At a visit to NTUC LearningHub today, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay mooted the idea of setting up an individual training account for every Singaporean worker to help them be future ready even as Singapore undergoes economic restructuring and transformation.
The idea of setting up an individual learning account – Skillsave Account – will allow for a follow through on recent announcements by Government such as ASPIRE, CET2020 and SkillsFuture.
The Government formed the SkillsFuture Council in September 2014 to drive initiatives aimed at giving every Singaporean the opportunity to develop themselves to the fullest. It will drive initiatives to ensure an integrated system of learning, pre-and post-employment in collaboration with all stakeholders – employers, training providers, unions and individuals.
In fact, the Labour Movement has been lobbying for such an account to be set up for workers since the early 1990s. NTUC piloted a similar training initiative in the 2000s with four of NTUC’s social enterprises. These workers could tap on their individual account to fund employability and enrichment courses. The scheme ended in 2009.
The Need for an Individual Learning Account
This individual learning account will help workers take personal responsibility for their own training needs and career planning, and be empowered to make their own learning decisions. It also caters to workers’ different training needs and interests.
On the part of workers, taking their own initiative to upgrade their skills could also help raise productivity. This would also encourage lifelong learning, a mastery of skills and even second skilling by supporting individual initiated training for a person's entire career and lifetime.
The Skillsave Account will help address current gaps for some workers who do not have access to the Workfare Training Support Scheme. They may also tap on their individual accounts to pay for the unfunded portions of training as well as fund CET programmes.
All these will help Singaporeans be Future Ready and Future Proof by helping them realise their full potential through multiple pathways for their career progression.
Accessible, Portable, Lifelong, Seamless
The Skillsave account should be accessible to all Singaporeans and one important aspect is that this initiative should be portable and seamless. It follows the worker as they move across jobs and careers.
Mr Tay visited NTUC LearningHub to get updates and be kept abreast of LHUB’s efforts to enhance the lifelong employability of Singapore’s workforce by providing high quality, innovative products and affordable learning.
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