Proportion of Nursing Positions in Total Traineeships and Jobs Created

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the proportion of nursing positions under the 7,500 jobs and 1,600 traineeships that will be created from now till end-2021; and (b) what is the average training and on-boarding time needed for someone without a background in healthcare to take on these jobs.

The healthcare sector continues to offer meaningful employment opportunities for Singaporeans, with up to 7,500 jobs and 1,600 traineeships, attachments and skills training opportunities available from now until end-2021. Of the 7,500 job opportunities, close to one-quarter, or about 1,800 of the positions are for nurses. These vacancies can be filled by fresh nursing graduates and those who are undergoing training through our Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) for nursing, as well as former nurses who wish to return to nursing practice.

The nursing PCPs support mid-career individuals without a prior healthcare background to make a switch into nursing. We have programmes at the NITEC, Diploma and Degree levels to train both enrolled and registered nurses. The conversion programmes take about two years to complete, and trainees will receive full course fee support, training allowance, and a Career Transition Bonus after they graduate. Trainees will be able to work in local public healthcare institutions or community care organisations after graduation.

The bulk of the remaining job opportunities are for support care, administrative and ancillary roles. Fresh graduates and mid-career jobseekers with or without healthcare backgrounds can apply for these positions. Depending on the role, new hires may have to go through the relevant onboarding training, which can include WSQ courses, in-house or on-the-job training. For example, new support care staff may have to go through a WSQ course in healthcare support that lasts between two to four months, while new hires into patient service associate roles may go for a WSQ course in administrative support, or undergo in-house training conducted by their healthcare employer. These can range from one to six months. Similarly, new or experienced hires taking on corporate functions such as finance or human resource may go for onboarding programmes in their first three to six months of work.