\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should integrate AI because the potential is significant,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it’s in the how and in the where that the in-depth conversations need to be had between companies, business leaders, HR leaders, unions and workers. That is the important conversation that will be critical in this next phase.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Foo is also looking at how workplaces can better support parents while recognising employers\u2019 operational needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a father of three, he said he understands the challenge of balancing career and family responsibilities, and how this could weigh on young couples as they consider whether to have children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He believes there is room to explore different forms of workplace flexibility and find arrangements that work for both employees and businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMany parents who are running companies or in managerial positions understand this tension intimately themselves because they have to manage this on an everyday basis,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, this is something we really have to work on, get more feedback and views, (explore) different scenarios, different forms of flexibilities, so that we are able to build into the overall system.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the Trade and Industry Ministry, Mr Foo is looking further afield as global trading patterns shift and countries diversify their economic links.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sees opportunities for Singapore to remain at the centre of global trade flows while preparing businesses and Singaporeans to venture into markets that could become increasingly important in the decades ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These include established markets such as Europe as well as emerging ones in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of these countries have very strong population dividends, very young and growing populations. I think those are where potentially opportunities will be in the next 20 to 30 years,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond individual policy areas, Mr Foo said his contribution could lie in bringing together different perspectives and translating them into practical outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He believes the government can go beyond consulting businesses and workers and move towards deeper collaboration with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s really seeing how we can, as the government, partner the private sector, business leaders, HR leaders, and have an outcome that is clear to everybody that will provide more good jobs for fellow Singaporeans,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that kind of tangible benefit is what many people want to see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked how he hopes Singaporeans will come to view him in his new role, Mr Foo said he hopes his ability to bring people and ideas together will be reflected in his work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI hope that Singaporeans will not just perceive, but see me in action as a minister of state who engages deeply, who is able to connect people, connect ideas and make good outcomes for Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cWe should integrate AI because the potential is significant,\u201d he noted.\u00a0 \u201cBut it’s in the how and in the where that the in-depth conversations need…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}