SGBudget 2015 – SkillsFuture: A Perspective

The recent budget announcement in Parliament by DPM and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was probably one of the better budgets I have personally witnessed in terms of its goals, the clarity of its purpose, the breadth of its impact on the various sectors of society and economy and its boldness in tackling the challenges that Singapore will be facing (or is already facing)  in the future.

Strengthening social security, boosting retirement savings for seniors, enhancing financial support for the lower tier of the aged, building a skills-based meritocracy and supporting and enhancing innovation and internationalisation efforts of Singapore companies – these are the main areas of Budget 2015. Providing financial support for these key areas will go some way into assuaging people’s concerns raised in numerous feedback and meet-the-people sessions over the last few years.

However, for this post I would like to focus on just one area which has drawn probably the most attention and discussion among Singaporeans thus far – building a skills-based meritocracy via the SkillsFuture initiatives.

The Budget 2015 unveiled a slew of incentives to:

a) encourage life long learning so that it does not remain a buzzword but it actually takes hold across the majority of our resident population through the SkillsFuture credit of $500 for each Singaporean above 24 years of age from 2016 onwards. Top-ups will be made at regular intervals thereafter

b) provide students with more assistance in discovering their strengths and interests by providing them access to specially trained Education and Career Guidance Counsellors from MOE and Polytechnics

c) support fresh graduates from polytechnics and ITE through the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme. Graduates will be matched to companies in a 12-18 month programme with graduates getting a sign on bonus of $5000 and companies, grants of up to $15,000

d) support the aspirations of mid-career Singaporeans and executives through generous educational and training subsidies as well as SkillsFuture Study Awards and Fellowships

These incentives and support schemes look encouraging and I feel they go directly into tackling the wider systemic issues of the mismatch between the labour market and industry demands. Also the issue of the aspirations of an increasingly more educated workforce is being addressed albeit by requiring individuals to scale up in terms of their skills to match industry demands.

It is interesting that the SkillsFuture initiatives try to cover not just younger workers and professionals but older, mid-career ones as well.

But how effective these measures will be in actually producing tangible results on the ground is still left to be seen.

Acknowledging that no amount of grants and financial incentives can bring about a mindset shift, DPM Tharman called for a change in our economic and social culture as we are still very much a society that is ordered by academic results.

And this echoes what was pointed out in my previous blog, “ASPIRE-ring For A Brave New World” where I cautioned that a fundamental change in the way we approach education, work, career and ultimately, life, is needed if we want our society to be a skills-based meritocracy where every individual will have a chance to fullfil his/her potential by continually improving his/her  skills and knowledge.

Lifelong learning is one aspect of the cultural change that is slowly taking shape but has yet to take hold like it has in other first world countries. Budget 2015 cited the example of Senthilnathan Manickam, aged 41.

“He graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Film Sound and VIDEO COURSE. After some years of working on corporate videos and TV programmes, he felt he needed to specialise, to differentiate himself from the field. He chose to specialise in high-speed cinematography, and is making a name for himself in the field in Singapore and abroad. As Senthil puts it: “There isn’t one path but many paths to achieve your dreams and be successful. Don’t give up. You always learn something new every day.”” (Source: http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2015/bib_pc.aspx)

Next, the issue of the industry and job market pricing university graduates higher than ITE and Polytechnic graduates. I can understand if its for entry level executive appointments. But for mid-level and higher executive appointments I feel that employers have to start looking at experience, skills attainted and character traits that fit with the job specifications.

DPM Tharman also conceded that ageism is a concern and said “I think we have to tackle ageism in Singapore. There is sort of a quiet, unstated discrimination among the mid-careers and those who are in their 50s. Mid-40s and 50s, it’s usually not so easy for them to get back in,”

We have to start building a job market based on skills and knowledge irrespective of age, gender, social, ethnic and religious background and less on purely academic standards.

But will employers make the mindset change? And will ITE and polytechnic graduates sign up for the much vaunted SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme to gain the skills that will be valued by industry?

While several ITE and polytechnic students have expressed interest in signing up for the programme several others have also voiced concerns that if employers’ fixation with academic qualifications remains, it would deter them from applying for the programme, according to a report from TODAY by Amanda Lee.

So if ITE and polytechnic graduates don’t bite at the Earn and Learn apple and employers become reluctant to invest in employees for fear that they will not stay, we have the makings of a vicious cycle where the stakeholders of SkillsFuture will remain unengaged, making little progress towards the stated goals.

This is where I hope employers will seize the initiative to break this cycle by taking a chance and a leap of faith that SkillsFuture will be effective in the long term. It basically necessitates a commitment by employers to invest in people; a commitment to develop, nurture and mentor their employees to show them that they have a stake in the company and that they are valued for their skills and contributions. I believe this commitment by employers will earn them a reciprocation of equal measure from the beneficiaries of their investment.

DPM Tharman summed it up nicely in this video clip taken from MediaCorp Channel 5’s Budget 2015 show, Ask The Finance Minister, where he coaxed employers to invest in people. I hope employers will take heed.

ASPIRE-ing For A Brave New World

In August this year, the Singapore government accepted the list of 10 recommendations put forward in a report by the ASPIRE (Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review) committee led by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law & Education.

Among the recommendations –  to help students make informed choices about their educational pathways and careers, development of more online learning resources in the polys and ITEs, development of programmes focused on life skills aimed at strengthening student’s leadership, character and resilience, introduction of work-and-study programmes a.k.a. place-and-train programmes as well as Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes to deepen skills after graduation.

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ASPIRE’s fundamental objective could be summarised as follows:

It is to ensure every Singaporean is able to contribute to Singapore’s overall development and progress by fulfilling his/her potential according to his/her talent and interest.

While the ASPIRE recommendations are all logical and sound given this objective, the ASPIRE committee was under no illusions regarding the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead in implementing these recommendations.

The challenge does not lie in the nuts and bolts of the government-post-secondary institutions-industry machinery implementing the recommendations but in the hearts and minds of our people. This is where ASPIRE has to work its magic and changing mindsets is not something that can be done overnight. This is a long term project – perhaps even stretching over a generation or so. But what makes this project so monumental and more importantly, why is it so important that Singapore achieves the objective?

Firstly, Singaporeans have long been weaned on the work hard-do well in school-get a good job ethos which has worked well for us as a nation until now. Children have been advised (and lectured :-() time and again that the only way to success in life is to get good grades in school, go to university and get a high salaried job in the government service or MNC.

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In the past decade, the Ministry of Education has worked hard both to correct this misguided notion of success by way of policies and programmes in schools and post-secondary institutions, to create multiple pathways to success. One example is the lining up of educational pathways like the 6-year IB diploma programme and the setting up of specialised schools like the School of the Arts and the Sports School.

But old habits die hard indeed, especially those that are so entrenched in our society that they are widely recognised to be an integral part of our culture,

We are, after all, the nation of “kiasu” people (“kiasu” means “afraid to lose” in Chinese). This character trait is so ingrained in our collective psyche that we have even created a comic character called Mr Kiasu which evolved into a TV series later.

The good grades, being exam smart, the insane hours and money spent on extra tuition, the paper chase – these are all perceived to be pre-requisites for a better life and being “kiasu” we do not want, for one minute, entertain the possibility that this idea, in and of itself, could be flawed and that the reality could be very different, if only we have the courage to choose a different pathway to find success and happiness.

The problem is that many people are discouraged from taking the risk of choosing a different path. Why? Because they perceive that there are not enough decision-makers out there in industry and even in schools and educational institutions, who believe that taking a different pathway can and should lead to success. Some of these same people may even offer an excuse that the current HR policies or government incentive schemes are overwhelmingly in favour of the status quo – i.e. people who have taken the traditional paper-ridden pathway.

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So how do we then resolve this problem? We have to make that cultural change as a nation. At the risk of sounding repetitive ad nauseum – this is a huge change, a tidal wave, not a surfing wave.  We have to start singing the same tune. We have to start celebrating people finding success on different pathways. Scholarship schemes have to make the playing field more level for these “mavericks”. HR managers have to start giving more weight to achievements and character traits rather than paper qualifications when assessing candidates for jobs.

So one may ask, why are we even embarking on this endeavour when we know that there are risks involved (political and social) and the rewards forthcoming only years, if not decades, from now?

The reason is simple. Its because we risk even more if we don’t. The majority of us who are not academically gifted enough to enrol in the “A” grade universities, will not have our aspirations met. We will stop believing in the dream that Singapore is a land of opportunity and if you are hungry enough and are willing to work hard, you can also succeed. And once that dream is broken, people will start to look elsewhere to fulfil their dreams.

But there is also another phenomenon that is occurring which is forcing our hand in this great shift. The paper chase, fuelled by our “kiasuism”, has spawned a new generation of job-seekers armed with university degrees who feel entitled to good jobs, paying good salaries. And when these jobs become elusive, they become disenchanted and feel let down by the government.

Graduate unemployment is beginning to be a concern for Singapore. Even though the numbers are not as high as in other East Asian economies like South Korea or Japan,  something needs to be done before the numbers soar incurring a heavy social cost.

The other thing that has emerged is that inspite of the increasing cohort university participation rate, Singapore continues to face a talent and skills mismatch in the job market which forces it to look for more foreign talent.

This then begs the question as to whether our overall educational infrastructure is geared properly to support the needs of our industry. Are we producing too many university graduates and too few polytechnic and ITE graduates with the relevant technical knowledge and skills to be gainfully employed in the job market? Are employers willing to recognise and reward these skills in the market such that students are willing to consider switching to non-traditional, non-degree pathways to fulfil their career ambitions?

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These are some of the questions and challenges that we will face as ASPIRE tries to move its recommendations on the ground. Expect resistance from all parties – students, parents and employers. But pushing ahead undaunted and keeping the faith will soon become the treacly mantras that the government, as the party taking the lead in effecting this cultural change, will be chanting. Expect the chants to grow louder and more frequent in the years to come.

ASPIRE: Realising the Aspirations of Singapore Youths

Next year Singapore will celebrate its 50th year of independence. 50 is, I suppose, a significant milestone for a country and is a good time for citizens to reflect on Singapore’s achievements, her setbacks, to consolidate and start planning for the future. It is also a time to celebrate and that is what SG50 is about. Singaporeans are invited to send their ideas of how we can celebrate as a nation this special birthday through the SG50 website.

Well, I did my fair share of pondering and drew up a wishlist for myself, well, actually, more accurately for my children, on what I hope Singapore to become in the coming decades, specifically in the area of education.

Recently I attended a parents engagement session, one of many feedback sessions conducted all over Singapore by ASPIRE, the acronym for Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review.

The acronym is very appropriate as it deals with the aspirations of students in the polytechnics and ITE as well as the nation as a whole.

Briefly the ASPIRE Committee was set up by the government to review the polytechnic and ITE education sector and get it ready and equipped for the challenges of the new [digital] economy. Industries change and adapt to these challenges by adopting new technology, increasing efficiencies, developing new talent and investing in skills upgrade and training.

A key challenge of this new economy is to ensure that our polytechnic and ITE graduates are industry-ready not just in terms of possessing the technical skills but also the soft skills like communication skills, being able to work in teams and having EQ.

During this discussion, several parents expressed their educational and career aspirations for their children, first from their own perspective and then from the perspective of their children.

Some differences were evident from the responses for both perspectives. Most parents still thought that a university degree is important for their children’s career advancement. There were mixed views on whether the pursuit of the degree should begin right after securing the diplomas or after gaining some work experience.

However, parents were almost unanimous in agreeing that polytechnics and ITEs should retain their core applied learning pedagogy and enhance their industry-linked training focus.

2 issues received greater attention in the ensuing discussions.

One – How can we better engage our students (potential students)  in the polytechnic/ITE sector to ensure that their aspirations are not left floundering because of the rigidity of the educational system?

Two – How can we better enhance the industry exposure and training for our students so that they have the skills to add value at the work place and have career advancement which would allow employers to retain them for a reasonable number of years?

Dealing with issue #2 first – one model that was put forward for the parents to consider  was the German model where students are put in an apprenticeship programme for 1-2 years with companies. This apprenticeship is a structured study-and-work programme whereby the student works 3 days of the week and comes back to school for 2 days to acquire the theory and book knowledge.

This has it’s pros and cons. The plus points are that such a programme will offer the students increased industry exposure and an excellent opportunity to obtain the industry-relevant skills. Good student-apprentices could be identified by the companies which may even offer them full-time employment upon graduation or sponsor their further studies (degree programme).

One of the costs of such a programme is the need for greater collaboration among the government, companies and polytechnics and ITEs to build a structured programme which delivers a high quality apprenticeship which does not dilute the academic rigour of polytechnic and ITE education. Other concerns include according proper academic and industry status and recognition to the programme, ensuring the apprenticeship has an assessment system that is fair, objective and consistent, ensuring there is a critical mass of companies willing to be part of this programme and that companies have a tangible incentive to be part of this programme.

The last 2 points on critical mass and tangible incentives deserve closer scrutiny. It is essential that companies in this new polytechnic and ITE educational landscape, realise that their roles are going to be different. Company supervisors will not just be bosses to the students, handing them work to do while supervising them as they are currently under internship programmes. They need to be mentors, passing on not just technical skills but gilt edged advice distilled from their many years of work experience to the students. Proper training plans should be carefully drawn up so that they are structured and leveled up over the 1-2 year period exposing students to different areas of work or varying levels of complexity.

On the point of tangible incentive, seeing how the roles have changed and indeed expectations are higher under this proposed programme, I feel it is only fair that the government offer some tax incentives to companies willing to partner polytechnics and ITEs in this programme. This could draw in the numbers which would address the critical mass issue.

However, I also see the need for the Education Ministry to introduce a special division that will have jurisdiction over this apprentice programme to train company supervisors to be able to

(i) develop structured training plans and

(ii) to become good mentors

This special division will also act as a mediation centre in the event that there are disputes arising between students and the companies or between the companies and the polytechnics/ITEs.

Now what about the Issue #1 – How can we make the aspirations of our students a reality?

I feel that this is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention. We have to be able to look at each and every student and offer them a decent shot at realising their fullest potential in the sector of their choice which they have the greatest interest in.

Some of you reading this will probably snigger and see it as a politically correct ideal which has little resonance on the ground. But success in overcoming great challenges almost always has it’s roots in a simply stated but potent idea.

I do not have the numbers to substantiate this but based on my personal experience as well as my experience as a polytechnic lecturer, I sense that there are many students who feel lost and directionless as they try to manoeuvre through the complex maze that is the current educational landscape.

Yes, the basic pathways have been defined for all to progress from primary school to secondary and post-secondary and finally tertiary institutions/universities. But there are a fair number, I feel, who “fall through the cracks” because they have not been sufficiently engaged and counseled.

Parents and educators (teachers) play a crucial role in identifying students’ passion and areas of interest. More has to be done in further studies and career counseling and it has to happen earlier at the minimum, at Secondary 3 level. Why Sec 3 level? Because this gives students enough runway to pursue their dreams – apply for courses they are interested in and do work that they are passionate about.

If student “A” knows that s/he is interested in animation and doing creative work on the computers, s/he could have benefited from a session with a further studies/career counselor who could pull out the relevant courses in ITE and polytechnics which offer these courses and check out their minimum entry requirements.

This could serve as an incentive for “lost”students to work harder in school in order to meet these entry requirements and qualify for these courses and eventually work in an industry which they are passionate about.

Aside from career counseling, a greater push is needed from schools to identify students’ interests in the allocation of modules or electives in the specialised schools or when students want to join a certain CCA or when a student works in a certain project in school.

Say for example, there is a student who has a keen interest in computers and is widely recognised as the computer “whiz” kid in class but is an average performer academically. This student should be given a chance to use his/her “gift” by offering him/her computer-related electives or when work is delegated in projects. Our schools can and should do more in recognising the “gifts” in our students and refrain from citing purely meritocratic reasons for denying them an elective or a chance to join a particular CCA which aligns well with their “gifts”. 

Education has a special place in the hearts of all Singaporeans because it is through education that we realise our aspirations. It is through education that we build our character, become good citizens and exemplary workers and professionals .

I see education simply as a journey where we (parents and teachers) guide our young to a place where they have many doors to enter or to a place where there are fewer doors but these are the doors they are happy to open and continue on their life journey.

Teachers are the chief stewards in our young’s educational journey and we should try our best to make their aspirations a reality, a noble and worthy aim of ASPIRE and one which is firmly on my wishlist for Singapore as a prepare to celebrate our 50th birthday.