SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered his much anticipated 2020 Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18), and I couldnt have been more delighted to hear the Government will put more resources in supporting students in gaining overseas experience.
In order to help students acquire cross-cultural skills and understand the region, the Government has set a new target for 70 per cent of local graduates from Institutes of Higher Learning to have overseas exposure, and 70 per cent of the exposure to be in Southeast Asia, China, or India, as part of the new Asia-Ready Exposure programme.
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This new initiative complements the Global Ready Talent Programme, launched in October 2019, combining current and local overseas internship programmes, with more funding support for students interning overseas with Singapore firms.
Though the thought of traveling is probably very low on everyone's list right now, given the COVID-19 outbreak, however, once this global health issue subsides, we must press on with the push for our young people to gain overseas exposure in Southeast Asia, China and India.
READ: Singapore universities suspend student exchange programmes to South Korea after COVID-19 outbreak
More than just stunning landscapes, Shanghai is also a city that successfully melds the old and new. (Photo: Adrian Tan)
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AN ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT REGION
Not only is this enhancement of people-to-people ties a great way to strengthen bond among nations, it also builds familiarity and deeper understanding of each others perspectives and worldviews.
We might not need to agree on all things – but at the very least our students stand to better understand each others' position and explore areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.
Singapore is deeply connected within the ASEAN economic block since the ASEAN leaders mooted the idea for an ASEAN Economic Community – with a vision for a competitive, innovative and dynamic region with high levels of connectivity, investments and sectoral competition.
Today, ASEAN is home to one of the largest rising middle-class and working-age population proportions in the Asia-Pacific.
READ: Commentary: The future just got brighter for aspiring Singapore tech entrepreneurs
READ: Commentary: COVID-19 could redefine Singapores place in the global economy
Where the economy may be increasingly driven by entrepreneurship, home-grown start-ups in the city-state must have a regional outlook from the start.
The Singapore market, though advanced, is still considerably small but ASEAN is home to eleven unicorns, with five of them based in Singapore (Grab, Lazada, Razer, Trax and Sea), with the rest are from Indonesia (Bukalapak, Gojek, Tokopedia, and Traveloka), Philippines (Revolution Precrafted) and Vietnam (VNG Corporation).
Within this list, all of Singaporean unicorns are regional companies whereas their Southeast Asian counterparts serve almost exclusively local markets. With the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 outlining a concrete action plan and priority areas for collaboration, the outlook for regional growth remains strong.
Tokopedia founder and CEO William Tanuwijaya.
This even rings truer in large markets such as China and India where companies could be worth billions of dollars without needing to venture out of their home markets.
With the completion of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the opportunities in China are ripe for the picking. Even as Chinas growth slows, it will remain a key engine for the global economy for the foreseeable future.
India, by sheer economic heft, will also remain a chief second engine, despite its departure from the RCEP.
THE FUTURE IS ASIAN
A McKinsey report titled The Future of Asia has an interesting opening line:
For years, Western observers have talked about Asias massive future potential. But the future arrived even faster than expected. The question is no longer how quickly Asia will rise; it is how Asia will lead.
This speaks to the urgency in boosting the capabilities of the workforce in Singapore in working with their counterparts all over the region.
Where many multi-national corporations use Singapore as regional head office, younger Singaporeans will increasingly be expected to work in cross-border teams, with supporting business units across the region.
READ: Commentary: Why arent more Singapore businesses transforming? Mindsets arent the key obstacle
READ: Commentary: Dont waste Budget money. Heres how to stretch your SkillsFuture dollars
A similar trend will be experienced by small, high-performing companies. Take Wonderlabs Group for example – this Singaporean venture-backed company operates in six countries across nine cities. Wonderlabs assists its clients in building and managing their software development teams around the globe.
Shopee, which comes under Sea, expanded from 10 to 1,000 workers in just four years, and have markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan, illustrating the importance of communication, collaboration and teamwork.
UNDERSTANDING THE LOCAL CONTEXT
Some years ago, I brought a group of students on a learning journey to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We visited the Borobudur Temple, and got acquainted with remnants of this historical site that once thrived in a Buddhist kingdom.
We also visited local enterprises, understanding their management strategies and gaining new market insights. Students walked away withRead More – Source
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