Techblog
National Day Rally 2017 - What SMEs need to know
In his National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasised economic performance and jobs. He pledged industries and government should work together. Here’s what SMEs need to know about the government’s various initiatives.
Despite strong economic growth; productivity, training and pay remain important topics for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. Here are four important initiatives from the National Day Rally that are useful for SMEs.
SkillsFuture
For SMEs having employees with the right skills can mean the difference between success and failure. Through the SkillsFuture initiative, Singaporeans can upgrade their skills and retrain for new jobs.
With the help of the new Future Economy Council and its implementation of Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), employers and other organisations can chose from a variety of resources to help individuals hone their skills, ultimately giving SMEs a wider pool of skilled workers to choose from.
Smart Nation
In order to make Singapore a Smart Nation and create new business opportunities, it’s important to take full advantage of IT. In his speech, PM Lee laid out plans to use technology to make the economy more productive, solve everyday problems and make people's lives more convenient.
E-payments
One area that could help transform SMEs and make the country smarter is seamless electronic-payments, an area where Singapore is lagging behind, according to the Prime Minister. He said plans to make e-payment systems easier and more integrated are underway. Such payment methods could even be made available at hawker centres at some point.
A single system such as PayNow is already being offered by seven banks in Singapore. The application allows users to transfer money to each other easily. All that’s needed is the recipient's mobile or NRIC (National Registration Identity Card) number once an account has been linked.
Using technology for more customers
Technology has been transforming many traditional businesses and changing customer behaviour. With delivery services like Redmart and Amazon Prime gaining more popularity, Prime Minister Lee urged traditional businesses to embrace innovation.
Business owners should make greater use of technology to offer customers more convenient services while saving resources. He noted Singapore has to continue to push innovative projects such as self-service counters or unmanned cashless stores.
Transcript of the Prime Minister’s full speech can be found here.
SMEs can take advantage of new opportunities with the help of government agencies.
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Take advantage of SkillsFuture to upgrade your own or your employee’s skills
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Take full advantage of IT to be part of the Smart Nation drive
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Seamless electronic-payments will make it easier for all types of SMEs to complete transactions
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Make greater use of technology to offer customers more convenient services while saving resources