GovTech layoffs: Government learnt 2 lessons from the exercise, says Jasmin Lau

The Government will apply two lessons gleaned from the first phase of the Government Technology Agency's (GovTech) restructuring exercise in the next phases, which are expected to take place in the next two years.

Jasmin Lau, Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, was responding to a supplementary question from Patrick Tay, MP for Pioneer SMC, on the agency's recent retrenchment in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 4).

Lau said that GovTech will first look to "shorten" the transition period for public officers whose roles are affected in the future.

"We have found that [for] officers who have to spend an extended period on a pathway towards exit, even with the support in place, this creates prolonged uncertainty and anxiety for them and also for the teams that they are in," she revealed.

"GovTech will aim to shorten this period whenever possible, so that officers reach clarity on their next steps more quickly rather than remaining in a state of limbo for longer than necessary."

The first phase of restructuring involved a total of 305 GovTech staff, with 93 laid off.

The agency previously said that it is evolving its operating model to build and manage its own digital products and platforms "to deliver faster, more secure, and more responsive digital services for all Singaporeans".

The proportion of traditional project and vendor management roles will gradually decrease as more products are built and operated in-house.

@asiaone Among the 93 officers retrenched from the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau said those aged between 40 to 49 form the largest age group. #sgnews #Singapore #Parliament #Technology #Jobs #Workers ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

GovTech to continue using external vendors

Secondly, Lau clarified in Parliament on Tuesday that GovTech will continue engaging external vendors for projects.

"Some of the messaging around this restructuring may have given the impression that GovTech intends to move all work in-house and not use vendors anymore. That is not the case," she said.

"What is changing is that GovTech is taking greater ownership of the products that we build and the platforms that we deliver.

"We will be clearer on this distinction in how we communicate future phases, so that our partners and the industry understand exactly what is and what is not changing."

According to Lau, it will also be "more likely" that GovTech contract staff in vendor management roles will be affected.

42% of affected workers in their 40s

She also told Parliament that officers aged between 40 and 49 account for 42 per cent of the 93 staff leaving the agency, and also 42 per cent of the 305 affected.

"This age group is therefore not over-represented among the exiting officers," Lau stated.

About 30 per cent of all workers affected are above 50 years of age, she added.

Workers' Party Dennis Tan also asked what "skills gap or competency gap" prevented the retrenched staff from transitioning into another role.

On this, Lau said GovTech has converted "as many of our staff as possible" through apprenticeships and training programmes, "and also to allow natural attrition to take place".

"Unfortunately, it is the pace and the scale of the changes that have required us to take the current steps," she explained.

"For many of our affected officers, we also want to give them a chance to consider whether the conversion to these new roles is something they want to do."

An estimated seven to nine per cent of GovTech's 3,900 workforce will be affected by the exercise.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com