Speech by SMS Sim Ann at the Discussion on Alternative Sources of Talent for SMEs

WELCOME SPEECH BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY MS SIM ANN AT THE DISCUSSION ON ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF TALENT FOR SMES ON 30 APRIL 2018, 3.00PM AT NTUC CENTRE, 1 MARINA BOULEVARD​ 

​Mr Ang Hin Kee, Assistant Director-General, National Trades Union Congress;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Introduction

Thank you, Hin Kee. I am glad to be able to lend support to the Labour Movement’s efforts to assist freelancers. Today, we bring together a network of local businesses and advocates for freelance professionals, to help businesses learn how to access freelance talent effectively.

Freelancers a Valuable Resource

2.            Amidst a more optimistic outlook for the Singapore economy, hiring individuals with the right aptitude and skills in a tighter manpower environment continues to be a key challenge for many SMEs. The National Business Survey conducted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) in 2017 highlighted that up to 72% of Singapore businesses find it difficult to source and recruit suitable talent.

3.            At the same time, a growing number of individuals are taking up professional freelance or self-employed work. In 2017, the number of local residents who took up self-employed work as their primary job for at least 6 months grew to 223,500, an increase of more than 10% from the previous year.  The demographics of professional freelancers are also shifting, with a higher proportion of them holding tertiary or specialised educational qualifications and having substantial experience in their respective trade or industry.

4.            With changing aspirations of the workforce and shifts towards digitalisation, we can expect the appeal of professional freelancing or self-employed work to grow. Freelancers enjoy greater autonomy over what assignments they accept, as well as when or how they want to work. They also have the flexibility of working with multiple clients across multiple projects and even geographies.  

5.            A growing pool of professional freelancers can thus offer opportunities to SMEs who are looking for individuals with the suitable skills.  SMEs can look towards professional freelancers to quickly augment their core workforce, especially in areas where they find challenging to fill positions based on permanent employment. In addition, freelancers can potentially provide a competitive advantage to organisations, such as offering niche expertise or capabilities that an organisation may not have. But for this to happen, more SMEs need to be equipped with an understanding of the freelance manpower landscape, and how to adapt their HR practices to create fruitful and sustainable relationships with professional freelancers.

Various Platforms Available to Help SMEs Access Freelance Labour and Transform

6.            Some SMEs may have questions when it comes to engaging professional freelancers, such as how and where can I go to find them? How can I effectively manage their work outcomes, and what are the rules my company needs to adhere to in engaging freelancers?

7.            Accessing professional freelancers is not a new concept, but it has become easier in recent years. For a start, NTUC has introduced the freelanceXchange, which aims to build a large community of freelancers. Within the site, there is a Directory of Freelancers with details of their professions and contact details that businesses can use make use of.

8.            At the same time, there has been a rise of a number of private platforms, which integrate human resource technologies, algorithmic matching and data science, to help SMEs manage and navigate this terrain. Many models exist depending on the company’s own readiness and resource availability. Some platforms can even put together a team of professional freelancers to work with the core SME team.

9.            Take for example IoTalents, an integrated platform for IT hires. Through its in-built recruitment and profiling technologies, it has allowed many businesses to strengthen their talent pool as well as manage and track their labour for better competitiveness. I am glad Mr Kek Sei Wee from IoTalents as well as other business leaders are present today to share more on this topic.

10.          Engaging professional freelancers successfully also requires businesses to be flexible and possibly adapt their workplace policies to accommodate them. It is important to set out arrangements with professional freelancers or self-employed persons clearly to lend clarity to the expectations and conduct of the relationship, including each parties’ obligations, nature of services to be provided and remuneration, to name a few.  The Ministry of Manpower will be sharing more about some good contracting norms for engaging freelancers, and other recommendations by the Tripartite Work Group on Self-Employed Persons to address the common challenges that freelancers face later in the session.

Conclusion

11.         In conclusion, I would like to wish everyone a productive session, and hope the sharing from the panellists will be useful in helping our SMEs to leverage on professional freelancers to further grow their business, and at the same time, create more employment opportunities for the growing community of professional freelancers in Singapore.

12.         Thank you.