Is upskilling just another buzzword in S’pore?

What exactly is upskilling and why is the Singapore government consistently asking us to do it?

| Darryl Laiu | Sponsored | October 31, 2020, 01:03 PM

Since the SkillsFuture programme was launched in 2015, the phrase upskilling has been a buzzword in Singapore.

Most recently, in Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s wrap-up speech on Oct. 15, he re-emphasised the importance of upskilling, and said that the government is making every effort to help its workers upskill and reskill.

According to SkillsFutureSG (SSG), 500,000 individuals benefited from various programmes in 2019, suggesting that people are starting to take up courses to learn more things.

But why is upskilling such a big deal and what is the buzz around it?

What do we mean by upskilling?

Technically, to upskill yourself just means we should learn more skills. So learning how to knit or how to rock climb could be considered upskilling too.

But if that is just all there is to it, why did the Singapore government decide to give every Singaporean at least S$500 of credit (and a further recent top-up of up to S$1,000) to take courses?

The impetus behind upskilling is not just for people to learn more skills, but for them to learn industry relevant skills.

In 2015, when the government first announced the SkillsFuture Credit scheme, then finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam emphasised the need to renew “deep skills” that are critical for the next stage of Singapore’s economy.

“We must become a meritocracy of skills, not a hierarchy of grades earned early in life,” the Straits Times reported him saying.

Why don’t more people upskill?

Out of roughly 2.5 million eligible Singaporeans that are 25 years old or older, only about one in five of those entitled to the SkillsFuture credits have used them.

Why don’t more Singaporeans take this opportunity to learn new skills?

One possible reason is opportunity cost.

Many of these programmes require participants to commit a significant amount of time. On top of working at least eight hours a day, many people do not feel it is worthwhile to sacrifice more of their own time on classes.

For others, the opportunity cost may be monetary in nature.

If I am currently unemployed, I may have the time to attend full-time courses. But time spent on these courses also means less time for job hunting, and also potentially more time without earning any money.

These more pragmatic-minded people might feel that attending these courses do not directly translate into actual opportunities, and hence they might find that attending these courses are not worth their time.

However, given the current job climate, the opportunities arising from these courses may be more apparent than we think.

On Sep. 7, it was reported that the Singapore economy is predicted to shrink 6 per cent in 2020. It was also reported that the unemployment rate rose to 3.4 per cent in August 2020.

Given the unstable economy we are entering, upskilling ourselves with skills that are in-demand allows us to stand out in the job market.

Identifying the skills

One way to identify skills that are in-demand is to see which industries are growing and hiring.

For example, there has been much talk about the technology sector and upgrading yourself with digital skills.

However, there are also less well-known industries that are actively looking for people.

On Aug. 26, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported that the manufacturing sector is offering 6,300 jobs, traineeships, and attachment opportunities.

The manufacturing industry saw year-on-year growth of 2 per cent in the third quarter of 2020. Of the three sectors reported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, manufacturing was the only industry that showed positive growth.

SIM Professional Development and Enterprise Learning

One example of such a course is SIM’s Professional Development and Enterprise Learning’s (PDEL) Advance Manufacturing course.

On Aug. 29, SIM announced that they were one of the appointed training providers to provide programmes for the Advanced Manufacturing sector specifically, as part of the SGUnited Skills programme.

It is a six-month full-time programme for Singaporeans with at least two years work experience.

The programme is supported by over 30 recruitment, learning, and industry partners. One benefit of this is that participants in the programme will have the opportunity to undergo a 120-hour work attachment with reputable manufacturing companies.

At the end of the programme, participants can also tap on SIM’s career advisory and employment assistance if they have not found a job.

The entire programme only costs S$500, and it is SkillsFuture credit eligible. This means that if you have not used any of your SkillsFuture credits, the programme could be completely subsidised.

On top of that, participants will receive a monthly allowance of S$1,200 for the duration of the programme.

Interested applicants can click here to find out more.

This sponsored article is brought to you by SIM Professional Development and Enterprise Learning, which organised over 500 executive programmes annually.

Top image from SIM at SGUnited Jobs & Skills Fair.