional qualifications.
As Singapore moves towards a skills-first economy, NTUC will continue to work closely with SUSS-IAL, our LAB members, and tripartite partners to turn insights into impact, as well as continue to champion fair and quality training access for all workers to keep workers at the heart of transformation.
Working Paper 2, Skills-First: What Does It Mean For Me? can be accessed via the following link: https://www.ial.edu.sg/about-ial/osp/paper-2/
