Steps to help workers have quality jobs as economy transits to next level
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
By Amelia Tan, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
Companies will also partner government agencies and educational institutes to anticipate and identify future skills that will grow in demand.
These new moves were laid out by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday in a five-year plan which will see Singapore's economy transit to the next level.
Speaking at the launch of the new Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar yesterday evening, Mr Tharman said technology is sweeping a wave of changes across the global economy.
Automation has begun to replace human tasks across a broad swathe of jobs and even professional jobs such as auditing, legal advice and surgical tasks are being shaped by computerisation and machines, he said.
Developing countries are catching up with Singapore and competition is heating up, he said.
"We cannot change the world, but we can respond to and take advantage of the way the world is changing," he said. "We have to take advantage of new technologies and new global consumer demands to ensure that we remain a vibrant economy, and we give every Singaporean a chance to have quality jobs and fulfilling lives."
Singapore's economy is evolving to become an advanced economy. This will require workers with a mastery of their skills, honed by experience and time.
"We must cherish and respect the mastery of skills - the knowledge, practice and passion that goes into mastering skills, no matter what the job. That has to be our ethos as a society," he said, adding that this is at the "heart of an inclusive society".
Singapore will aim to build a continuing education system which will "intertwine education and the world of work", he said.
"It (the system) will enable every Singaporean to maximise his potential, from young and through life. It will build an advanced economy and ensure us a fair society," he added.
To do this, the Government will provide a full suite of career services that will help Singaporeans plan for their future careers.
Workers will have to be prepared to be lifelong learners and continually equip themselves with new skills, said Mr Tharman.
To smooth the way, employers will be roped in to work closely with the Government to envision the needs of the future economy and workforce.
The standard and quality of the training industry will also be raised, said Mr Tharman.
To drive the new plans forward, a new SkillsFuture Council, chaired by Mr Tharman, will be established. It will be made up of government agencies, the labour unions and employers.
Rounding off his speech, Mr Tharman said that what Singapore needs is "a meritocracy through life, not a meritocracy that's based on what you achieved at 18 or 24. Where you are assessed on your performance at every stage of your life, regardless of where you came from or what you started with. Assessed on your performance - that's a true meritocracy".
Respecting mastery of skills is the heart of an inclusive society: Tharman
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 17 Sep 2014
Learning to "cherish and respect the mastery of skills", and "the knowledge, practice and passion that goes into mastering these skills, no matter what the job" - that has to be Singapore's ethos as a society as the Republic moves into a new phase of its development, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 17 Sep 2014
Learning to "cherish and respect the mastery of skills", and "the knowledge, practice and passion that goes into mastering these skills, no matter what the job" - that has to be Singapore's ethos as a society as the Republic moves into a new phase of its development, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Speaking on Wednesday (Sep 17) at the opening of Singapore's second Continuing Education and Training (CET) campus, Mr Tharman said this ethos lies at the heart of an inclusive society: "We must be a place where everyone has an opportunity to build their strengths, develop the skills that enable them to maximise their potential, earn their own success and contribute to society. We want to help everyone develop the skills relevant to the future and we must build a future based mastery of skills in every job."
Mr Tharman outlined three areas where changes should take place in order for this mastery to happen. Firstly, individuals will have to take ownership of their learning and development. Secondly, employers need to take ownership of developing their workers and valuing their contributions based on skills. Finally, Singapore's education and training institutions will also need to take ownership to provide high-quality training to prepare students for work and life.
NEW COUNCIL SET UP
To that end, a new SkillsFuture Council will be set up to drive initiatives aimed at giving every Singaporean the opportunity to develop themselves to the fullest. There will be an emphasis on mastery of skills, across the board, even for degree-holders.
To that end, a new SkillsFuture Council will be set up to drive initiatives aimed at giving every Singaporean the opportunity to develop themselves to the fullest. There will be an emphasis on mastery of skills, across the board, even for degree-holders.
The council will be a tripartite committee chaired by Mr Tharman, and comprise Government, employers and unions. It will develop an integrated system of education, training and progression for all Singaporeans. It will also look at ways to promote industry support and social recognition for individuals to advance based on their skills.
This was announced at the launch of Singapore's new CET masterplan - known as CET 2020, it will support efforts to restructure the economy and build a career-resilient workforce. The masterplan follows on the heels of the recently-released Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) report, which seeks to give every Singaporean the opportunity to progress in life, whatever his starting point.
The ASPIRE Committee's proposals aim to ensure that fresh polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates have relevant and deep skills that lead to good jobs that pay well. CET 2020 follows through to address the needs of working adults.
Bringing all the pieces together will be the SkillsFuture Council. Mr Tharman said the council will look at ways to help Singaporeans master skills relevant to the future, adding that the good jobs of the future will involve both thinking and doing, and constant learning "in every field and up and down the line". "We must aspire to move beyond competence and doing regular jobs, towards mastering skills," he said.
'FUTURE-ORIENTED' EFFORTS
The most challenging part of SkillsFuture is probably changing employment practices, he said. "Changing the way in which industries recognise skills and working together amongst companies so as to be able to have a credible system, a credible skills framework that employees can identify with and employers and companies know it is worth something - it is not new to us but this is an area that requires development."
Efforts will be "future-oriented" as the Government works with employers and unions to identify the skills needed for specific industries.
Mr Tharman elaborated: "It involves firstly, identifying the skills and manpower needs of each sector, not just identifying the existing gaps, skills gaps or mis-matches but also anticipating future skills that are going to be needed - given advancements in technology, given the way global competition is shaping up and given new business models. So identifying skills and needs is the first task.
"Second is to articulate clear progression pathways for workers to advance based on skills in each sector. So Singaporeans can see rewards for them in developing their skills and advancing."
ADDRESSING EMPLOYERS' CONCERNS
He also touched on concerns by some employers who are reluctant to invest in training, for fear of losing their trained staff. This in turn leads to workers leaving their jobs, because they feel their bosses are not developing their capabilities.
Mr Tharman said this "vicious cycle" must be broken. He said a sectoral or national skills framework will ensure a ready supply of skilled workers across the board and this in turn, will benefit employers.
"We have got to raise the water level, so even if you lose your people, you raise the water level of skills for all your employees, in the industry, so that all boats are raised. You might not keep all your employees but when you hire new people, they too come with skills because some other employer has invested in their employees."
He said the Government will provide support, resources and even funding. Key to all this is also a broadening definition of success - where Singaporeans can achieve "meritocracy through life".
Mr Tharman said: "Not a meritocracy based on what you achieved at 18 or 24, but a meritocracy through life where you are assessed on your performance at each stage of your life regardless of where you came from, what you started with.
"That is true meritocracy and we must aim to develop that meritocracy and we can because we have the culture, we have the resources and we are going to work together to achieve this.
AREAS OF FOCUS FOR CET 2020
The CET 2020 Masterplan has outlined three areas of focus - valuing skills at the workplace; helping individuals make informed learning and career choices; and enhancing the quality of CET courses.
By 2030, it is projected that two in three Singaporeans will be professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). An increasing number of mid-level jobs will be replaced by machines, with technological advancements. Those most vulnerable will be mature workers above the age of 40, who face the highest risk of losing their jobs and greater challenges getting new ones.
The masterplan aims to keep the workforce relevant and to meet the needs of industries so that Singaporeans will remain employable. A key strategy is in ensuring the supply of right skills - skills that are sought after by employers.
To do so, companies will play a bigger role in training and development. The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will work with sector-lead agencies, employers and the unions to develop sector-specific manpower and skills requirements over a five-year period. It will look at initiatives to attract, develop and retain talent. Details of the sectoral manpower strategies will be announced at a later date.
Mr Ng Cher Pong, chief executive of WDA, said: "The starting point will be about industry development, it will be about business challenges and from there, we can talk about how those industry trends - what are the implications for skills and competencies. Then we can talk about how the different stakeholders can come together and then develop different solutions for this.
"The game changer is that the relationships will have to change. The roles of each of the parties involved will have to be different. Employers will have to step forward now and be more actively involved in defining the skills we need, defining the manpower requirements and also being involved in rolling out interventions. These include measures to attract, retain and develop their talent. Likewise for individuals and training providers."
WSQ FRAMEWORK, SUPPORT FOR SMES TO BE ENHANCED
The Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework - a national certification system that recognises individuals for their skills - will be expanded across sectors. It will underpin the development of skills progression pathways, for both fresh graduates and adult workers.
Manpower and training support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will also be enhanced. Currently, there are five centres that provide advisory services to SMEs.
To help individuals, there will be an online national education, training and career guidance portal. This will incorporate personal assessment tools, information on courses, as well as the national jobs bank. More career coaches will be deployed at career centres.
And to enhance the quality of CET courses, ITE, polytechnics and private educational providers will play a bigger role in offering CET courses. There will also be more structured workplace-based learning through Place-and-Train programmes, and more online learning resources to make learning flexible and mobile.
More job and training guidance for workers
More career coaches and quality training providers to help them move up ladder
By Amelia Tan And Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
More career coaches and quality training providers to help them move up ladder
By Amelia Tan And Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
WORKERS will get more help in choosing jobs and charting their careers through a range of programmes by national training body Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA).
There will be more career coaches, a new online portal with job information as well as quality training providers to help them move up in their careers, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
Some of these moves will start as early as secondary school to help prepare Singaporeans for the future needs of the economy.
Some of these moves will start as early as secondary school to help prepare Singaporeans for the future needs of the economy.
"Even when you're in secondary school, it's good to have a vague idea of what your strengths are, what your aptitudes are, what you might be interested in," he said.
"Not choosing a course based on what your A-level scores qualify you for, what your GPAs (grade point averages) qualify you for - choosing a course based on your interest, what you feel you will be interested enough to keep learning, to keep progressing on, and to apply yourself with passion in."
WDA chief executive Ng Cher Pong said the aim is to get individuals to "take responsibility and ownership for their own career and skills planning".
To do this, a one-stop job and training portal will be launched.
This website will provide information on jobs and advice on how workers can progress in their careers with training. Workers will get a better idea of their strengths and interests through self-profiling tests and games at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar.
More career coaches will be hired to ensure that workers get career guidance and advice on training. There will also be more online courses rolled out so that workers can learn at their own pace while juggling their work duties.
WDA will work with employers to roll out structured on-the-job training programmes for workers. Firms will be asked to develop standardised benchmarks for workers' skills. This will help guide workers in upgrading skills and charting their career paths.
WDA will determine if workers meet these benchmarks through "application-based and outcomes- driven" tests, said Mr Ng.
Mr Gilbert Tan, chief executive of the National Trades Union Congress' training arm e2i, agreed that training workers to pick up skills needed by the industry will convince bosses to give them time to go for courses.
"Training should be conducive ... to business operations, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises," he said.
Lifelong learner bounces back after retrenchment
By Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
By Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
The former distribution and marketing manager had already been thinking about his future career, so he brought his resume down to his neighbourhood Community Development Council.
The plan was to take a course in workplace safety. "I have a lot of experience in this, but not a lot of paper certification," said Mr Prakash.
But the counsellor, on reading Mr Prakash's resume, advised him to widen his job scope.
"He saw that I had more than 17 years of experience in logistics and said, 'Why don't you become a trainer? This market has the potential to grow'," recalled Mr Prakash. And so he did.
He enrolled in the Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) course, and took classes at the Institute for Adult Learning together with about a dozen others.
After a subsidy for Singaporeans, Mr Prakash paid only about $300 for a course worth thrice that sum.
And after four months of intensive night classes, exams and assignments, Mr Prakash became a certified trainer.
In March, Mr Prakash took up a new post as operations manager of a chemical logistics company, after applying to more than a hundred firms.
His pay range has not changed, but he does see the ACTA course as another tool under his belt that helps him do the job better, and future jobs as well.
"It comes in useful when I work with subordinates," he said. "If I had not gone through the ACTA course, I wouldn't have understood how to get people to do things in a more effective manner. It's a very good investment," he said.
Mr Prakash's learning journey is far from over. He has since completed another course in workplace safety and is set on obtaining a business degree some day.
"There is no end to learning," explained Mr Prakash. "I believe one must have an open mind and adapt to changes."
He hopes that the Government's new Continuing Education and Training Masterplan will set the same tone for firms here, because he has experienced the other side of the coin.
Years ago, he had asked his employer, a manufacturer, for permission to leave work half an hour early each evening, so that he could attend a diploma class. It turned him down.
"I was very disappointed," said Mr Prakash. "I think the new plan will help companies see that when employees are better equipped, they will benefit too."
Employers to get more say in skills needed
By Joanna Seow, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
By Joanna Seow, The Straits Times, 18 Sep 2014
EMPLOYERS will have more say in the types of skills the workers of the future should have.
They will work with unions and government agencies to identify the skills their industries will need down the road as part of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) masterplan for adult education for the next five years.
These Sectoral Manpower Strategies will anticipate the changing needs of the future economy, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam last night.
This is one of the main thrusts of the Continuing Education and Training (CET) 2020 plan, he said.
"Employers must take ownership of developing every worker, planning their careers and valuing their contributions as they advance in skills," said Mr Tharman.
"This is probably the most challenging part of SkillsFuture," he said, referring to the new council that will drive the plans forward.
"It's about changing employment practices, changing the way in which companies develop and recognise skills and working together among companies (in each industry), so as to be able to have a credible system."
The WDA will also build on the existing national training programmes and develop competency frameworks for various sectors, he said. These will guide companies in planning career progression for their staff.
Students and workers will have standardised benchmarks to guide them in upgrading their skills and planning their careers from the post-secondary years onwards.
Detailed plans for each sector will be announced by the respective government agencies.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will also get more dedicated centres, each with more staff to provide consultation on manpower and training issues. There are 12 SME Centres now.
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Kurt Wee was happy with the new changes and said that having clearer career pathways should foster a stronger level of commitment between employers and staff.
"For SMEs, one of the issues is very high turnover, so bosses may fear training someone who leaves soon after," he said, adding that if workers are focused on growing in their jobs, SMEs will be better prepared to invest in them.
Singapore National Employers Federation executive director Koh Juan Kiat said it "welcomes the comprehensive initiatives to help companies build a competent and skilled workforce, which is necessary for sustainable growth".
The WDA said it will also introduce more online components to courses, and raise the quality of CET programmes and that of adult educators. More structured workplace- based training is in the works. Human resource expert David Ang said these changes will improve productivity as staff can spend less time in classrooms away from the workplace.
CET revamp to help employees make better career, learning choices
By Siau Ming En, TODAY, 18 Sep 2014
By Siau Ming En, TODAY, 18 Sep 2014
Under the new Continuing Education and Training (CET) Masterplan unveiled yesterday, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will be helping individuals make better-informed career and learning choices, as well as getting employers to be actively involved in building and valuing their employees’ skills.
Under the blueprint — which will support the work of the new tripartite committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam — WDA will work with lead agencies, employers and unions in various sectors to identify the specific manpower and skills required for each sector over a five-year period and spell out the measures needed to meet these requirements.
Building on existing Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) frameworks, the agency will also develop competency frameworks for each sector to support the development of pre-employment training and CET programmes. These will guide human resource practices, such as recruiting and planning employees’ pathways for career progression, for instance.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the official opening of the Lifelong Learning Institute, WDA chief executive Ng Cher Pong said: “The focus will be on changing three key relationships — that with employers, with individuals and with training providers.”
WDA began a review of its masterplan last year, which was focused primarily on expanding the national CET training capacity and developing tripartite cooperation in national CET efforts. Noting that the proportion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that provided structured training in 2012 was slightly lower than the overall average, WDA said it hopes to reach out to more SMEs by partnering SPRING Singapore’s network of SME Centres to provide manpower and training advisory support.
WDA will also partner the Education Ministry to help individuals make better learning and career choices: An online education, training and career guidance portal will be developed. The portal will allow individuals — beginning from the time they start school, and throughout their careers — to chart and review their education, training and career developments.
WDA also plans to increase the pool of career coaches at its career centres, while raising the professional competencies of the existing pool of some 80 coaches.
More place-and-train programmes — including those targeted at fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates — will be introduced as part of efforts to provide more structured workplace-based learning. More courses adopting both classroom and online learning will also be introduced.
Beyond competence, towards mastery of skills
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday highlighted the importance of lifelong learning and respect for the mastery of skills, as Singapore enters a new phase of development. He was speaking at the opening of the Lifelong Learning Institute. Here's an excerpt of his speech.
The Straits Times, 20 Sep 2014
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday highlighted the importance of lifelong learning and respect for the mastery of skills, as Singapore enters a new phase of development. He was speaking at the opening of the Lifelong Learning Institute. Here's an excerpt of his speech.
The Straits Times, 20 Sep 2014
In our next wave of development, we will build a first-rate system of continuing education and training: learning throughout life. It will intertwine education and the world of work in ways that strengthen and enrich both. It will enable every Singaporean to maximise his or her potential, from young and through life.
We are no longer a developing economy. But we are not yet an advanced economy, with the skills, productivity and median incomes equivalent to those of the leading nations.
In our next phase, we will make Singapore an advanced economy, and ensure us of a fair society, with opportunities for every Singaporean to maximise his or her potential and lead fulfilling lives.
We must aspire to move beyond competence and doing a regular job, towards mastering skills. We must cherish and respect the mastery of skills - the knowledge, practice and passion that goes into mastering skills, no matter what the job. That has to be our ethos as a society, starting from young, as employers and colleagues at the workplace, in how we respond as consumers, and in the way we regard each other as fellow-citizens. It's about respecting the innate dignity of every citizen, and the sense of fulfilment that comes from developing a skill and being valued for your contributions to society.
The ASPIRE (Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review) Committee has made a bold set of recommendations to strengthen opportunities for polytechnic and ITE students to progress and achieve their aspirations.
Our CET (Continuing Education and Training) Masterplan 2020 will also revamp continuous education and training to enable all Singaporeans, regardless of qualifications, to build and deepen their skills throughout their careers.
We will now bring together ASPIRE's work and the new CET Masterplan, and take them forward. As Prime Minister announced at his recent National Day Rally, we will set up a tripartite council to drive this next phase in developing our people.
We will soon launch this new "SkillsFuture" Council. SkillsFuture encapsulates the journey we are embarking on: We want to help everyone develop the skills relevant to the future, and we must build a future based on mastery, in every job.
Everyone has to take ownership of this SkillsFuture journey.
First and foremost, it is about each of us as individuals. We must take ownership of our own learning and development, and control our destinies. The Government will help by ensuring a broad menu of educational and training options - from young, and continuing through your career. But we will also develop a rich framework of educational and career guidance, starting with our secondary schools, moving on to our JCs, polytechnics and ITEs - and accompanying us through life.
Even when you are in secondary school, it is good to have a vague idea of what your aptitudes are, and what you might be interested in. Not choosing a course just because you qualified based on your A-level score or GPA (grade point average), but because it appeals to you, you feel you will be interested enough in the field to keep learning, to keep progressing and applying yourself with passion.
Culture of lifelong learning
THE journey we are taking also requires a broader culture of lifelong learning. Not just learning for the next examination when you are young, not just learning for the immediate needs of the job. In some countries, you walk into a bookshop or a library, you see older folk coming in and browsing, going out with a book. It may be to pick up a new interest or pursue an old one, but it gives them a sense of fulfilment. When we have that broader culture of learning, at home or in the community, when people are learning not just for the immediate task or needs of the job, but because it gives satisfaction, it brings a whole new tone that supports lifelong learning by individuals, from young to old.
Next, employers must take ownership: developing every worker, and valuing their contributions as they advance in skills.
This is probably the greatest challenge ahead in SkillsFuture.
We do not have the advantage of the Swiss or the Germans who developed this from mediaeval times. They developed a deep tradition of collaboration between firms and educational institutions. We do not have that tradition. Neither do we have the tradition of companies working closely together to develop skills in a whole industry. We have to develop this in the next phase of our development.
The Government will work closely with industry and unions to build a future based on advanced skills. We will develop Sectoral Manpower Strategies that identify future skills and needs, and develop clear progression pathways for workers to advance based on skills in each sector, so that employees see the rewards in developing their skills. The WDA will work closely with industry partners to enhance the existing Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) frameworks, to develop the scaffolding of both specialised and broad skills - vertical and horizontal skills - that underpin career progression in each sector.
We should not develop a huge skills bureaucracy to implement this. This cannot be a top-down process. The markets are too fluid for that; technology is changing too quickly. Employers and industry panels must drive this process and Government will provide strong support for them.
What we have to avoid is a vicious cycle, which we sometimes see today in a tight labour market - where employers do not invest in workers because they are not sure they are going to stay. And the worker feeling that "they are not serious about investing in me, they are not really developing my capabilities beyond what I can do today, I better leave".
We've got to avoid that vicious cycle, and the way to do it is first, recognising as some employers have found - and if you look at countries like Germany, they have certainly found this - companies that invest in their workers and show them a clear career progression pathway are better able to retain their workers.
Raising the water level of skills
BUT we have to accept that there will be some mobility, and sometimes you lose your best people. That's why we need a sectoral and national skills framework, and why we must get most employers to invest in their workers. That's how we raise the water level of skills for all employees, so that all boats are raised including the SMEs. You might not keep all your employees, but when you hire new people, they come with skills because other companies have invested in their employees, and you invest further in them. And as people move from one job to another within the same industry, there is a better chance that they stay on a path that keeps building up their skills.
The third key group in SkillFuture is educational and training providers. They have to take ownership too, see it as part of their responsibility to prepare students for life and help them upgrade along the way. We are off to a good start, but we need a much deeper and richer industry of training providers, matchmakers, coaches and mentors.
Our educational institutions, including our universities, will play important roles in SkillsFuture. And we have to move beyond thinking there are simple divides between education and work, between pre-employment education and post-employment training, or between nurturing broad skills and developing specialist knowledge. These divides are too simple for the world that's evolving before us. Too simple a divide because of the way technology is changing, jobs are changing and the way education must change if we are to prepare people well for life.
Good jobs of the future
TECHNOLOGY and new approaches to work are blurring the old distinctions between "thinkers" and "makers". The good jobs of the future will involve both thinking and making, and constant learning - up and down the line and in every field, whether in nursing, in building maintenance, in engineering and factory operations, in the whole digital space or in consumer businesses and professional services.
Designed well, the practical is not at the expense of the academic - the intertwining enriches both. The best educational institutions, like MIT, are precisely about helping students make that connection between the intellectual and the practical, and hence developing their potential in life.
Our educational institutions will also be important anchors in post-employment training, or CET. They will set quality benchmarks for CET delivery. They have expertise and standards of their own to maintain, and their faculty will want to ensure that they are up-to-date with developments in their own fields.
And a whole new vista is opening up in the way in which tertiary institutions are providing for online learning - anywhere and at any stage of life. It does not involve everyone getting a full degree. Some may go for bite-sized modules, some deeper area of knowledge they need at work, or something they want to study purely out of interest.
Private educational institutions (PEIs) too will play a valuable role as we grow our CET landscape. But some re-orientation is going to be required, to ensure that PEIs' programmes are robust, industry-relevant, and beneficial to the people who take their courses. Last year, we had about half of the total private degree enrolment taking business degree programmes. An oversupply of degrees in any one field is never ideal. The market has begun to differentiate between degrees that carry their full worth in knowledge and skills, and those that do not.
A re-orientation in the PEI industry will help it make a positive contribution, by adding diversity and helping working adults in particular, to obtain deeper skills in niche areas or to obtain degrees later in life. What we have to avoid is the degree mills for people fresh out of school that we've seen in many countries. That route will do our young a disservice.
The Government will be a key enabler in all these efforts, by providing resource support and helping to coordinate and tighten the linkages between all players.
A meritocracy through life
THERE is a real strength in our culture that remains relevant to the future. We keep looking for better in our children and grandchildren.
I recently met some of the oldest pioneers in my constituency, so that I could thank them for what they had done for Singapore and present them with their Pioneer Generation packages. Many came with their families, because they all took pride in this. One elderly lady had just one thing to say to me. She pointed at each of her grandsons standing behind her: "He is at NUS, he is at NTU..." It had deep meaning. She had succeeded in life. That spirit must remain with us - wanting to help the next generation to do better. But we know that the way in which we achieve our aspirations will have to evolve.
The qualifications we obtain in our youthful years are not the final point. They are not irrelevant - they reflect determination and an ability to learn. But we have to look beyond these early qualifications, and recognise that a whole set of skills matter in how well we perform: applying knowledge in real-world situations that keep changing; developing deeper know-how through practice; collaborating as a team and taking the heat together; or the ability to look for opportunity in the face of challenge. That's true about career success in every field and whichever the qualifications we come with - whether degrees or diplomas or ITE certificates.
What we really have to evolve towards is a meritocracy through life. Not a meritocracy based only on what you have achieved at 18 or 24, but a meritocracy through life, where you are assessed on your performance at every stage of your life, regardless of where you graduated from or what you started with. That is a true and richer meritocracy, and we must aim to develop that. And we can, because we have the culture of aspirations, we have the resources and we are going to work together to achieve this.
We must build on our strengths and move with vigour in this next phase of our development, towards an advanced economy and fair society. Where every Singaporean can discover and achieve his or her full potential, everyone can take pride in building deep skills and be valued for their contributions, and every job respected regardless of the uniform you wear.
LEARNING THAT GIVES SATISFACTION
When we have that broader culture of learning, at home or in the community, when people are learning not just for the immediate task or needs of the job, but because it gives satisfaction, it brings a whole new tone that supports lifelong learning by individuals, from young to old.
- Mr Tharman on a culture of lifelong learning
BUILDING A FUTURE BASED ON ADVANCED SKILLS
We should not develop a huge skills bureaucracy to implement this. This cannot be a top-down process. The markets are too fluid for that; technology is changing too quickly. Employers and industry panels must drive this process and Government will provide strong support for them.
- On SkillsFuture
NO MORE SIMPLE DIVIDES
Our educational institutions, including our universities, will play important roles in SkillsFuture. And we have to move beyond thinking there are simple divides between education and work, between pre-employment education and post-employment training, or between nurturing broad skills and developing specialist knowledge.
- On the role of educational and training providers
When we have that broader culture of learning, at home or in the community, when people are learning not just for the immediate task or needs of the job, but because it gives satisfaction, it brings a whole new tone that supports lifelong learning by individuals, from young to old.
- Mr Tharman on a culture of lifelong learning
BUILDING A FUTURE BASED ON ADVANCED SKILLS
We should not develop a huge skills bureaucracy to implement this. This cannot be a top-down process. The markets are too fluid for that; technology is changing too quickly. Employers and industry panels must drive this process and Government will provide strong support for them.
- On SkillsFuture
NO MORE SIMPLE DIVIDES
Our educational institutions, including our universities, will play important roles in SkillsFuture. And we have to move beyond thinking there are simple divides between education and work, between pre-employment education and post-employment training, or between nurturing broad skills and developing specialist knowledge.
- On the role of educational and training providers
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