SkillsFuture Credits for Overseas Courses Not Available through Singapore Training Providers

11 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) whether SkillsFuture Credits can be used for overseas courses that are not available through training providers in Singapore, on a case-by-case basis, for example, where the skill in question is of economic value and where local training providers are scarce.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills)): Mdm Speaker, we have taken an inclusive approach in building up the list of courses eligible for SkillsFuture Credit. As at 30 September, the SkillsFuture Credit course directory has about 17,000 skills-based courses covering over 50 areas of training.

However, by and large, we do not include courses conducted overseas in the SkillsFuture Credit course directory because their lack of presence here means that we are unable to audit or check these training providers for quality or to prevent any possible misuse.

This, notwithstanding, we recognise that there could be useful overseas courses. So, we have brought in many best-in-class training institutions from overseas and provided course fee subsidies for these programmes. An example will be the courses conducted by the Lean Transformation Innovation Centre that is established by the Singapore Institute of Technology in partnership with US-based training provider Lean Enterprise Institute. Another example is the collaboration between the Singapore Productivity Centre and the Boston Consulting Group, which offers training to retail professionals in best practices and areas like concept development, portfolio management and business process improvement.

In addition to that, we have also included Massive Open Online Courses designed by overseas institutions which are offered through reputable overseas-based companies like Udemy and Coursera, under the SkillsFuture Credit.

SSG will continue to work closely with the relevant Government agencies and training providers to expand the list of courses under the SkillsFuture Credit course directory. If there is a specific training programme that is not conducted in Singapore but is industry-relevant, we welcome and invite the Member to highlight it to SSG for consideration and evaluation. Wherever appropriate, SSG will explore cost-effective and sustainable ways to enable Singaporeans to gain access to good and relevant programmes.

Mdm Speaker: Mr Dennis Tan.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. I just have two supplementary questions. I appreciate the answer that was given by the Parliamentary Secretary and may I implore the Ministry to keep the line open for possible exceptional situations where the local training providers may not be able to provide a certain training. So, not just structured programmes that the Ministry may expand into from time to time.

The other question is: I believe that the Government has announced previously they will be giving out individual study awards up to $5,000 to support young and mid-career workers as well as fellowships worth $10,000 to help senior workers. For that, the SkillsFuture Secretariat has said that these awards may include overseas courses in certain sectors. I would like to clarify with the Parliamentary Secretary what sectors and courses are included in this and what are the criteria for the selection.

Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank Mr Dennis Tan for his two supplementary questions. I want to reiterate, if Mr Tan comes across any specific training programme that is currently not conducted in Singapore, not in the 17,000 SkillsFuture Credit course directory, but deemed as industry-relevant, we welcome him to highlight it to us, to SSG, for consideration and evaluation.

I want to again assure the Member that the diversity of courses reflected in the 17,000 SkillsFuture Credit course directory includes almost 2,000 online courses: that means about 12%. The bulk of these online courses are delivered by overseas providers. So, we are open-minded, we are taking a very inclusive approach to make available courses across more than 50 areas of training for eligible Singaporeans. We continue to welcome feedback and suggestions from Members on relevant overseas courses for SkillsFuture Credit, bearing in mind the need for quality assurance and also periodic reviews on the relevance of the course. It does not mean that once you put it in the directory, it is always there. We have to review the relevance, effectiveness, level of demand.

The Member can be assured that we will continue to review the directory for relevance, quality, level of demand, and we will also continue to validate the training providers, the training organisations' internal standards, to ensure standards of quality and integrity of assessment.

The Parliamentary Question (PQ) is related to SkillsFuture Credits, but the second supplementary question is related to SkillsFuture study awards. The amount is capped at $5,000. SSG is currently working with various Government agencies like the Economic Development Board and SPRING Singapore to identify and scope out the study awards with a view to developing a strong Singaporean Core for the sector. I would encourage the Member to file a separate PQ so that we can provide him with more information for the study awards.

Mdm Speaker: Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, to a lot of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), professional courses and examinations that lead to the certification of their professional qualifications are rather important. I would like to ask whether the Ministry will consider letting applicants to apply on a reimbursement basis, just like the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme. There are many professional courses that are not on the list because the examiners or the course conductors are overseas. A few I can name are: certified Internal Auditor Course which my residents say is not on the list; certified Information System Auditor Course; and the other courses like those offered by the Institution of Electricial Engineers (IEE) and the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) which professionals value a lot. So, maybe, one way is to let them take the examination on the courses and then they would submit based on a reimbursement basis. Would you consider that?

Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for the suggestion and please allow SSG to look at the case in point. The Member cited a few areas which seem to be professional qualifications required, for example, by engineers. This is an area where we can work with the Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES). SSG is happy to sync up with IES or even other domain experts to understand what are the peculiar learning needs of the professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) in the sector.

Please allow me to reiterate that the SkillsFuture movement is really not just about SkillsFuture Credit. We have a slew of SkillsFuture initiatives, even benefiting, targeting and focusing on the needs of the PMEs and also C-level executives. One example is the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative. We would encourage Members to help to also heighten awareness of the various SkillsFuture initiatives amongst residents.