To help school dropouts, lower qualifying age for SkillsFuture Credit to 18

Students who drop out or are dismissed from school are left out of the yearly Graduate Employment Survey, which gives a glimpse into the employment rate and median salaries of graduates.

Today, dropout rates are significantly lower than they were before. Streaming in secondary schools — set to be abolished in 2024 — reduced dropout rates from about a third of every cohort in the 1970s to less than 1 per cent last year.

Yet statistics on students who dropped out or were dismissed from post-secondary educational institutions are not readily available online.

In a parliamentary response in 2014, the Education Ministry said more than four-fifths of students at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduated with a full certificate and attrition had declined in the few years prior.

ITE students drop out for many reasons, including difficult personal or family circumstances, and a loss of interest in their studies owing to a lack of motivation.

While some students may acquire skills of their own accord elsewhere, those who do not arm themselves with practical, hard skills in Singapore’s skills-based economy will be left behind.

This was borne out in the Hays Asia Salary Guide 2019, which found that most Singapore employers favoured hard skills (65 per cent) over soft skills (35 per cent).

Right now, the S$500 SkillsFuture Credit scheme is available only to Singaporeans aged 25 and older.

First, government agency SkillsFuture Singapore should consider lowering the qualifying age to 18 years old.

This will allow students who drop out of post-secondary education to take up short courses early.

Second, the authorities should start a yearly survey on students who have dropped out of or been dismissed by their school. This survey should measure factors such as their highest educational qualification, the year of dropout or dismissal, and their latest employment and educational status.

This will help education policymakers and post-secondary institutions to chart the trends.

Third, career counsellors at institutions from which a student has dropped out or was dismissed should discuss with the student and his or her parents or guardians their options henceforth.

This will allow the student to embrace failure positively, while being guided.

Lastly, career counsellors at these post-secondary institutions could work with industry partners to secure temporary positions for these students. Other than learning life skills, the objective should be to work out career and educational goals with the counsellors at the end of the stint.

While many of us are able to finish school and join the workforce, let us not forget to lend a hand to those who may not have a smooth journey in education.

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