Assistance to and Inclusion of More Industry Sectors in SkillsFuture Learn and Earn Programme

Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Manpower how can companies that are outside of the 17 priority sectors in the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme participate in the programme.

Mdm Speaker, the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme (ELP), launched in March this year, is a work-study programme designed to give fresh graduates from the polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) a head start in careers related to their study. It provides them with more opportunities after graduation to build on the skills and knowledge acquired in school and to better support their transition to the workforce.

The Food Manufacturing industry was the first sector to roll out the ELP in April this year. Other industries that will come on board in 2015 include Food Services, Games Development, Logistics, Infocomm Technology, Marine and Offshore Engineering, Retail and Precision Engineering. We will progressively implement the ELP in more industries and, eventually, cover up to one in three polytechnic and ITE graduates.

We have prioritised these industries to start first because they are more ready. At the same time, we also encourage the participation of trade associations and chambers (TACs) to help reach out to companies in their sectors, whether priority or non-priority-sectors. Mr Thomas Chua may be pleased to know that the Government will support them with additional resources and work with them to design quality ELPs that are not only relevant to the individual companies but also to the industry as a whole. Together, we can move faster in developing skills progression frameworks and career progression pathways for our fresh graduates.