Trade Associations' Roles to Drive Industry Transformation Maps

1 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) for trade associations which wish to be actively involved to drive the execution of the Industry Transformation Maps, how can they coordinate with the lead Government agencies and be empowered to do so; and (b) for trade associations which want to transform their sectors but do not have an Industry Transformation Map, what specific forms of support can they expect from the Government in the areas of productivity improvement, skills development, innovation and internationalisation.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (Mr S Iswaran): Madam, I thank the Member for his question and welcome our trade associations and chambers' (TACs') interest to be actively involved in our industry transformation efforts.

Madam, the Government regards our TACs as important partners who are integral to our industry transformation efforts. Industry transformation is a major initiative that requires the commitment of all stakeholders to succeed. In particular, TACs, with their in-depth understanding of the needs and growth opportunities of their respective industries, can support the development of industry-specific strategies. Hence, the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) are being jointly developed and implemented with industry associations, business chambers, companies as well as unions. And I think the Member would be familiar with that effort.

The 23 ITM sectors, which account for about 80% of our gross domestic product, will be launched by the end of this year. To date, we have launched six ITMs for the retail, hotel, food services, precision engineering, logistics and food manufacturing sectors. Each of these ITMs would be led by one of our economic agencies that include the Economic Development Board, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, SPRING Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board. The full list of the sectors and the lead agencies is available on the Ministry of Trade and Industry website. The tripartite partners will be actively involved in all aspects of the ITM process, from planning to implementation.

The 23 sectors include industries which are covered by the National Productivity Council and the SkillsFuture Council and also contribute significantly to the economy and employment. However, I want to emphasise that our aim is to enhance productivity, innovation and competitiveness across all sectors. Even in sectors for which we do not yet have an ITM, TACs can play an important role in industry development by focusing on priority areas and tapping on Government schemes for assistance.

For example, the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA) has helped to develop strategies to drive innovation and exports, which are the industry's priorities. SFMA, working together with SPRING, implemented design thinking and product development workshops to help food manufacturers develop globally competitive products. SFMA also worked with IE Singapore to launch an online Singapore shop, "Tasty Singapore", on China's top e-commerce platforms like Alibaba's Tmall, to help local companies enter the Chinese market.

TACs have also helped to generate broad-based support for industry initiatives that require scale beyond the efforts of individual companies. For instance, the Container Depot Association (Singapore) (or CDAS) recently launched an electronic Container Trucking System, a common information technology platform, which helped shorten waiting time at the depot and reduced redundant trips for all container logistics companies.

SFMA and CDAS were supported in these efforts by SPRING and IE Singapore through the Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programme. LEAD is an important source of support for TACs to enhance their capacity and to help their industries improve productivity, innovate and internationalise, even if there is no ITM. For example, the Print and Media Association of Singapore, for which there is no specific ITM, is tapping on LEAD to build a training academy, develop a machine capacity sharing platform, and support knowledge sharing and research and development collaborations in the industry. Such examples demonstrate the valuable role TACs can play in industry development.

Mdm Speaker, to reiterate, our industry transformation programme is a major initiative that requires the commitment of all stakeholders. We are still in the early stages and much work remains to be done. Our TACs are important partners in this effort and can make valuable contributions. My message to TACs is this: if you have a proposal to address a need to enhance skills, productivity, innovation or internationalisation in your industry, there is no need to wait for an ITM to be launched. Take it up with the Ministry or economic agency with which you have been dealing. There are no wrong doors and our economic agencies will do their best to support your efforts with the relevant programme.

We look forward to working closely with our TACs in this important effort.