09/01/2016

Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies at the Launch of the SkillsFuture Credit Inaugural Roadshow

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister For Economic And Social Policies

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am happy to join you today at this SkillsFuture Credit Marketplace. It’s the first of a series of roadshows that WDA will be organising, to help everyone know how they can make the best use of their SkillsFuture Credit, and think about the courses and interests they would like to pursue.

The SkillsFuture Credit is being given to every Singaporean aged 25 and older. That’s about 2.5 million Singaporeans. The first Credit is $500. The Government will top it up at regular intervals in future.

The Credit can be used for a wide range of courses. Already, there are 10,000 courses, in areas ranging from basic computing to web design, digital animation, HR management, finance, healthcare and languages. They are provided at our publicly-funded tertiary institutions as well as by private providers.

We will add more courses, as new ideas for SkillsFuture courses come up. From the second half of 2016, the list will include selected courses offered by the National Silver Academy, for example.

The SkillsFuture Credit is just the latest of our SkillsFuture initiatives:

a. It comes on top of the Sectoral Manpower Plans and the strong incentives we will provide every employer – including subsidies of 70-90% when they train their employees, and grants to help employers to design better jobs and strengthen their HR systems.

b. It is also on top of the other things we are doing to help individuals themselves - including SkillsFuture Study Awards in various fields, and generous course subsidies. For eg, all Singaporeans aged 40 and above will be funded for 90% of the costs of their courses.

SkillsFuture is for Every One of Us

But the SkillsFuture Credit is also our broadest initiative, because it involves and empowers every Singaporean. That’s what makes it unique.

The SkillsFuture Credit is for every one of us. Young people who are in their first job. Or those who are in the middle of their careers, who want to pick up new skills so they can switch to a new line, or so they can deepen the knowledge they feel will be useful in their existing careers. Or homemakers who are thinking of getting back to work, either part-time or full-time. Or those who are reaching the end of their careers, or who are retired, who want to stay active and develop new interests.

It also does not matter where you start from. Whether you are a graduate or someone with a masters degree, or you started work straight after leaving school, it does not matter. SkillFuture empowers all of us to go further. And to renew ourselves as we go through life.

After all, no one can seriously tell what they will be doing ten or twenty years after leaving school. What we learn when we are young is just the start of a journey of personal learning and self-renewal. We adapt to changes in the job market, and we discover new strengths in ourselves as we go through life.

But whichever the field we are in or the job that we each do, we must want to do it as well as we can, and eventually master the job. That’s what we must do as Singaporeans. And SkillsFuture will help us do that.

Siti Nadia, for example, joined Marriot Tang Plaza nine years ago as a stewarding coordinator. She is in the same field today, and has become the Senior Stewarding coordinator. Siti Nadia is also a mother with two girls aged seven and three, and determined to be a good role model for them. She started work after getting a NITEC in Multimedia Technology. But she has kept learning since. She has just completed level 4 of the Leadership and People Management Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications and a Microsoft Office Advanced course. It has helped her manage her diverse team of people better. And Siti Nadia is now thinking about what further learning she can do to expand her responsibilities, and making use of her SkillsFuture credit.

Mr Yew Kwan Ming, 77 years young, is an active ager. He had a long career with several jobs, spanning human resource management, running a family business, and stockbroking. But he has kept learning since he retired in 2002. He has invested time and resources in mastering Mandarin, and writes poetry and short stories, contributing his pieces to literary publications. He is also very interested in calligraphy and will be exploring suitable courses to improve his skills using his SkillsFuture Credit.

A final point before I conclude.

I encourage everyone to take your time to decide on how to use your SkillsFuture Credit. There is no need to rush. The Credit will stay in your account for life, and is yours to use to pay for education or training at any time in the future. Bear in mind also that the Government will top up your account with further credits from time to time. You may want to accumulate more credits before using them for a course that matches your needs and interests, that might cost more.

So please take time, think about your interests and what you need to help you in your career, and if you feel you need help in deciding, please seek advice from our WDA and e2i career counselors.

I wish everyone a full and rewarding journey on SkillsFuture!