NUS SCALE organises a public breakfast talk on the future of work

16 November 2019 – What is the future of work? And what is the future of learning?

These were the questions posed to an expert line-up of speakers at a breakfast talk organised by the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (NUS SCALE).

Dr Chan Mun Kitt, Vice Dean (Executive & Professional Development), kicked off the session with an overview of the four industrial revolutions, and noted the paradigm shift in the workforce where workers are now being equipped with more depth, as opposed to just breadth of knowledge.

Dr Gog Soon Joo, Chief Futurist and Chief Skills Officer at SkillsFuture Singapore, then spoke about how the nature of work is changing and being reorganised to overcome the lack of skills and talent, while enterprises have to adopt the “4B approach” to buy, build, borrow, and bot in order to sustain business competitiveness.

She said that the job market continues to demand skills that blend technology, technicality and human, and noted that opportunities in the innovation economy abound in the form of telemigrant and portfolio work, as well as B2B solutions.

Mr Gary Ang, NUS SCALE Instructor and former Division Head of Investment Risk Management at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, next spoke about learning to learn in this new age. He too noted that the notion of traditional work has changed, with many workers, himself included, opting to take on freelance, contract and gig roles.

As the state of technology progresses, he said, so does the need for both hi-tech and hi-touch skills, and the need to learn effectively. He also urged members in the audience to get comfortable with non-linear learning, as well as messiness – but to start from first principles.

Dr Gog and Mr Ang then took part in a panel discussion that furthered the morning’s discussion, along with moderator Dr Adrian Kuah, who is Director at the National University of Singapore’s Futures Office.

Mr Suresh Punjabi, Director of Business Development, then capped the session with a brief introduction to the various courses that are offered by NUS SCALE.

The event was attended by more than 60 participants, which included former Member of Parliament, Mr Seng Han Thong.

To join us at our next event, look out for updates in our website and social media pages!