29/04/2015

Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health, at the Launch of the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

I am very happy to officiate the launch of the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme organised by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), which is supported by our valued industry and Post-Secondary Education Institution (PSEI) partners.

Take ownership through SkillsFuture

• Many of you would have heard of SkillsFuture, which is a national effort to provide all Singaporeans with opportunities to advance in their careers through skills, regardless of their starting points and qualifications.
• SkillsFuture marks a new phase of investment in our people, with the Government playing the role of an enabler. We are rolling out a wide range of SkillsFuture initiatives to empower Singaporeans to learn at every age, and continuously acquire skills and expertise in their field. These include education and career guidance for students, work-study programmes for fresh polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates, as well as Study Awards and Fellowships for mid-career working adults.
• In an advanced economy, deep skills and capabilities are necessary across the workforce. These will not be acquired solely from schools and PSEIs. Instead, skills mastery will have to be developed over time through practical experiences and on-the-job training, which is built upon the foundation laid in schools and PSEIs. Individuals aspiring to attain skills mastery will have to be prepared to continue learning and deepening their skills throughout their careers. They cannot expect to do so if they are changing careers from sector to sector every few years. They will also have to take ownership in planning for their own skills and career development. Taking ownership of one's own lifelong learning is also part of the legacy of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our founding Prime Minister. Mr Lee embodied lifelong learning as he was still taking Mandarin lessons even after stepping down from the Cabinet. Perhaps one of the things we can do to remember him is emulate his unending thirst for knowledge.
• At the same time, employers will have to value skills and be prepared to invest in helping their workforce achieve skills mastery. They will need to offer meaningful and attractive career progression pathways that are built upon skills. This is particularly so in a tight labour market, in order to attract and retain talent.
• To create and sustain such a virtuous cycle for skills mastery, both employers and individuals will have to play their respective parts in the SkillsFuture journey.
  

A head-start for fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates

• The SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme is created to support both individuals and employers in doing so. It is a place-and-train programme designed to give fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates a head-start in careers related to their discipline of study. Male polytechnic and ITE graduates will also be able to benefit from the programme upon completion of their National Service.
• The SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme provides individuals with more opportunities to deepen and build on the skills and knowledge previously acquired in ITE or the polytechnics, to better support their transition into the workforce. This head-start enables them to continue deepening their knowledge and apply their skills through a combination of industry relevant training and On-the-Job Training (OJT), leading to industry-recognised certification such as the Advanced Diploma or Specialist Diploma.
• Designed in close collaboration with employers in the relevant industries, the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme spans 12 to 18 months. It integrates OJT, mentorship, facilitated learning, in-company projects and potentially even overseas attachments to provide fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates with practical workplace learning, to better respond to evolving industry needs.
  

Programme benefits and rollout

• The benefits of the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme are three-fold. First, participants can acquire the necessary skills for the job via a structured training pathway, and as a result, can progress in their careers. Second, participants will attain industry-recognised qualifications or certifications by the end of the programme. Such qualifications wil enable participants to continue deepening their skills in future. Third, employers can build up a pipeline of talent, who would be able to contribute at the workplaces even during the period of the programme.
• In other words, the programme will benefit both individuals and employers. Employers, in particular, will play an integral role. We will work with them to enhance their talent retention strategy through the development of a two-year career development roadmap, and also strengthen workplace learning capability through developing and implementing structured OJT blueprints.
• WDA will roll out the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme for the Food Manufacturing Industry in April 2015. Over the course of this year, the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme will be progressively introduced in seven other sectors. They are Food Services, Games Development, Logistics, Infocomm Technology, Marine and Offshore Engineering, Retail and Precision Engineering.
  

A sectoral showcase of SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme

• Today's launch of the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme incorporates a roadshow for interested students to learn more about how the programme will be implemented in the eight sectors slated for launch this year. Such roadshows are a regular feature of the programme. Going forward, WDA will organise more roadshows for graduating students and their parents to understand the sectors better. These will allow students to gain deeper insights to the job requirements, training opportunities and career prospects in each sector.
• Today, 61 employers from eight sectors, as well as representatives from the polytechnics and ITE, will be on hand to explain more about the programme and the industry. Examples of participating employers include Faesol Pte Ltd, ST Logistics, Charles & Keith, Wing Tai, L'Oreal Singapore, RWS Singapore, PD Design Studio, BreadTalk, Nestle R&D Singapore and SembCorp Marine. So, there is a good mix of MNCs and SMEs among the employers, offering a range of interesting career and development opportunities. One participating MNC which truly believes in the benefit of experiential learning through OJT is Accenture. Under the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme, they plan to hire fresh polytechnic graduates this year to work as Software Engineering Technicians, to meet the growing demand for local talents with skills in emerging technologies and advanced software development. Similarly, Chinatown Food Corporation is an SME that manufactures Oriental and non-Oriental foods for the local and global markets. The company believes in lifelong learning as a crucial ingredient for building a competent and sustainable workforce, and is looking to hire a fresh polytechnic graduate as an Assistant Food Technologist under the programme.
• Students can also participate in various fringe activities such as personality profiling and assessment, career advisory services, talks on how to ace an interview and more.
• Collectively, the companies are offering between 100 and 150 vacancies in the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme across various sectors that are open for registration today. Thus, I would like to urge students to make the most of this opportunity to learn more from the industry experts, and sign up for the programme.
  

Encouraging stakeholder buy-in

• In the last few months, WDA and the Programme Managers from the polytechnics have been reaching out directly to the graduating cohorts, male graduates who are closing to completing their National Service and employers in various sectors. We are encouraged by the positive feedback and response to the programme.
• I would like to especially acknowledge the efforts of the management and staff of Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and ITE, in supporting this programme and working closely with WDA and MOE for the outreach to students and employers and in developing high-quality programmes for this ground-breaking initiative.
• We will expand the programme to cover more industries sectors in the next few years so that more graduates and employers can benefit from such opportunities. It provides an additional pathway for fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates – one that will facilitate their transition to the workforce, and enable them to continue learning and deepening their skills.
  

Conclusion

The SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme is one of many initiatives that will be rolled out to support Singaporeans at different stages of their careers and lives. Other SkillsFuture initiatives, such as the SkillsFuture Study Awards and SkillsFuture Credit, will also be rolled out in the coming months by WDA as well as other Government agencies.

In closing, I would like to call upon all Singaporeans, employers and students to embrace and partake in the national SkillsFuture effort to foster deep skills in the workforce, so as to support the nation's transformation into an advanced economy and an inclusive society.

Thank you.