Speech at SHRI 50th Anniversary Gala Event

Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower , The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

Mr Erman Tan, President SHRI

SHRI Council and Advisory Panel Members

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

1. Good evening. I congratulate SHRI on your 50^th Anniversary.
   
2. From its humble beginning in 1965 as the Singapore Institute of Personnel Management (SIPM), SHRI has continually reinvented itself.
3. However, there is one constant that has not changed all these years. And it is your firm commitment on developing HR best practices; connecting the community of HR professionals and enhancing the value of the profession.  From 34 members in 1965, SHRI now have over 3,000 members. You are now the leading professional body for HR in Singapore. You have come far. Well done!
   
   The need to transition to a manpower-lean economy
   
4. Having come this far, your challenge now is to keep pace with the transformation of the Singapore Economy. As we face the twin challenges of low birth rates and a rapidly aging workforce, we have embarked on a new growth formula - From “3+1=4” where growth is driven mainly by labour inputs, to “1+2=3” with growth driven by higher productivity.  This transition is necessary for us to secure quality and sustainable growth for our people.
5. To ensure that our economic growth will not be limited by the slower manpower growth, we need to pursue four areas of priority. These are: to be more manpower lean, to strengthen the Singaporean Core, to enhance the quality of foreign labour, and to be more future ready. We need all sectors of the economy to respond in concert. This is why we are embracing SkillsFuture as a national movement for all sectors and all workers. 
   
   SkillsFuture for HR professionals
6. The response so far has been promising. Tripartite partners in over 20 sectors are coming together to formulate the manpower development plans for their respective sectors. These plans will identify future directions for the economy, the future skills required of the workforce, and set out a systematic approach of upgrading the industry and workforce, sector by sector, in all sectors.
7. Many of these are vertical sectors covering industries such as Retail, Biopharmaceuticals and Hotel. The HR profession is special because you are the horizontal foundation that underpins the Sectoral Manpower Plans of these vertical sectors. It is important to make sure that our HR community will be future-ready too.  
8. A Sectoral Tripartite Committee for the HR sector, comprising representatives from the tripartite partners, will be formed to develop the HR SMP.  I invite all HR professionals to help co-create this important blueprint.
   
   National Professional Certification Framework
9. A key initiative under the HR SMP is the development of a national professional certification framework for the HR profession. The framework will provide local practitioners access to global HR certifications, and will create more career and professional development pathways for HR professionals.  It will also support the up-skilling of individuals.  We will form a tripartite taskforce under the HR Sectoral Tripartite Committee to develop this framework. Ms Aileen Tan, Group Director, Human Resources, Singtel, has agreed to lead the taskforce.
   
   Role of SHRI
10. In conclusion, as the national association for HR professionals, SHRI has a major role to play in the national SkillsFuture movement.  You can help mobilize the entire HR community to take better care and make better use of our precious manpower resource as we transit towards a more manpower-lean economy. I am confident that with the collective support and commitment of tripartite and industry partners such as SHRI, HR will continue to reinvent itself in the same manner you had done so in the past 50 years. Let’s strive for quality and sustainable growth together, for ourselves and our future generation.
11. Thank you and enjoy your evening.