Jobs Transformation Map and Jobs Skills Integrator launched for the retail industry

Workforce Singapore (WSG) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) have launched the Jobs Transformation Map (JTM), as well as the Jobs Skills Integrator (JSIT), for the retail industry on 1 June 2023.

The JTM for retail aims to help retail businesses plan while ensuring their workforce is equipped with the necessary skillsets to meet changing business requirements.

The JSIT for retail, managed by Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) in partnership with NTUC, is a dedicated intermediary providing retailers with end-to-end solutions for workforce transformation, employee training, and job matching services for the industry.

The JSIT will reference the JTM when it works with retailers.

Three retail trade associations and chambers (TACs) – the Singapore Retailers Association, Singapore Furniture Industries Council and Singapore Fashion Council – inked a memorandum of understanding with SNEF and NTUC during the launch to show their commitment to implementing the JTM and JSIT.

Together, the TACs will work with over 1,100 member companies, retailers, and some 94,000 workers to drive job transformation.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, the guest of honour at the launch, said that both initiatives would help ensure retail businesses grow stronger.

“Companies must therefore act quickly to transform their businesses and workforce to seize these opportunities,” said Mr Tan, the Second Minister for Trade and Industry.

NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Desmond Tan, who also attended the launch, took to Facebook to share that he was pleased that NTUC and SNEF would be working together on the JSIT initiative.

He added: “NTUC’s Training and Placement Ecosystem will no doubt play an active role. With training a key driver in this initiative, our training arm NTUC LearningHub will play its part with training providers to lead skills identification and develop relevant programmes to upskill and reskill the workforce.”

Four key trends identified by the JTM

The JTM has identified and anticipated four key trends impacting the retail industry.

They include shifts in consumer demand due to changes in lifestyle, preferences and awareness; the rise of new retail models such as omnichannel sales and customer-centric retail experience; use of data analytics to boost productivity and efficiency; the need to establish a resilient and agile supply chain to improve inventory management and provide more fulfilment options.

Additionally, the JTM report highlighted existing job roles, such as sales associates and store managers, which are likely to undergo a medium or high degree of change.

These roles must be transformed due to new technology and shifting consumer demands.

A key recommendation in the JTM report was to transform the workforce through human capital development plans to adapt to these trends and technological advances.

These include training, job redesign and skills-based career progression pathways.

The report has also identified nine emerging job roles, such as product innovator and sustainability specialist, requiring emerging skillsets, including brand storytelling, omnichannel management and carbon footprint management.

Some aspects of these emerging roles could also be merged with existing ones to create expanded job roles, as many skills are transferable.

JSIT exists to plug skills gap

The JSIT for the retail industry will help to close the gap in sector-specific job redesign and aggregation of skills needs for the industry through a three-pronged approach.

It will provide job redesign advisory to reskill existing workers based on the JTM to drive companies’ job redesign efforts, aggregate the industry’s skills demands, and work with training providers and Institutes of Higher Learning to curate relevant training and curriculum by referencing required skills from the JTM.

The JSIT will also raise employee and jobseeker awareness of emerging and enhanced job roles and work with partners to facilitate job matching and placement for jobseekers keen to enter the industry.