SkillsFuture to be bolstered further in coming years: PM Wong
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The adult education and training system can be developed even further to help workers here grapple with rapid industry shifts.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Even more resources are set to augment the workforce and training measures under the SkillsFuture movement, beyond the major changes already introduced in recent Budgets.
The adult education and training system can be developed even further to help workers here grapple with rapid industry shifts that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said can be expected to increase churn in workplaces and contribute to job anxieties among Singaporeans.
“We know that there’s still much more to be done, because you can compare our adult education and training system with all the investments and established infrastructure we have in the formal schooling years,” PM Wong said in a speech to Parliament on Feb 28 to round up the Budget debate, which began on Feb 26.
This is despite landmark training and workforce moves that have already been introduced in recent Budgets, such as the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme and the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme, he noted.
The former offers a $4,000 top-up to SkillsFuture credit for selected courses
The job-seeker scheme will provide up to $6,000 over a maximum of six months for lower- and middle-income Singaporeans and permanent residents who have lost their jobs and are making efforts to bounce back, subject to eligibility criteria.
“We cannot save every job, but we will support every worker in Singapore,” PM Wong said, adding that the Government seeks to create even more opportunities and better jobs for all Singaporeans.
Singapore is not alone in needing to boost continuing education, with PM Wong noting that governments worldwide generally invest more in pre-employment training than in adult education and training.
Nonetheless, Singapore is already at the forefront in many respects in this area, which PM Wong said means there are no ready models for it to look to. “We have to experiment, innovate and find our own way forward,” he said, even as he noted that significant changes have been made to the umbrella of schemes in the 10 years since its launch.
He was responding to concerns raised by both sides of the House on how rapid industry shifts can disrupt Singapore workers’ livelihoods, including from Ms Cheryl Chan (East Coast GRC) and Workers’ Party MP Faisal Manap (Aljunied GRC).
“There will be many issues to work through, and I look forward to making progress with all of them, with our tripartite partners,” he said, referring to the partnership between the Government, labour movement and employers.
