Draft:SkillsFuture

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SkillsFuture is the national movement by the Ministry of Education to develop Singapore's human capital initiated in 2015. It aims at encouraging the spirit of lifelong learning among the citizens. It seeks to bring about capacity building of the workforce to compete for jobs in an advancing economy due to technological development and changes in the structure of the labor market. SkillsFuture encourages Singaporeans to acquire education throughout their lifetime. It does this by offering the alternatives to improve the skills of every individual: students, working-age citizens, and seniors.

History

Singapore's 'SkillsFuture" was launched in 2015 as the new sustainable solution to tackle the problems and obstacles arising from the changes of the global economy, innovations in technologies, and the demands of the working population. Before SkillsFuture was introduced, Singapore had other workforce development measures in its policy range such as the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund (LLEF) that was instituted in 2001. The LLEF was conceived with the intent of encouraging people to learn and enhance their chances of finding work through training and learning. The previous working framework that was similar to SkillsFuture but aimed at enhancing employability through specialized training was the Continuing Education and Training (CET) system. The SkillsFuture initiative was introduced as the next development in the government's vision for the sustainable support of workforce development. It was meant to meet the requirement for a long term and systematic approach to learning throughout the life span especially in response to technological advancement and demographic shift in Singapore's workforce. SkillsFuture was intended to expand on the current programs, aimed at supporting the various segments of the population with more targeted measures for students, mid-career worker, and seniors. Over the years, SkillsFuture has grown and now involves collaboration between the public and private sector to continue to develop its programs to be industry relevant. Other major stakeholders involve employers, unions, educational institutions, and industry associations.

Objectives

The primary objectives of SkillsFuture are to:

• Promote lifelong learning: SkillsFuture promotes self-directed learning and makes learning a life-long process where people learn and acquire new skills at any given point in their lives.
• Enhance employability: SkillsFuture allows people to build their career readiness through upskilling and reskilling to adapt to the current and emerging job market.
• Ensure industry relevance: SkillsFuture initiatives target at increasing relevance of skills taught with the current and future market demand in mind, which minimizes incidences of learners entering the job market with skills that are not in demand due to mismatch.
• Support economic competitiveness: The idea behind SkillsFuture is to strengthen the economic fabric of Singapore and equip the employees in Singapore to better compete in the world economy through offering relevant skills.

Key Components

SkillsFuture comprises of a broad range of initiatives and programs aimed at various segments of the society and the economy. Some of the key components of the SkillsFuture movement include:

SkillsFuture Credit

The SkillsFuture Credit was rolled out in 2016 to enhance the ownership of Singaporeans on their lifelong learning. For every Singaporean who is 25 years of age and above, they are entitled to an initial credit of SGD 500 that can be spent on any of the approved skills-related courses. A one-time SGD 500 top-up adjustment was granted for all Singaporeans aged 25 and above in 2020. In 2022, SkillsFuture programs enrolled 560,000 participants, which marked a decline from the 660,000 noted in 2021. Regardless of the drop, the number of participants stayed higher than before the pandemic, with a total of 192,000 using SkillsFuture Credit. Around 20,000 enterprises took part, with 96% of them being SME. In 2024, an extra SGD 4,000 will be given to Singaporeans aged 40 and above to promote additional upskilling in important industry domains that match employment demands.

SkillsFuture Work-Study Programs

The SkillsFuture Work Study Programmes are intended for learners, to equip them with academic knowledge coupled with practical application in their job roles. The goal of these programs is to provide the participants with the necessary industry skills while they are in school with the goal of employment. Participants of these programs are matched with firms, where they are first tutored and trained on the job. These programs are offered to the fresh polytechnic, Institutes of Technical Education (ITE), and university graduates and has been structured based on the different industries. As of 2022, work-study opportunities were available in more than 30 industry fields, including digital marketing, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.

SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy

The SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy was rolled out to cater for individuals aged 40 and above in order to support Singaporeans continuing their learning journey. The goal of this program is to support mid-career workers who are seeking training to aid them in changing careers or seeking promotions. In this scheme, the course fee subsidies for qualifying persons are relatively higher, with the government paying up to 70% of the course fees for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 50% for larger organizations. This subsidy serves to promote the Singapore government's dedication for sustained and continued provision of assistance to the mid-career workers amidst the growing job market demand.

Skills Frameworks

Skills Frameworks are detailed career paths that have been created in collaboration with employer groups, industry organizations, and academic bodies. These frameworks offer specific details on the roles of the jobs, employee career advancement, and qualifications necessary for carrying out specific tasks within certain sectors. By 2024, there have various Skills Frameworks implemented, which covers different fields such as healthcare, finance, information technology, and manufacturing. These frameworks are useful tools for career planning for individuals and for employers looking to develop a skilled workforce.

SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme

The SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme was unveiled in April 2022; it focuses on equipping middle-career individuals with re-skills so that they can make a career switch. The program has specializations in critical areas of the economy such as health, business, and information technology. By December 2022, over a thousand individuals had registered in the program.

SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit

The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit aims at encouraging businesses, especially the SMEs, by covering up to 90% of their costs for training of the employees. This puts pressure on companies to support their workers' professional development and keep them relevant in a global economy. As of 2022, SGE Credit has been taken up by 5000 enterprises to enhance the workforce's skills.

Target Audience

SkillsFuture has been created for a broad audience with the aim of meeting the needs of various learners at different levels and in different phases of their education and career. It targets various segments of the Singapore population, including:

Mid-Career Professionals

The SkillsFuture initiatives target mid-career professionals in particular. The program aims to offer financial assistance and services to enable such people to retrain or transition to new sectors. The Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy and the Career Transition Programme are policies that are meant to support this category.

Young Professionals and Students

Young professionals and students can use SkillsFuture to explore different career tracks and understand the skills that are most relevant to the current job market. Work-study programs are examples of cooperation between academic environments and the business world established to help young professionals gain important skills to start their career.

Employers and HR Professionals

Organizations and businesses are critical players in this program since they offer workplace training and education schemes. The program provides funding for training and other support measures enabling organizations to introduce effective and efficient learning and innovation. Small and medium enterprises made up 96% of the approximately 20,000 enterprises that engaged in SkillsFuture initiatives in 2022.

Public and Private Sector Collaboration

A major element of SkillsFuture's success is the involvement of the public and private sectors in their implementation. To ensure its programs are sustainable, SkillsFuture consults with employers, industry associations, and educational institutions.

Salesforce and UiPath Partnerships

The collaboration between Salesforce and SkillsFuture Singapore is an example of effective partnership between the public and private sectors. Skills development in digital and cloud technologies is crucial and made possible through Trailhead from Salesforce and SkillFuture partnerships. Similarly, UiPath Academy offers free training in Robotic process automation (RPA) to the residents of Singapore enhancing the society's technological skill sets.

Challenges and Criticisms

Although it has achieved many successes, SkillsFuture is confronted with several challenges.

Socio-Cultural Preferences

A major obstacle for SkillsFuture movement in Singapore is the long-standing tendency to value academic degrees by overlooking to vocational skills and competencies. This public perception of education is largely reflected by Singaporeans, who to this date believe that a university degree is crucial to obtain a good job and thus doubt the vocational training programs. This challenge is compounded by tradition, with the Confucian heritage placing a premium on academic performance and the values ascribed to tertiary education. Changing this mindset and advocating for skills development as a valid form of learning remains and ongoing endeavour.

Lack of lifelong learning culture

Lifelong learning is still a relatively new concept in Singapore as SkillsFuture has recently achieved significant success in this area. Unfortunately, a significant population of learners remains motivated primarily by extrinsic rewards, like increased wages or a promotion, rather than by the benefits of knowledge.

Pragmatic Ideology

The pragmatic attitude towards learning and work in Singapore has been both a blessing and a curse for SkillsFuture. Promoted in Singapore through Lee Kuan Yew's legacy, success is often measured by quantifiable objectives like monetary achievement, which is incompatible with the program's target of promoting lifelong education and self-development.

Global Influence and Comparisons

The SkillsFuture framework is a part of a wider global tendency gravitating towards lifelong learning that has spread to many countries; Germany, Sweden, and South Korea, for instance, have similar systems. Germany's apprenticeship system, especially, is often compared as the closest counterpart to Singapore's SkillsFuture because of its emphasis on vocational training and relevance to the market demands. Nevertheless, SkillsFuture offers a more thorough and inclusive approach. It aims to involve all citizens at all stages of life like those that are still in school, starting their careers, in households, and even retirees who can still play an active role in Singapore's economic progress. Due to this inclusivity, SkillsFuture has become a reference point for other countries who intend to replicate lifelong learning schemes.

Future Directions

As Singapore faces increased demands and complexities that call for effective navigation arising from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, SkillsFuture is anticipated to become more significant by playing a key role in the process. To boost the employability of Singaporeans in new economy, the government has plans to expand SkillsFuture programmes, particularly in digital marketing, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. The government is also encouraging the honing of soft skills, including analytical thinking, teamwork, and flexibility, which are becoming more valued in the modern job market. The SkillsFuture Credit was initially launched in 2016 and is set to increase its cap by SGD 4,000 in 2024 for individuals who are at least 40 years old and above. This demonstrates the government's commitment to promoting lifelong learning.

See also

Ministry of Education (Singapore)