Steps to Retrain Workers with Requisite Skills to Secure Jobs in Next 10 Years
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns MP Christopher de Souza’s inquiry to Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung regarding steps to retrain workers for job security over the next decade. Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung detailed plans to expand flexible, industry-aligned training at Post-Secondary Education Institutions and launch the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme. Guidance efforts will be bolstered through the MySkillsFuture online portal and the SkillsFuture Engage initiative, which provides community-based advisory for skills development. Furthermore, the government is expanding Professional Conversion Programmes to help mid-career adults transition into new sectors with good progression opportunities. These initiatives collectively focus on promoting lifelong learning and continual skills upgrading to ensure Singaporeans remain employable in the future economy.
Transcript
38 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) in light of the recommendations by the Committee on the Future Economy, what further steps will be taken to retrain workers to ensure they have the requisite skills to secure jobs in the next 10 years.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: To help Singaporeans better prepare for the future, we will be focusing on three areas within the SkillsFuture movement.
First, we will increase the range of training programmes available for workers to stay employable. The Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs), namely, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and Autonomous Universities (AUs), include lifelong learning as part of their core mission and have developed more flexible, bite-sized and industry-aligned modules targeted at adult learners. This is in addition to the efforts of private training providers. Later this year, we will also launch the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme to equip Singaporeans with foundational digital literacy skills in key areas, such as understanding of data, technology and cybersecurity, as well as cultivating a mindset for change and innovation.
Second, we are enhancing our efforts in education and career guidance to help Singaporeans make informed decisions regarding skills development, training and jobs. Specifically, we will launch two initiatives, namely, MySkillsFuture and the SkillsFuture Engage. MySkillsFuture is a one-stop online portal offering a suite of tools and resources that will enable Singaporeans to understand labour market information, search for jobs and training programmes, and chart their skills development and career pathways. Under SkillsFuture Engage, we will deliver career and training advisory to Singaporeans at the community level, including guiding them to use MySkillsFuture portal, and choosing the right training programmes and careers.
Third, PSEIs are working closely with the Ministry of Manpower and Workforce Singapore to expand the Professional Conversion Programmes. These programmes help mid-career adults to undergo skills conversion and move into new occupations or sectors that have good prospects and opportunities for progression.
We will continue to build on SkillsFuture efforts to enable Singaporeans to learn through life and continually upgrade their skills. We encourage Singaporeans to make the best use of the various programmes and initiatives.