The world economy is now facing the most dangerous financial crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

A crisis of such alarming proportions demands unprecedented measures to deal with the problems. It is therefore timely that the Singapore Government has come up with a massive $20.5-billion budget for 2009 to revitalise the national economy.

Under this Resilience Package, measures will be taken to preserve jobs and help Singaporeans upgrade their skills so that they can stay employed or seek re-employment.

As a leading player in the education sector, MDIS gives top priority to lifelong education - training and nurturing talent and continued skills development of workers in both good times and bad.

In "bad" times such as now, companies hit by declining business can make effective use of this lull in activity by upgrading the skills of their employees through SPUR (Skills Programme for Upgrading & Resilience). Employers will be subsidized up to 90% of the course fee for rank-and-file workers, Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians under the SPUR programme.

I fully encourage students and businesses to use this time to upgrade, build new capabilities and sharpen their competitive edge in readiness for the upturn. Under the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), there will be more than 800 courses, covering 24 industries and a total of 230,000 training places under SPUR. Employers today place a premium on a candidate's skills, which are enriched and nourished by education and knowledge. Employers also hire and promote employees who are competent in their jobs. Job competence can be developed through regular practice, on-the-job training and taking up relevant courses at training or professional institutes and tertiary institutions.

As a springboard to launch challenging careers for many of our graduates, MDIS strives to maintain the highest standards by equipping our students with the relevant skills and knowledge to meet the needs and exacting demands of the marketplace.

The Singapore government's commitment to invest in education underscores the nation's resolve to ride on the next leg of Asia's growth when recovery comes. I am confident that we will emerge from this crisis reasonably intact, armed with renewed confidence to face economic challenges and the global demands for higher skills and job expertise in rapidly changing economies.