The Singapore Continuing Education and Training (CET) System

Background

Singapore has 4.2 million inhabitants, making it slightly less populous than Scotland. Singapore has a number of key features which enable it to 'guide' economic development through a market economy. These include:

• the formal reliance on industrial policy to induce structural change for new economic sectors and new jobs,
• a highly efficient and elitist bureaucracy for effective co-ordination,
• extensive links and regular consultation between this bureaucracy and the private sector for 'national teamwork' and
• strong support for incentives through the market mechanism.

The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) was established in 2003 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower. Its role is to deliver the skills transformation that Singapore seeks.

Singapore is reliant on foreign workers, who make up 40 per cent of the current workforce.  The 2010 Economic Strategy Committee report defines the general policy direction for the development of the Continuing Education and Training (CET) system in Singapore. This includes two direct recommendations:

• to upskill in order to improve productivity, and
• to reduce the reliance on foreign workers and the levels of low-wage employment.

These recommendations are the key current drivers of the WDA's policy agenda.

The Skills Development Fund and the establishment of the WDA

The Skills Development Fund (SDF) has been the basis for the Singaporean CET system since 1979. The SDF is a levy which all employers pay, although it affects lower-paid work disproportionately. Employers can claim back up to 80 per cent of their contribution to the levy, if they can demonstrate that this is to cover the costs of staff training.

The SDF was criticised as a largely 'passive' mechanism by which to influence employers' behaviour. The resultant training activity by employers was largely piecemeal.

The establishment of the WDA in 2003 was intended to provide a more co-ordinated approach to the Singaporean CET system. Seven key success factors were identified:

1. To establish a country-wide skills and curriculum framework;
2. To establish quality assurance for public confidence;
3. To implement accessible and appropriate training;
4. To establish coherent and continuity for training;
5. To establish a national qualification framework;
6. To promote 'relevant' and 'strategic' skills formation;
7. To enable proactivity for the training sector.

The WDA took almost 6 years to fully establish the various aspects of the CET system in Singapore.

How Does it All Work?

Figure 1 illustrates the key components of the Singaporean CET system.

Figure 1: The CET System under the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.

Defining Industry Skills Needs

The CET system is a 'sectoral' approach to workforce development. There is a system of Skills Training Councils for each of the identified 23 industry sectors[1].  These councils develop a sector strategic plan and CET framework with the WDA, establishing sector skills profiles and identifying skills gaps.  The Skills Training Councils also develop competency maps and provide advice to the WDA on Workforce Skills Qualifications.

Curriculum Design

The WDA has its own curriculum design division to design the various levels of WSQ as well as undertaking the maintenance and management of these qualifications.

The National Qualifications Framework

The WSQ system now covers all 23 sectors.  There are seven levels ranging from the basic entry (certificate) level through to the Graduate Diploma (which is similar to the Foundation Degree in England). Figure 2 illustrates the seven levels in the WSQ framework.

Figure 2: The Workforce Skills Qualifications Framework

The basic design of the WSQ has been heavily influenced by the UK and Australian qualification frameworks. The basic building blocks of the WSQ reflect the importance of employability skills as well as specific occupational skills (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: The Building Blocks of Qualifications in the WSQ

In practice, each WSQ is divided into 10 Statements of Attainment (SOAs). This encourages a 'bite size' approach to learning and the take up of qualifications.  The WDA has responsibility for quality assurance and for awarding qualifications.

CET Centres and Accredited Training Organisations

There are currently 49 CET centres and over 400 Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs) serving the 23 sectors.  CET centres are sector-specific and competition between them is actively encouraged. ATOs set their own prices for training courses, including both WSQ courses and other training, such as additional training requested by employers.

Funding for training is now available from the SDF levy, augmented by the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund established by the Singaporean Government in 2001. SDF levies amount to around S$80-90M per annum[2]. The annual interest from the LLEF is now the larger of the two funding streams.  As this funding comes from an endowment, it is less sensitive to pressures on government expenditure.

The CET centres undertake a number of activities including recruitment, counselling and career guidance, training, assessment and post-course monitoring.  This can include TnP (Train and Place) which focuses on the unemployed, as well as PnT (Place and Train) which focuses on engagement with specific employers.

As part of its obligation in receiving public funds, a CET centre will also have to undertake post-course monitoring, including trainee attainment and sustainability of employment.

Successes and Challenges

The current CET system is still relatively young, making it difficult to talk about achievements and successes. However, there are some key indicators of potential:

1. The CET system is able to finance a greater amount of training compared to what went before. This is largely due to the introduction of the LLEF.  The manner in which the LLEF has been established makes it less sensitive to government budgetary pressures.
2. The new approach places a greater emphasis on individual employability.
3. The 'one-stop shop' approach under the WDA can bring a greater coherence to the skills delivery system.

But significant challenges remain:

1. The system supports high levels of training activity - during 2008-09 there were 376,000 training places created. There is an issue of potential 'training fatigue'.
2. The very high levels of subsidy in the CET system means that there may be significant deadweight - where government funding is used to pay for training that employers would have paid for themselves.
3. The 'post-course' monitoring by CET centres is used to measure the impact of public funding for training, but is seen as burdensome 'red-tape' by CET practitioners
4. Some ATOs complain that the CET centres have an unfair advantage. This relates to their support from the public purse and their establishment as statutory bodies or their location within education institutions.

In conclusion, the Singaporean approach to economic development has resulted in a state-led approach to training through an innovative and extensive funding mechanism. This has resulted in a CET system which is inextricably linked to Government policy direction. Issues of state subsidies, deadweight and training fatigue remain.

Professor Johnny Sung
Professor of Skills and Performance
Centre for Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester

Professor Sung's research interests cover comparative workforce development systems; the role of the state in national Human Resource Development; High Performance Work Practices and skills development in organisations.  Professor Sung is now in Singapore on a two-year secondment with the Workforce Development Agency, to establish and lead a research unit called the Centre for Skills, Performance and Productivity Research.

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