'Don't fixate on one model': Singapore's President urges education rethink as AI disrupts entry-level hiring

Governments around the world must move quickly to address a decline in hiring for fresh graduates as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes labour markets, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said during a panel discussion at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday (Oct 12).

Addressing central bankers, finance ministers and officials, President Tharman highlighted that there is already evidence of less hiring at the first rung of employment, referring to first jobs after graduation.

"It's clearest in the most AI-exposed sectors, the tech companies themselves. But it's becoming clear across the board in the US and elsewhere," he said.

President Tharman noted that demand for graduates has gone down in the US for the first time in a century, while the wage premium that college graduates earned, as compared to non-college graduates, has also gone down significantly.

Rethinking education and learning

He urged governments and officials to take these as "early signals of a new era" and work backwards from what's happening in the world of work into changes in the education system, with a stronger focus on applied learning.

"More bursts of work as part of education — more internships, or more of the dual model of education where you spend serious time in a firm as part of your tertiary education."

This, he said, requires "humility in education planning", without being fixated on a particular model of education, particularly on the issue of depth versus breadth in higher education.

Making the case for this, President Tharman pointed out that while a serious depth of expertise may be needed in some fields to help workers stay agile and continue learning on the job, there will be other areas where a breadth of exposure to different disciplines is required.

"So don't fixate on one model. Being clear-eyed means recognising that the future is fuzzy, and we just have to be agile. Not just within firms and industry, but in pathways within education itself."

Public-private partnership to protect jobs

On jobs, President Tharman highlighted that what governments did during Covid-19 and the global financial crisis to support young people's first jobs may now have to become part of governments' longer-term policy toolkit, rather than remain crisis measures.

"Governments have to get involved with the private sector to make that first job possible, to make that pathway to a career ladder possible."

Without that first foothold in the labour market, young people may find themselves waiting longer for employment and competing with subsequent graduating cohorts, he said.

Should that happen, skills, intangible aptitudes and trust in the future would be lost, President Tharman said.

"There has to be a public-private collaboration, with the public sector incentivising the private sector to take in fresh graduates, so they get that first foothold in the market, and they can learn from there."

Earlier in the panel discussion, President Tharman also spoke about how AI is blurring the distinction between being an employee and an entrepreneur.

He noted the rise of "one-person companies", which start with a single individual, and may later bring in a few more employees.

"It’s a new phenomenon that's already coming up in many parts of the developing world and the developed world. And we should encourage it. It’s a new form of job creation, but it's different. You have agency."

Explaining this, President Tharman highlighted that small players using AI can reach markets and access knowhow and technology much more efficiently and at lower cost compared to before.

"So that's itself a new growth sector in the job market, and we've got to encourage it," he said.

新加坡总统尚达曼周一（10月12日）在泰国曼谷举行的国际货币基金组织（IMF）和世界银行集团（WBG）年会上，在一次小组讨论中表示，随着人工智能（AI）重塑劳动力市场，世界各国政府必须迅速采取行动，应对应届毕业生招聘人数下降的问题。

尚达曼总统在向各国央行行长、财政部长和官员发表讲话时强调，已有证据表明，就业第一阶段（指毕业后的第一份工作）的招聘人数正在减少。

他说：“在受人工智能影响最大的行业，也就是科技公司本身，这一点最为明显。但这种情况在美国乃至世界各地都越来越普遍。”

尚达曼总统指出，美国对大学毕业生的需求一个世纪以来首次下降，而大学毕业生与非大学毕业生相比所获得的工资溢价也大幅下降。

重新思考教育和学习

他敦促各国政府和官员将这些视为“新时代的早期信号”，并从工作领域正在发生的事情出发，反向推演教育体系的变革，更加注重应用型学习。

“在教育过程中融入更多实践经验——更多实习机会，或者更多双轨制教育模式，即在高等教育期间，花大量时间在公司实习。”

他表示，这需要“在教育规划中保持谦逊”，而不要执着于某种特定的教育模式，尤其是在高等教育的深度与广度问题上。

尚达曼总裁在阐述这一观点时指出，虽然在某些领域可能需要深厚的专业知识来帮助员工保持敏捷性并在工作中不断学习，但在其他领域则需要广泛接触不同的学科。

“所以不要执着于单一模式。保持清醒的头脑意味着认识到未来充满不确定性，我们必须灵活应变。这不仅体现在企业和行业内部，也体现在教育本身的路径选择上。”

公私合作保护就业

关于就业问题，尚达曼总统强调，各国政府在新冠疫情和全球金融危机期间为支持年轻人获得第一份工作所采取的措施，现在可能需要成为政府长期政策工具包的一部分，而不是仅仅作为危机应对措施。

“政府必须与私营部门合作，才能使人们获得第一份工作，才能使人们有机会走上职业阶梯。”

他表示，如果年轻人没有在劳动力市场站稳脚跟，他们可能会发现自己需要等待更长时间才能找到工作，并且还要与随后毕业的同龄人竞争。

尚达曼总统表示，如果这种情况发生，技能、无形才能和对未来的信任将会丧失。

“必须建立公私合作关系，公共部门应激励私营部门吸纳应届毕业生，帮助他们获得进入市场的第一步，并从中学习成长。”

在之前的小组讨论中，尚达曼总统也谈到了人工智能如何模糊了雇员和企业家之间的界限。

他注意到“一人公司”的兴起，这些公司最初只有一个人，后来可能会增加一些员工。

“这是一种在发展中国家和发达国家许多地区已经出现的新现象。我们应该鼓励它。这是一种新的就业创造方式，但又有所不同。你拥有自主权。”

尚达曼总裁解释说，使用人工智能的小型企业可以比以前更高效、更低成本地进入市场并获取专业知识和技术。

“所以这本身就是就业市场的一个新兴增长领域，我们必须鼓励它，”他说。