Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Effectiveness of Career Conversion Programmes

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1076 OF 2022 FOR SITTING ON OR AFTER 05 APRIL 2022

QUESTION NO. 2692 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Saktiandi Supaat

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the sectoral breakdown of the number of jobseekers who have been successfully hired through the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) in 2019, 2020 and 2021; (b) how successful have the PCPs been in directing Singaporean workers away from sunset industries and into growing industries; and (c) how can the PCP initiative be further enhanced so as to direct labour efficiently amidst rapid industry disruptions and unforeseen shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Answer:

1. Since August 2021, Workforce Singapore (WSG) has rebranded the Professional Conversion Programmes to Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) to reflect their broad coverage across the range of occupations.

2. Over the last three years, there were more than 24,000 locals placed into new jobs through CCPs. This is 62% higher than the previous three years. The top sectors for CCP placements over the past three years are Air Transport, Financial Services and General Manufacturing, but this changes from year to year.

3. Mr Saktiandi asked whether the CCPs have been successful in directing workers away from sunset industries into growth industries. Our approach is to focus on jobs rather than sectors as jobs across all industries are being transformed and new jobs created. The CCPs serve two main functions. Firstly, where there are emerging new jobs, or demand for skilled workers, WSG offers place-and-train CCPs to support employers to hire mid-career workers, and provide them with the necessary training to do these jobs.

4. Secondly, we are moving upstream to reskill workers in at-risk job roles. WSG works with progressive employers to reskill at-risk workers and redeploy them into new or redesigned jobs within the company, instead of letting these workers go. About 11,000 workers were reskilled and redeployed through what we call redeployment CCPs over the last three years. Taken together, WSG offers a wide variety of CCPs – around 100 CCPs across 30 sectors.

5. As for measuring success, I am happy to report that most of our CCP participants do well. About nine in 10 CCP participants remained employed 24 months after embarking on the programme, and about six in 10 earned more than their last drawn salaries, reflecting the value of the skills acquired.

6. Mr Saktiandi also asked how we can enhance the CCPs to respond effectively to industry disruptions. Firstly, our CCPs are highly customisable and can be deployed quickly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WSG worked closely with the Food Services, Retail and Hotels sectors to roll out CCPs to help companies in these adversely impacted sectors redeploy and reskill more than 3,000 of their existing workers. This is how we were able to rapidly scale up in 2020.

7. Secondly, MTI and our sector agencies are driving our economic transformation through the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). To complement the ITM effort, MOM launched the Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs) in 2021 to provide detailed, job-level insights on the impact of technology and automation on the industry and workforce. The JTMs will serve as a useful compass for industry, employers and workers to prepare themselves for future jobs and skills. With these insights, WSG works closely with the sector agencies to mount CCPs to support the longer-term manpower needs of our economy.