SINGAPORE — Workers in the precision engineering (PE) field will soon get help with training and job searches from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), as part of a pilot that seeks to better connect workers to training and firms.

NYP’s School of Engineering will lead efforts to understand the manpower and skills needs of companies in the sector, and review training programmes to meet industry needs, said Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang on Tuesday.

Speaking in Parliament at the Budget debate for the Ministry of Education, she said NYP would be designated as a Jobs-Skills Integrator (JSIT).

She was responding to Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio GRC) and Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), who had asked for details on the JSIT scheme that was first announced in mid-February by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget statement.

The pilot for JSITs will include the wholesale trade and retail sectors, Ms Gan said, adding that suitable intermediaries such as industry associations, employment agencies and institutes of higher learning will be appointed JSITs.

She said more must be done at the industry level to coordinate training and placement in sectors that are less regulated and have more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The PE sector, which has a high concentration of SMEs and mature workers, is known to have job vacancies that tend to remain unfilled.

“Through this pilot, we hope to better meet the industry’s need for a skilled workforce, while enabling more workers to take up upskilling to meet their career aspirations and to stay employable,” Ms Gan said.

Dr Phua Chee Teck, director of NYP’s School of Engineering, said precision engineering supports many leading industries in Singapore, including the aerospace, semiconductor and biomedical sectors.

He added that NYP will work closely with companies to develop an end-to-end process to train job seekers and upskill existing employees, for them to thrive.

“As the JSIT for the PE sector, we look forward to working closely with our partner agencies to coordinate and align the industry development plans and training needs for the sector,” he told The Straits Times.

Better recognition for workplace learning

There will also be better certification and support for companies that wish to conduct training at the workplace, and recognition for the skills acquired by their workers.

The National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (Nace), also led by NYP, will partner the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to pilot the Workplace Skills Recognition Programme, Ms Gan announced.

Under the programme, Nace will introduce a new tier of workplace learning certification known as Workplace Learning (WPL): READY to recognise companies with basic capabilities in the field.

Nace, NTUC and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will reach out to SMEs to help them learn how to analyse their training needs, develop plans and processes to support workplace learning, and train and recognise the competencies of their workers in specific skills.  

Nace and NTUC will work with SMEs that have achieved the WPL:READY mark, to assess and recognise skills that workers have acquired at the workplace.

Workers in these SMEs can get Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) certification without having to attend external WSQ courses, once they are assessed to have acquired the necessary skills on the job.  

SSG and NTUC will start this pilot with SMEs in two sectors under the Progressive Wage Model – retail and food services, Ms Gan said.

Delivering quality training for Singaporeans

A vibrant, high-quality training and adult education sector that is responsive to the market is key to the success of the SkillsFuture movement.

The types of programmes funded, as well as the outcomes funding is tied to, are important levers the Government can use to achieve this, said Ms Gan.

To Ms Foo Mee Har’s (West Coast GRC) suggestion of a quality framework that would streamline courses into three broad categories with distinct objectives, funding allocation, and key performance indicators, Ms Gan said SSG has started a transition towards outcomes-based funding.

By end-2024 when the transition is completed, SSG will provide the highest tier of subsidies at up to 70 per cent to programmes that deliver the strongest manpower development and enterprise transformation outcomes.

SSG will continue to provide subsidies at up to 50 per cent for short courses that are designed to provide just-in-time, bite-sized skills top-ups. These include SkillsFuture Series courses that are aimed at developing emerging skills. 

It will stop providing course fee subsidies to non-certifiable courses, including self-improvement courses. To foster a culture of lifelong learning, individuals can continue to use their SkillsFuture Credit for these courses, said Ms Gan.

SSG announced in 2022 that these courses comprise about 7 per cent of its more than 20,000 courses, and these changes will be implemented in phases to give affected providers time to enhance their courses to meet the new standard. It added that it will work with them to give them guidance and support.

“SSG will do more to enhance the quality of the feedback and to share this with individuals so that they can make informed choices. But we will also need the involvement of learners and companies to close the feedback loop with us, and improve the system for all,” Ms Gan added.

The skills upgrading movement has borne fruit in Singapore so far.

She said: “Our annual survey on SkillsFuture work study programmes consistently showed that more than 90 per cent of the trainees were employed within six months after completing the programme. Their median salaries were also higher than what they received at the start of the programme.”

However, wage and employment outcomes do not always tell the full picture, she said. Reskilling may have helped workers who are otherwise at risk of displacement to keep their jobs or to move to new job roles, she added.

Ms Gan said: “These positive outcomes might not show up if we only looked at wages and job placements. This is why we should take a broader view of the impact of the SkillsFuture movement and signpost progress over time.”