How can we help polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students skill up into expert “Digital Champions”? And how can we match them with great Singaporean SMEs who need AI specialists?
These are some of the forward-thinking proposals from the Young PAP (YP)’s latest position paper, co-authored with ASME’s AI Action Group. The paper focuses on youth employment and employability, in a way that benefits both SMEs and students.
“Given that SMEs hire over 70 per cent of our workforce, these recommendations are critical to our youths who are entering the job market at this time,” said YP activist Pulse Tan, editor of the paper.
“Singaporean SMEs embracing AI is not just about uplifting capabilities, but a survival issue, given our higher wages and fixed costs,” he added.
Mr Tan also noted that the current revolution of generative AI can disrupt the strengths of Singapore’s skilled workforce. This is in diverse areas ranging from financial analysis to legal advice.
“And the jobs which generative AI is going to displace, they’re often not for senior positions and experienced people,’ said his fellow YP activist Kenneth Yeo, a lead author on the paper. “It’s the entry-level jobs that will be affected. So very youth-centric policies are needed to tackle that.”
Benefits for youths and SMEs
Mr Tan also noted that this AI revolution provides an opportunity for those who embrace these digital tools.
This is also why the paper’s proposals also include integrating AI’s impact into the Government’s Industry Transformation Maps, as well as a One-Stop AI Consultancy Centre.
This Centre will be an innovation incubator for AI entrepreneurship programmes, where experts can contribute their knowledge of AI regulation and assess the viability of AI-related grants.
SMEs can also benefit from the position paper’s recommendation to make it easier for them to access high-end AI products. These products encompass digital marketing, data and sentiment analytics, as well as creating customer facing tools like chatbots. All these functions are tailored to the needs and scale of SMEs.
Another recommendation involves the Government creating Apprenticeship Guidelines. These will help polytechnic and ITE interns gain knowledge more easily from their host SMEs. At the same time, they will help reduce the workload on SMEs.
Source: Henry Kwek / Facebook
In fact, many of our PAP backbenchers have been ahead of the curve in seeing the pitfalls and potential of AI. MP Tan Wu Meng’s (Jurong GRC) speech in Parliament was lauded by foreign commentators for showing leadership in communicating the challenges of AI to the public .
MP Henry Kwek (Kebun Baru SMC), who is a longstanding champion of youth employability and AI, will speak in Parliament to push for the policy paper’s recommendations.
In 2016, long before Chat-GPT became a household name, Mr Kwek urged the government to pay special attention to machine learning and artificial intelligence, during a Parliamentary debate on SkillsFuture.
“When SMEs embrace AI, they do more than innovate — they empower our youth with rewarding careers and future-ready skills for an AI-driven world,” said MP Kwek regarding the paper.
“Like all our research at Young PAP, we took a real-world multi-stakeholder approach,” said Mr Yeo about his writing process for the paper. “We drew from academic research and industry voices from the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises as well as leading technology firms. And even those unfamiliar with AI!”
“We wanted a grounded, inclusive perspective,” he continued. “To leverage on the human capital of fresh graduates, to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs in the new age of AI.”
More on the Young PAP and our youth activists:
More on our MPs on harnessing the AI revolution:
PAP GPC leads motion with 13 calls to action to build an inclusive and safe digital society
Read the paper here:
