2025 marks ten years since the Government launched the SkillsFuture movement with the aim of promoting Continuing Education and Training (CET) as a national priority.
Since its introduction, initiatives including the $500 SkillsFuture Credit for all Singaporeans 25 and above; have supported workers’ learning and upskilling aspirations.
During last year’s Budget, then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also announced the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme for mid-career workers, which offered an additional top-up of $4,000 SkillsFuture Credits. Training allowance would also be provided to mid-career workers aged 40 and above taking up training courses. These signalled a strong focus on enhancing the employability of workers aged 40 and above.
At this year’s Budget, the Prime Minister further announced that from next year, workers enrolled in part-time training will also receive a fixed allowance of $300 a month to help defray their learning expenses.
All these forms of strong support for training are welcome, especially given emerging trends like rising global trade tensions and rising protectionism, the climate crisis, and disruptive technologies such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have created uncertainty for workers, especially Professionals, Managers, and Executives (PMEs).
It is therefore timely to reflect upon the past ten years’ efforts and conduct a comprehensive review of SkillsFuture to ensure alignment with evolving workforce needs, consolidate efforts, and streamline offerings across different arms such as NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), Workforce Singapore (WSG), training providers, Institutes for Higher Learning (IHLs), as well as the various Ministries, sector agencies, and trade associations and chambers.
This is a call I made during the Ministry of Education (MOE) Committee of Supply Debate speech in March this year. To expand on this, I offered three considerations for strengthening the system for skills for the next bound—Alignment, Applicability, and Accessibility.
Alignment
Singapore’s lifelong learning movement is a pioneering innovation that fosters collaboration across the human capital development ecosystem; pushes skills development to the forefront of national discourse; and develops tailored support for workers. The success of this collaborative and tripartite approach helped Singapore rank second among 134 countries in the annual Global Talent Competitive Index.
It is commendable that today we have a wide range of CET courses, programmes, and initiatives. However, some programmes offered by different arms of the CET ecosystem may overlap, and the proliferation of choice may leave learners feeling overwhelmed. There is a need to improve alignment by breaking down silos across organisations to reduce duplication in resources and identify gaps.
A strategic review of the CET ecosystem can also support innovation for the next bound of the SkillsFuture movement and align it to the in-demand skills. For example, a more cohesive CET ecosystem can lead to the development of robust frameworks for credit recognition and transferability across institutions and industries, which can encourage a skills-first mindset, instead of the traditional emphasis on formal academic qualifications. Learners can have their acquired skills validated by a unified and credible authority, whether gained through formal education, short-term courses, or on-the-job training. This streamlined process of accreditation could potentially be integrated with portals like MyCareersFuture and MySkillsFuture.
Applicability
To ensure learning outcomes translate into real benefits for workers in terms of wage and career progression, Singapore’s CET ecosystem should put even greater emphasis on real-world applicability. This means fostering stronger partnerships between skills training and industries to design programmes that directly address diverse workforce needs.
NTUC’s e2i and WSG offer a range of Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs). These CCPs are tailored to help mid-career individuals, transition into new industries or new roles, potentially increasing their job prospects and aligning their skills with the demands of emerging sectors.
The next step could be expanding and enhancing CCPs. Incorporating case studies, on-the-job training, and mentorship opportunities into reskilling and upskilling programmes would bolster CCPs. To navigate a more complex economy, older workers could thus be given the option to tap on SkillsFuture credits for more career coaching and mentorship.
Workers’ career aspirations today have expanded beyond traditional forms of employment to include freelancing, side ‘hustles’, fractional employment, entrepreneurship, and overseas work opportunities.
New job functions and industries following the push for a more digital and green economy also opened new career pathways for workers.
In an increasingly complex job market, real-world applicable support must prioritise personalised guidance to help workers build their unique skills portfolio and align them with emerging opportunities. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
This need was also identified during the year-long NTUC #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations in 2023, which engaged over 42,000 workers to better understand their needs, anxieties, and aspirations for the future. NTUC has therefore created mentorship ecosystems for different groups of workers including PMEs and youths.
Accessibility
Recent data from the Ministry of Manpower showed that Singapore’s training participation rate fell to a nine-year low of 40.7% in 2024. The rate previously hit a high of 49.9% in 2021, when, rather understandably, more people underwent training during the pandemic.
However, participation in training cannot only be limited to times of crisis like the pandemic. The SkillsFuture movement can only be as effective as the level of active participation from workers. I therefore encourage workers to actively seize training opportunities to prevent skills atrophy and skills obsolescence, and employers to invest in their workers by sending them for upskilling and reskilling.
The next bound of SkillsFuture can adopt a systems-level approach to integrating training into workers’ daily work routines and encouraging employers to provide protected time off to send workers for training, especially for lower-wage and gig economy workers who are more vulnerable to market conditions.
To encourage both workers and employers to come on board, NTUC launched the Company Training Committees (CTCs) in 2019. Supported by Operation and Technology Roadmap (OTR) and financial support through the $100 million NTUC CTC Grant, employers collaborate with unions and workers to support workforce and enterprise transformation and improve productivity. As of today, more than 3,000 CTCs have been formed and more than 7,000 workers receive an average of 5% wage increment on top of their annual increments, structured career pathways through Career Development Plan and/or skills allowances.
By supporting companies, NTUC’s Training and Placement Ecosystem, that comprises NTUC’s e2i, NTUC’s Industry Training and Transformation, NTUC LearningHub, and the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute, promote win-win solutions that also ultimately benefit workers in these companies through better wages, welfare, and work prospects.
This is why I welcome the Government’s announcement of a $200 million top-up of NTUC CTC Grant during Budget 2025 aimed at helping companies with workforce and enterprise transformation costs and supporting job redesign.
Conclusion
Ten years ago, the Government took a bold and forward-thinking step by launching the SkillsFuture movement to invest in our workers and foster a culture of lifelong learning.
As we chart our way forward in an era of rapid global change, we must review and reform our CET ecosystem to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. The next lap will require us to build upon our strong foundations and continue to be proactive rather than reactive.
All stakeholders, but most importantly workers themselves, must view learning and upskilling as a strategic investment to stay ahead of the curve and enhance employability and job security.
Through Alignment, Applicability, and Accessibility, we can better support workers of all collars and all ages, because #EveryWorkerMatters.
