IntroductionThe Singapore Public ServiceThe success of Singapore lies largely in its efficient and effective public sector which had formulated policies that spurred economic growth and improved standards of living and public services over the past 50-plus years. Singapore premised its rapid transformation from a third-world country post-independence to a developed country largely to the state’s intervention to the performance of the economy and the well-being of the citizens (Tan, 2015). The COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled the whole world is one good reminder that a responsive government that have a diverse pool of talents is critical to quickly to come out with policies and initiatives to contain the pandemic and revive the affected social and economy aspects (Liu, Lee & Lee., 2020; Liu, Lee & Goh, 2023). Singapore was a successful example that managed to contain the pandemic and revive its ailing economy after a short setback that led to partial lockdown for about 2 months. Its rapid and progressive responses in accordance with the fast evolving situation, was achieved through a coordinated Whole of government approach and a cocktail of digital solutions that augment government’s efforts (Lee, 2020; Lee, Lee & Liu, 2021). The aspirations of citizens will evolve to contend with the rapidly changing global post-COVID environment. The new millennium marks a new era, in which the employment landscape is filled with the new generation that has gradually shifted from academic pursuers to employees, and, eventually, main players of the job market. This will require public services to focus on more inclusive talent management approaches and leadership development at all levels across their organisations, not just on specific individuals or groups. Given, the increasing emphasis on community empowerment, it will be vital that those working in the front-line are developed, supported and empowered to work in different ways to support individuals and communities that they are serving. It will also require public services to work with and resource individuals and communities to develop and contribute their capacity and talents to achieving better outcomes. All these post-NPM approach to governance and delivery of public services entails more group effort and cooperation. The Singapore public sector has always been taking a more exclusive approach to talent management and leadership development of a selected group of individuals, i.e., scholars who are strong academically which aligns with its meritocratic principles. It is noted that in the recent years, there has been a shift from its elitist approach towards a more inclusive approach that recognises the potential of in-service individuals as well as other mid-career candidates from other sectors. This indeed signifies in the war for talent whereby the public sector is not the “preferred employer of the day” to attract the millennials, that the Singapore government need to shift away from its bureaucratic roots inherited from the colonisation and consider talent management within the context of the current reform landscape. The context which requires an increased focus on tackling inequalities, increased integration, increased collaboration, shared leadership, effective approaches to joint resourcing and community empowerment especially towards resolving immediate and challenging issues. All these will require new skills and attributes of talents they require across their organisations to deliver against the ambitions of the reform agenda and to improve the lives of the communities they serve, as well as to identify the skills gaps and how they will address these. In line with the Smart Nation vision to harness technology to effect transformation in health, transport, urban living, government services and businesses, it is also imperative for the public service to build strategic capabilities in data and digitalisation to work and engage with citizens in a digital era, and re-engineering it to be more data-driven in all aspects.Currently, the Singapore Public Service employs about 150,000 public officers working in 16 Ministries and more than 50 Statutory Boards (see Table 1). Within the Public Service is the Civil Service, comprising about 86,000 officers working in the Ministries. They work in various schemes of service, including the Administrative Service, legal, education, police, civil defence and accounting schemes (Careers@Gov, 2023). Although the Statutory boards are under the purview of the respective ministries, 126
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