04/07/2023

SkillsFuture Festival Returns this July with More Events and with a Focus on the Digital

Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, launched the SkillsFuture Festival 2023 today, at the SkillsFuture Forum held at the Lifelong Learning Institute. The Festival will run from 4 July to 18 August.

Digital emphasis

 This year’s Festival has a particular emphasis on digital skills:

• The opening SkillsFuture Forum adopted the theme of “Digital Upskilling for Business and Career Growth”.
• On the same day, SSG and Generation Singapore co-issued a SkillsFuture Job-Skills Insights publication to highlight mid-career transition possibilities into the Digital Economy.
• A series of masterclasses, called the “Superpower Me Series”, will introduce individuals and enterprises to the use of ChatGPT as a tool to improve personal and workplace productivity.  
• SSG is partnering with Amazon Web Services to run a three-day Roadshow on cloud technology, and the related jobs and skills.

This emphasis reflects SSG’s broader focus on preparing our workforce and society, to make full use of increasingly powerful (and widely available) software. As announced by Minister Chan at the SkillsFuture Forum, SSG will relaunch the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace (SFDW). SFDW 2.0 includes refreshed digital content, focusing on four key areas – automation, cybersecurity risk, data analytics and in-demand digital tools – to help Singaporeans better prepare for the digital economy. More details are provided in Annex A.

Empowering the SMEs

At the Forum, Minister Chan also announced the launch of the Skills Profiling for SMEs pilot. This is a collaboration between JobKred and SSG, to equip SMEs with the digital tools to better manage the skills development of their workforce. SMEs can use this service to identify skills gaps and follow up on recommended skills training. More details are provided in Annex B. 

A Festival by All, for Everyone

SkillsFuture Festival 2023 will comprise physical events in the heart of town and in the heartlands, complemented by a suite of online activities. Enterprises and educators, public agencies and trade associations, unions and professional bodies, will come together to showcase the upskilling opportunities available for Singaporeans. We aim to engage participants island-wide, and motivate them to take concrete action to progress in their learning journey.

This year’s Festival will include new highlights to better involve all in the community:

• The Enabling Academy Learning Festival will be part of the SkillsFuture Festival to celebrate upskilling opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
• The WorldSkills ASEAN Competition 2023 is being hosted for the first time by Singapore, at the same time as the Festival. We hope to give our young competitors home ground support.
• The Festival will close with an SME Conference, to engage and empower SMEs to better support their workers’ upskilling.   

These are on top of staple Festival events (see Annex C) like the SkillsFuture Roadshow, SkillsFuture @ CDCs, and the SSG X WSG Jobs & Skills Fair, which will showcase in-demand jobs and skills, and the various SkillsFuture initiatives available to help the busy working adult upskill.

Mr Tan Kok Yam, Chief Executive of SSG, said: “The annual SkillsFuture Festival is a showcase of the progress we have made in lifelong learning. SSG is thankful for the deep involvement of many companies; the close partnership of union and industry bodies; and the demonstration of training excellence and innovation by our training institutions. This is indeed the collective approach that will lift SkillsFuture to a higher gear – a SkillsFuture that delivers a forward-looking and responsive training agenda, that gives our workers the skills and confidence to thrive amid technological change, and that enables our enterprises to innovate and compete well.”

For more information on the SkillsFuture Festival 2023, please visit www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/festival.

Refer to Annex here.