An expenditure amount to a gross value of $150 million is being made in the coming three years for aiding a group of people, who comprise of more than 50 per cent of the resident workforce, to sharpen their skills.

These professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are of vital importance to the economy. However, they are not immune to the altering requirements of a 'more dynamic and volatile' world economy, as observed by Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong on Wednesday.

He says that the speed of the restructuring of the economy will become faster and that skills obsolescence is going to occur sooner. Also, PMETs whose skills are extremely specialised will, in a paradoxical manner, require being further mobile and adaptable so as to render them less vulnerable.

Therefore, the new Skills Training for Excellence Programme (Step) is striving to aid those people in sharpening, deepening and broadening their skills in their industries as well as the jobs done by them.

This programme is a part of the currently occurring national drive for increasing the workers' skills. However, the increasing concentration is on PMETs, who comprise of 52% of the almost 2 million-strong workforce.