Employers urged to look beyond degrees, job titles in hiring under new skills-first framework

The Institute for Adult Learning launched on Oct 19 a “Skills-First Framework for Action” that aims to make skills a bigger part of workforce decisions.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Published Oct 19, 2026, 02:20 PM

Updated Oct 19, 2026, 02:20 PM

SINGAPORE - Employers are urged to look beyond academic qualifications and past job titles when hiring and promoting workers, under a new framework aimed at making skills a bigger consideration in workforce decisions.

The Skills-First Framework for Action, launched by the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) on Oct 19, proposes 12 pilot initiatives to help companies identify, develop and better use workers’ skills, while opening up more career opportunities for Singaporeans.

Speaking at the launch at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau said employers typically begin assessing job applicants by asking about their previous roles and educational qualifications.

Such information reveals “more about where someone has been, rather than where that someone can go,” she said.

A “skills-first” approach would instead ask what workers can do, and what they can learn to do next, said Lau, who is also Second Minister of State at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.

Such practices, while not new, matter more today with jobs being transformed, skills going out of date sooner and career switches becoming more common, a process that artificial intelligence (AI) will speed up, she said.

The framework was co-authored by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency, National Trades Union Congress, Singapore Business Federation, Singapore National Employers Federation and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, following two years of research and conversations with industry players.

Its proposals include initiatives for employers to redesign jobs and hiring practices around skills that they will need, and to encourage workers to regularly review their skills and career goals.

The ideas proposed will be trialed with relevant stakeholders, while IAL will develop an observatory to study the implementation and effectiveness of such “skills-first” practices.

“Not every idea will necessarily work, and along the way, more ideas could emerge,” said Terence Ho, executive director and associate professor of practice at IAL. “But what’s important is that we experiment together, we learn together, and we build on what works.”

SkillsFuture Singapore

SUSS/Singapore University of Social Sciences

成人学习协会于 10 月 19 日启动了“技能优先行动框架”，旨在使技能在劳动力决策中发挥更大的作用。

图片来源：联合早报

发布于2026年10月19日下午2:20

更新于2026年10月19日下午2:20

新加坡——一项旨在让技能在劳动力决策中发挥更大作用的新框架敦促雇主在招聘和晋升员工时，除了学历和过去的职位头衔之外，还要考虑其他因素。

由成人学习学院 (IAL) 于 10 月 19 日发布的“技能优先行动框架”提出了 12 项试点计划，旨在帮助企业识别、发展和更好地利用员工技能，同时为新加坡人创造更多职业机会。

在金沙会展中心举行的发布会上，人力部代理部长刘嘉敏表示，雇主通常会先询问求职者之前的职位和学历，以此来评估他们。

她说，这类信息“更多地揭示了一个人过去去过的地方，而不是这个人未来可以去哪里”。

刘先生表示，“技能优先”的方法会询问工人能做什么，以及他们接下来可以学习做什么。刘先生同时也是数码发展及新闻部第二政务部长。

她表示，虽然这些做法并不新鲜，但随着工作岗位的转型、技能过时速度加快以及职业转换变得越来越普遍，这些做法在今天显得更加重要，而人工智能（AI）将加速这一过程。

该框架由技能与劳动力发展局、全国职工总会、新加坡商业联合会、新加坡全国雇主联合会和新加坡社会科学大学共同制定，历经两年的研究和与行业参与者的对话。

其提议包括鼓励雇主根据自身所需技能重新设计工作岗位和招聘方式，并鼓励员工定期审视自身技能和职业目标。

我们将与相关利益攸关方一起试行这些想法，同时 IAL 将建立一个观察站，研究此类“技能优先”做法的实施情况和有效性。

“并非每个想法都会奏效，而且在此过程中，可能会涌现出更多想法，”IAL执行主任兼实践副教授特伦斯·何（Terence Ho）表示。“但重要的是，我们一起尝试，一起学习，并在有效方法的基础上继续发展。”

新加坡技能创前程

新加坡社会科学大学