Singaporeans Receiving Training in Continuing Education and Training Modules in IHLs under SkillsFuture Series

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Education (a) how many Singaporeans would have received training in Continuing Education and Training (CET) modules in Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) under the SkillsFuture Series by the end of 2018; (b) what is the profile of the Singaporeans by age group and highest educational attainment; and (c) what are the expected Government expenditure and revenue for each IHL.

SkillsFuture (SSG) Series focuses on emerging and critical skills and is a subset of the Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes offered by the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). Demand has been increasing since its launch in October 2017. By end 2018, we expect more than 16,000 participants would have completed training under the programme. SSG subsidises up to 70% of the course fees for programmes under the SkillsFuture Series and expects to spend, on average, $25 million a year on the programme for the first three years.

In 2017, about 30% of those who attended CET programmes were aged below 30, about 40% were aged 30 to 49 and about 30% were aged 50 and above. In 2017, in terms of educational attainment, about 15% of individuals who attended CET programmes had up to primary qualifications, and close to 35% had secondary qualifications. About 30% of the individuals had diploma or post-secondary qualifications and about 20% had a degree.