EU Industry Week 2021 – Are we ready for the future? Shaping flexible & innovative skills policy worldwide

In the framework of the EU Industry Days and EU Industry Week 2021, Singapore's European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) and the EU Delegation to Singapore will organise the webinar “Are we ready for the future? Shaping flexible and innovative skills policy worldwide”.

Date & Time

22 February 2021, Monday

4:00 pm - 5:30pm (SGT)

9:00 am - 10:30 am (CET)

REGISTER HERE

EU Industry Days is Europe’s flagship annual event on industry. It serves as the main platform to discuss industrial challenges and co-develop opportunities and policy responses in an inclusive dialogue with a wide range of partners. It also helps to ensure that policies at European, national, regional and local levels work together to enable European industry to deliver jobs, growth and innovation in Europe. This event will contribute to feed the ongoing reflections for a new European Industrial Strategy announced for 2021 by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union Speech.

Synposis

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought digital transformation to the forefront for governments and businesses in ASEAN by bridging processes, systems, and data and this to thrive in the new normal. Also, the green revolution has been a long time in the making, but the past few months have seen a spike in interest. This rapid shift towards climate neutrality and digital transformation is changing the way we work, learn, take part in society and lead our everyday lives.

Additionally, the economic downturn is accelerating job displacement and the jobs that disappeared as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be the same that return as the economy recovers. Though, with job displacement may come opportunity. The EU and Singapore can only grasp these opportunities if they sufficiently support and facilitate reskilling and redeployment solutions. Both are adopting new initiatives and providing funding to support training and redeployment programmes to secure their workforce. Those programmes are most effectively undertaken in partnerships involving public and private sectors, academia and civil society. In a recent survey published by EuroCham, companies have flagged the importance to address the growing digital “skill gap”.

The virtual webinar will offer the opportunity to EU and Singapore policymakers and industry representatives to exchange on latest policies and actions undertaken to: i) address talent and skills gaps – with a focus on digital ones – in important industry ecosystems (e.g. aeronautics; cybersecurity; green); and ii) reinforce the exchange among the public, private and academia. The webinar will help to establish a more structured dialogue between the EU and Singapore in this area benefiting ongoing initiatives on both sides.

Agenda

Opening remarks:

• H.E. Barbara Plinkert, EU Ambassador to Singapore
• Mr Federico Donato, President EuroCham

Setting the scene: Views from EU and Singapore

Video Message from EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit

Panel discussion

Moderator: Simonetta Cook, Member of the Cabinet of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel

Speakers:

• Slawomir Tokarski, Director responsible for industrial policy and skills, European Commission (DG GROW);

• Dr Gog Soon Joo, Chief Skills Officer, SkillsFuture Singapore;

• Tiffany Rose, Vice President, Legal Counsel for HERE Technologies;

• Mervin Toh, Founder, OPSolutions

Outcome

Singapore has always been at the forefront in the development of innovative and flexible skills policies and initiatives (e.g. SGUnited, SkillsFuture; Singapore Cyber Talent Initiative; etc.). It is home to over 10 000 EU companies and the EU’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asian region. Furthermore, we share a similar outlook on open markets on the importance of rules-based multilateral order. The workshop could kick off a dialogue on skills policies in Singapore on the one hand and in the European Union (EU) on the other.