SkillsFuture-equivalent Scheme for Singaporeans Aged under 25

10 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) whether the Ministry will consider creating a SkillsFuture-equivalent scheme for Singaporeans aged under 25 to help them pursue extra-curricular training or enrichment courses which may not be available in their present educational institution.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills)): Mdm Speaker, all Singaporeans below 30 years of age have a Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) to support their learning needs.

First, there are approved programmes at certificate, diploma, post-diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels at our publicly-funded post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs).

Secondly, there are some 500 skills-based modular courses approved by the Ministry of Education offered by our polytechnics and publicly-funded universities, and around 2,000 Singapore Workforce Qualifications (WSQ) courses provided by WSQ Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centres.

In addition, Singaporeans who are studying in these PSEIs can also use their PSEA balances to pay for fees and charges on selected extra-curricular training or local and overseas enrichment programmes. Such programmes could either be conducted by the PSEIs or external organisers, but are approved by the PSEIs. Examples include overseas attachments, leadership training courses, short study trips or tours, community involvement programmes, seminars, workshops and conferences.

The PSEA thus supports our young Singaporeans in accessing learning opportunities over a wide spectrum of programmes. Our young Singaporeans are empowered to take charge of their learning needs, so that they can be future-ready and economically relevant.

Nonetheless, we note Dr Tan's suggestion that there may be other programmes that could be included under the coverage of PSEA. We acknowledge that the learning space is dynamic. We want to assure Dr Tan that we review the coverage of PSEA regularly, with the intention of providing even more options for young Singaporeans.

Mdm Speaker: Dr Tan Wu Meng.

Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong): I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for her answer. Would her Ministry be willing to comment on whether there is an increased role for having more skills ladders, more stacking of educational modules, with a view to helping these young folks transit seamlessly to adult education as they grow and mature?

Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank Dr Tan for his supplementary question. I want to assure Dr Tan and all the Members that Singaporeans under 30 have access to avenues like the PSEA I mentioned, or even when they are in the tertiary institutions, the Opportunity Fund, to help them pursue extra-curricular courses.

If they are using PSEA balances to pursue the courses, it includes around 2,000 of the WSQ courses and the bulk of these WSQ courses are also listed in the SkillsFuture Credit course directory. So, indeed, we want to ensure that from the PSEA-supported courses, moving to the SkillsFuture Credit course directory, it is a bit more seamless.

Having said that, I would like to take the opportunity to reiterate that the SkillsFuture movement is really not just about SkillsFuture Credit. Because the Member asked about Singaporeans younger than 25 years old, it gave us the opportunity to talk about the PSEA.

While SkillsFuture Credit caters for Singaporeans 25 years old and above, our young Singaporeans have access to many learning opportunities via a wide spectrum of SkillsFuture initiatives. SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), Workforce Singapore (WSG) work very closely with our tertiary institutions to scope out initiatives like enhanced internships and even the SkillsFuture Young Talent Programme where young Singaporeans can be involved in overseas immersion programmes. After graduation from polytechnics and ITEs, our young Singaporeans can then move on to the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme where they can study and work at the same time.

So, we want to assure the Member that SSG, WSG will continue to work very closely with our tertiary institutions to really help our young Singaporeans gain the relevant experience in training, whether in school or workplace, through the various SkillsFuture programmes.