Digital transformation is not just about leveraging technology, but also about equipping people with the human skills to adapt to new innovations.
That was the message echoed across two panels on attracting and retaining digital talent at GovInsider's flagship event this year, the Festival of Innovation (FOI), held in Singapore in April.
As technology and AI continue to disrupt industries and the workforce, government and higher education leaders noted the increasing importance of soft skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, critical thinking and communication.
They also need their employees to continually develop new skills to stay relevant.
The public sector focuses on lifetime employment
The civil service is widely perceived to be an “iron rice bowl” in the sense that it offers job security and lifetime employment.
This perception is evolving, said DN Prasad, senior director of human resources and organisation at Singapore GovTech.
Digital transformation training is less about acquiring new digital skills and more about honing the human skills that enable organizational transformation. Image: GovInsider.
He added that GovTech has committed its talent strategy to focus on lifelong employability rather than employment, which means developing workers' knowledge and skills throughout their lives.
He moderated a fireside chat at FOI on “Attracting Digital Champions to the Public Sector”.
Prasad's fellow panellist Francesco Mancini of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), who is Associate Dean (Executive Education) and Associate Professor at LKYSPP, said digital transformation has become a recurring focus for the public sector in the training arena.
The institute runs more than 170 executive education programs for governments around the world, he added.
The expectation from this training is not to teach new digital skills, but rather to develop the human skills that enable change within organizations, including stakeholder management and contextual intelligence.
When it comes to improving your skills, application is more important than knowledge
Panellists from training providers such as the Singapore Institute of Adult Education (IAL), Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC Learning Hub highlighted that skills development is increasingly focused on the applicability of skills in the workplace.
They spoke at the Talent Tango panel, “Digital Skills to Drive Digital Transformation Within Your Company.”
Higher education leaders on another panel emphasized that adult learning is increasingly focused on applying skills in the workplace. Image: GovInsider.
“We spend a lot of time on not only building the skills but also the translation piece… and then after the training, there's a lot of follow-up to ensure the application element,” said Ms Patrice Chong, chief data officer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Both Mr Amos Tan, chief skills officer of NTUC LearningHub, and Associate Professor Sim Soo Keng, director of IAL's Innovation Centre, noted that the “confluence of skills, knowledge and problem-solving” will be a key area of focus.
Tan said he has seen an increase in demand for Generative AI (GenAI) training courses over the past year. GenAI differs from other types of technology in that it uses natural language and taps into a range of skill sets.
Chong and Tan said the ability to define and evaluate a problem, including asking the right questions and spotting AI hallucinations, is key to using GenAI effectively and safely.
Elina Roslan, MyDIGITAL strategic communications director at Malaysia Centre4IR, said the government is partnering with both technology providers and executive education providers to bridge the digital leadership gap.
The goal is not to create digital experts, she said, but to equip leaders with the skills and mindset to ask the right questions when IT people come and introduce specific technologies related to digital transformation.
Private and public sectors working together through incentives
“There is currently a great revolution taking place in our School of Public Policy,” said LKYSPP's Professor Mancini.
“People think that public policy schools produce graduates who go into the public sector, but that's not the case. In fact, the majority of graduates go on to work in the private sector,” he explained.
The fireside chat discussed the issue of aligning incentives between the public and private sectors.
Prof Mancini said workplace flexibility and meaningful work were key factors in attracting and retaining workers, but the public sector tended to be a more regulated working environment, which could mean less flexibility.
GovTech Singapore's Prasad highlighted the work purpose, “technology for public good,” as one of the three key elements that define the organization's employee value proposition. Image: GovInsider.
He added that while the public sector claims to be able to exert social impact, it may still be difficult for civil servants to identify their personal contributions and the end result when they are part of a bureaucratic system.
GovTech's Prasad highlighted that the business purpose of technology for public good in the context of an organisation's work is one of the three key components that make up its employee value proposition.
The significance of the work was also highlighted by Jules Carl R. Celebrades (Gdip, astronaut), director and national coordinator of the Brain and Mental Health Research and Development Program at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Philippines.
The Philippine government has established an innovation platform to foster collaboration among public sector innovators, clinicians, and academics to turn ideas into tangible results during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of participating becomes clear [the profession] And help the people,” he added.
Recognizing the different strengths of the private and public sectors, public sector HR leaders should start thinking about how to address some of these gaps from an ecosystem perspective and how each sector can learn and adapt from one another, concluded GovTech's Prasad.
