The transition from graduation to work: Challenges and strategies in Singapore

While historically Singapore has not experienced an employability problem, in recent years the reduced availability of foreign labour, and the political–economic imperative to increase domestic labour force participation has underscored issues surrounding work-readiness, skills and competencies and the transition from education to employment. On the demand-side, the government has responded to this by encouraging small- and medium-sized businesses (particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors) to automate and mechanise to the extent possible through generous grants and subsidies for investing in technology. On the supply-side, the government has introduced reforms to upskill and expand the competencies of the domestic workforce. This chapter explores all these issues and presents several innovative case studies which illustrate how Singapore is addressing these issues.