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New SkillsFuture programmes launched for Polytechnic, ITE graduates

SINGAPORE – Knowing that companies have been cautious about their hiring outlook, 23-year-old Andrea Ong decided to upgrade her skills last year under the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme (ELP).

Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary announcing the enhancements to the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Prgramme, which will see seven new courses added. Photo: SkillsFuture Singapore

Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary announcing the enhancements to the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Prgramme, which will see seven new courses added. Photo: SkillsFuture Singapore

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SINGAPORE – Knowing that companies have been cautious about their hiring outlook, 23-year-old Vivien Ong decided to upgrade her skills last year under the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme (ELP).

That decision paid off when the company she works at promoted her and gave her a 40 per cent salary increment in recognition for her higher level skills set and good job performance.

Ms Ong, who works as a designer for Sapient Consulting, earned her Specialist Diploma in Visual Communication with Nanyang Polytechnic while holding down a full-time job.

She is among over 1,200 people polytechnic and ITE graduates who have enrolled in the ELP so far, which aims to deepen students’ skills and knowledge in the field while they work.

There are currently 62 ELPs in 28 sectors, a four-fold increase from when it was launched in 2015.

On Saturday (Nov 17), enhancements were unveiled at the inaugural ELP Carnival, including seven new programmes offered by the local polytechnics and a one-stop ELP portal for students and employers.

Announcing the enhancements, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Dr Janil Puthucheary said: “Key to the success of the ELP is the strong backing from industry partners who have come onboard to support the programme, and see it as an investment in their manpower pipeline.

“To-date, we have a total of 233 employers on board. This is about 50 per cent more than the number of employers we had last year.”

The ELP has also seen more interest from employers in emerging sectors such as Robotics, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and start-ups. Participating companies include ST Kinetics, Micron and Seagate Singapore.

To that end, the seven news ELPs will focus on these sectors, including one in entrepreneurship by Ngee Ann Polytechnic called the Startup Talent Factory.

Catering to the needs of tech start-ups, the programme will develop fresh graduates in three specialisations — namely digital marketing, business development and user experience design. It will be open to fresh polytechnic graduates from any discipline and offers a flexible duration ranging from nine to 12 months.

The other ELPs include three new programmes in the Environmental Management, Food Manufacturing and Tourism sectors by Nanyang Polytechnic, a course in the Energy and Chemicals sector for ITE graduates by Singapore Polytechnic, and two courses in Robotics & Automation, and IIOT by Temasek Polytechnic.

A dedicated ELP portal was also announced on Saturday and is targetted for launch in the first quarter of 2018. It will serve as a one-stop-shop for students and employers to find out more about the ELPs available, participating employers, job vacancies as well as to sign up for the programmes.

“We are continually strengthening and expanding the ELP by working closely with employers and industry partners to introduce new programmes, while ensuring a robust and relevant curriculum,” said Dr Janil, who is also the Senior Minister of State for Education.

“With these developments, ELP has become an exciting programme with diverse options.”

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this report said the 62 Earn and Learn Programmes available now represented a three-fold increase from 2015. SkillsFuture Singapore has clarified that it is a four-fold increase. 

 

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