Singapore’s Talent Strategy and Practice

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By: Liu Hong； Wang Guangyao，Compiled by Chinese Academy of Personnel Science

Throughout history, human activity has been the key driving force behind economic and social development. Since the reform and opening-up policy was in place, China has capitalized on its “population bonus” to rapidly develop labor-intensive industries and significantly push forward with national economic and social development. However, as China enters into the era of the knowledge economy, it needs to optimize its industrial structure by transforming it from being labor- to technology-, capital- and knowledge-intensive.

Singapore is an island nation that has succeeded in breaking free of the constraints imposed by its geography and lack of natural resources to become one of the Asia’s Four Little Dragons just four decades after gaining independence. Since its establishment, Singapore has attached great importance to talent cultivation and made talent policies a key element of the national strategy carried out by top its leadership. After years of practice and improvement, Singapore has formulated a whole set of comprehensive and customized talent strategies. The success of this effort is reflected in Singapore’s extraordinary economic and social development.

This is the first book that provides an in-depth analysis of Singapore’s talent strategy and lays out its implications for China, which is now in the middle of a major economic and social transition. By learning from Singapore’s experience, China will be able to save the time exploring solutions and devise a shortcut for more quickly and successfully completing this transition. General speaking, the Singaporean talent strategy covers almost all aspects of talent cultivation policy, from theory to practice.

Learning from the success and failure of Singapore’s talent strategy and its practice, China can also more efficiently map out its own path and develop policies tailored to its particular needs. Such a talent strategy and related policies designed based on China’s own political and social environment and with Chinese characteristics can be a great contribution to building a strong nation.

Prof Liu Hong,Chair, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Director, Nanyang Technological University

Wang Huiyao, CCG President; Vice Chairman at China Western Returned Scholars Association