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Speech at WSQ Partnership Night 2010

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, Shangri-La Hotel Island Ballroom

Skills, training and development

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean

Distinguished Partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

  1. Good evening. First, let me thank Deputy Prime Minister Teo for gracing this occasion. Tonight's event is held in honour of our partners, who have contributed to our achievements in the Workforce Skills Qualifications System (WSQ).

    CET A National Priority
  2. Continuing education and training (CET) is one of Singapore's top priorities as we shift gear into productivity-driven growth. A skilled and productive workforce is one critical advantage that our industries and companies must have in order to compete globally. Having skills relevant to new industries and evolving job opportunities is the worker's best assurance to staying employed and to have a better life.

    Our CET Milestones
  3. In 2003, the Workforce Development Agency was formed as a Statutory Board under the Ministry of Manpower to better help Singaporeans cope with economic restructuring through training and skills upgrading. WDA has been tasked with the responsibility to develop a national CET system.
  4. In 2005, the WSQ was launched as a national competency-based skills development and certification system. Nanyang Polytechnic and WDA then worked together, and the 1st CET centre providing WSQ training to the public – the Singapore Institute for Retail Studies or SIRS – opened its doors in 2006.
  5. In 2008, the National CET Masterplan was announced, making skills upgrading a key economic strategy. By the end of the year, CET became an important part of the overall national response to the economic downturn through the introduction of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR). SPUR helped employers and workers manage the downturn by saving jobs, while building new capabilities for future growth.

    Progress of WSQ
  6. Since 2005, significant progress has been made in developing WSQ into the national CET system. Today, there are about 12,500 WSQ courses across 26 frameworks covering a range of occupations and skills, ranging from English literacy and numeracy to precision engineering and clinical research.
  7. Today, awareness of WSQ among employers in these industries has reached above 40%, while adoption of WSQ has risen to almost 20%. In 2010, WSQ qualifications were recognised under the national Singapore Standard Educational Classification, just like the credentials awarded by our post-secondary educational institutions.
  8. Over the last five years, more than 500,000 workers have undergone WSQ training and both employers and workers have reported positive outcomes. Most workers said they found the WSQ training useful and experienced better job performance. More than three in five companies surveyed also reported positive impact on the quality of services, and the productivity of the workers, after WSQ training. This is indeed encouraging.

    WSQ Going Forward
  9. Going forward, as we step up our investment in CET, WSQ will remain a critical part of our strategy and a vital anchor of the national CET system.
  10. We will build more cross linkages between the formal education and WSQ systems to enable adult learners to move from one pathway to another. We will continue to expand the coverage of the WSQ to more industries and skills areas, such as renewable energy and sustainable manufacturing, as well as new niche areas such as fan-blade technology in the aerospace industry.
  11. We will also continue to refine the design of the system to respond to new developments. For example, we are expanding our CET offerings for PMETs who already make up more than half of our workforce. Besides building deep knowledge among our workers, we are also offering opportunities to train them in cross functional skills such as business management, marketing and productivity management.
  12. This way, we can provide employers and workers nationally-certified and industry-relevant CET in an accessible and portable way.

    Paying Tribute to our Partners
  13. This evening, we recognise key partners who have been pivotal to the progress of WSQ. For example, members of our Manpower and Industry Training and Skills Councils have been instrumental in helping us establish skills standards and courses. Several individuals and companies have also played an important role in pushing for the adoption of WSQ training, making it an integral part of their organisation's human resource development strategies.
  14. We also benefited from the support of CET Centres who have put in extraordinary efforts to develop their offering, and to achieve excellence, gaining industry-wide acceptance and recognition of WSQ training.
  15. And we have the WSQ Champions, who strongly advocate the use of WSQ in their industries and even help shape the frameworks with insightful suggestions and advice. These individuals have gone beyond their call of duty, bringing enormous credit to the WSQ System.

    Conclusion
  16. To all our partners – without your contribution, none of the progress I outlined earlier, would have been possible.
  17. On behalf of my Ministry and WDA, I thank you for being our partner in our WSQ journey. I look forward to your continued support as we embark on the next chapter of the WSQ story and venture into the next lap of Singapore's workforce development. 
  18. Thank you.