Singapore plans to upgrade workforce reskilling programmes

Singapore intends to upgrade its existing reskilling programme to better fine-tune offerings for all workers, especially mature and mid-career workers in their 40s and 50s, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

These workers are at a higher risk of career disruption, according Wong, and are likely to have heavier obligations of taking care of their parents and children. He said that authorities will need to consider how much more it can provide through SkillsFuture credits at major life milestones for Singaporeans to keep their skills up-to-date or pivot to emerging fields.

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He added, “We must couple all this with effective curation of courses, and close partnership between industry and training providers, so that training is more responsive to changing industry needs, given our more dynamic environment.

“At the same time, we have to provide more information and guidance to workers, so that they can take charge of their careers, they can have a better sense of their longer-term career progression goals and pursue purposeful reskilling and upgrading.”  

The government also intends to design and structure support for displaced workers, with the end goal of nudging them towards active job search, he said.