There will be 2,300 new training opportunities in advanced manufacturing to help job seekers enter this growth area.
This will help manufacturers adapt to the crisis and build the necessary capabilities to thrive in a post-pandemic world.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) announced this yesterday in conjunction with this year's Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific event at the Singapore Expo & Max Atria.
About 500 of the training places are offered by leading companies in Industry 4.0 technology, such as Bosch, Nvidia, Omron, PBA Robotics and Siemens.
This initiative is under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, which is part of the national SGUnited Jobs and Skills package to upskill and reskill mid-career workers.
Industry 4.0 is about using automation and smart solutions to improve processes in manufacturing.
The companies will take the lead in grooming mid-career talent and facilitating placements in hiring firms, where participants can take on emerging roles, such as those of industrial design engineers, automation engineers, machine learning specialists and product designers.
The programme helps participants to get structured training and practical experience, while working on real projects alongside mentors from the lead companies. They can pick up skills in collaborative robotics, additive manufacturing, information technology and operational technology integration, and artificial intelligence.
These skills are deemed as emerging and necessary by industry leaders for advanced manufacturing, SSG said.
Firms can then hire from this ready pool of trained individuals to support their advanced manufacturing transformation efforts.
The train-and-place programmes will be progressively rolled out by next month.
The other 1,800 training and placement opportunities are under SGUnited skills programmes carried out by institutes of higher learning, for instance. They provide structured training that can include short attachments at companies.
SSG is also supporting a new partnership between Singapore Polytechnic and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to create a regional platform for Singapore to share knowledge and expertise in advanced manufacturing with regional government and business leaders.
This initiative, called the Global Technology Innovation Village, will see the setting up of an Industry 4.0 consortium comprising 19 tech leaders, small and medium-sized enterprises, standards organisations, SSG and JTC Corporation.
It will support the regional sharing of technology and knowledge by allowing developing ADB member countries to leverage Singapore's expertise in Industry 4.0, applied research and development, start-ups and innovations.
As a start, it will be rolling out six workshops in four domain areas - advanced manufacturing, 5G, artificial intelligence of things and food technologies - in the first half of next year.
More than 100 government and business leaders across Asia are expected to take part in these workshops.
