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Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) launched the Skillsfuture for Digital Workplace (SFDW) programme on 5 Oct 2017. As part of the approach to customise solutions for different segments of the workforce, the National Taxi Association (NTA) has worked with the NTUC LearningHub (LHUB) and Republic Polytechnic (RP) to customise the SFDW course to equip taxi drivers with practical and relevant skills to help them in their day to day work. LHUB is one of the appointed training providers by Skillsfuture Singapore (SSG) to deliver courses under the SFDW programme.
The taxi industry is undergoing rapid change due to technological advances such as taxi matching. There are currently 25, 000 active taxi drivers in Singapore, of whom 50% are aged 55 and above. These taxi drivers will need to embrace technological advances and leverage them to improve their productivity and expand their business opportunities. The three partners, NTA, LHUB and RP, believe that the SFDW would help the taxi drivers to do so.
The pilot SFDW for taxi drivers involved 60 taxi drivers while another 1,000 more are expected to be trained in 2018. NTA will work with tripartite partners such as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and all taxi operators to train taxi drivers to be digitally ready for the future.
NTA Executive Adviser Mr Ang Hin Kee commented, "We are encouraged that the feedback on the SFDW from taxi drivers has been positive. Taxi operators have also expressed their keenness in assisting their taxi partners to attend this training."
Curriculum for SFDW for taxi drivers
5As part of the curriculum, taxi drivers will undergo 10 hours of classroom sessions and two hours of off-site learning. They will learn about digital applications and platforms such as Parking.sg, internet banking, ePayment methods like PayNow and other relevant business applications. In addition to theory lessons, the drivers will be given time to test out these apps in the classroom. Students from RP’s School of Infocomm will be on-site during the course as Cyber Ambassadors to assist taxi drivers who require more guidance in navigating and using the digital platforms.
Drivers will also get to test out the Driver Guidance System app – a collaboration by the Singapore Management University, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Fujitsu and the LTA - that directs taxi drivers to areas with likelihood of more passengers.
The use of these apps will help taxi drivers in their daily work and provide greater convenience for them and passengers. "The parking.sg app is very easy to use and now I don't have to worry about fines when I run out of parking coupons," said taxi driver Simon Lee, 63.
Minister Ong, who observed the training programme this afternoon, said, “This is a good initiative and I am very heartened to hear the positive feedback from taxi drivers about the course content. The SFDW for cabbies is a good example of how the initiative can be tailored to meet the needs of any worker in any industry, including freelancers and the self-employed.”
LHUB Chief Executive Officer Mr Kwek Kok Kwong added, “LHUB is ready to do more with companies, government agencies and with the support from our Labour Movement to develop such flexible and customised solutions as part of the SMART Nation initiative to equip Singaporeans with the necessary digital skillsets and knowledge. We have seen good take up rates for SFDW in 2017 and we aim to train up to 10,000 more in 2018.”
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