Earn and Learn scheme launches with 61 employers on board

SINGAPORE - Sixty-one employers have signed up for a new scheme that will allow polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates to further their qualifications while they work.

Close to 150 places are on offer for the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn scheme, which begins this year in eight sectors: food services, games development, logistics, infocomm technology, marine and offshore engineering, retail and precision engineering.

The food manufacturing industry will be the first to start next month.

The programme which was launched on Saturday at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Eunos will match fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates with employers related to their courses.

In a speech at the event, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health Amy Khor said the programme, which will span 12 to 18 months, will integrate job training, mentorship, in-company projects and possibly overseas attachments.

She added that the Singapore Workforce Development Agency will work with employers on retaining talent through two-year career development roadmap and structured on-the-job training plans. As an incentive, the Government is offering a $5,000 bonus for those who sign up for Earn and Learn.

The programme is modelled on German and Swiss apprenticeship schemes and, by 2025, the aim is to have one in three ITE and polytechnic graduates on board.

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