Speech by Senior Minister of State for Education, Dr Janil Puthucheary, at the SkillsFuture Work-Study Fair, Nanyang Polytechnic

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join you here today at this year's SkillsFuture Work-Study Fair.

2. We hold this Work-Study Fair annually for our ITE and Polytechnic students to give them the opportunity to explore the diverse range of SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes that they can pursue after graduation.

Empowering Careers, Bridging Education and Industry

3. And we have done this for 10 years in a row. This is the tenth anniversary of the SkillsFuture movement and the tenth anniversary since we launched the Work-Study Programmes in 2015.

1. Our aim then for launching the movement and the programmes was to provide more applied avenues for ITE and Polytechnic graduates to upskill and reskill amidst more rapid and frequent disruptions to the economy.
2. We wanted at that time to set up new pathways that can allow our learners to earn and learn at the same time, similar to countries such as Germany and Switzerland that have strong apprenticeship models.
3. Critical to this shift is that our employers must be ready and equipped to deliver structured on-the-job training, complemented by our Institutes of Higher Learning's (IHLs) classroom training. And this is a step up, in terms of our mindset, from employers hiring only fully-trained workers or sponsoring training. So that is the collaboration between our IHLs and industry.

4. So, 10 years on, where are we in our Work-Study journey?

1. Today, the IHLs offer about 150 Work-Study Programmes and these range across about 40 industry sectors. This is a ten-fold increase from 2015 when we started with just 15 programmes in 12 sectors.
2. ITE graduates interested in work-study options can consider Work-Study Diploma offered by ITE or the Work-Study Certificate offered by the Polytechnics.
3. Polytechnic graduates can consider Work-Study Post-Diploma for further industry specialisation or Work-Study Degrees offered by our Autonomous Universities.
4. The number of students participating in these programmes has also grown, from 150 in 2015 to 2,800 in 2024. In total, about 16,000 individuals have benefitted from the Work-Study Programmes since its launch.

5. The attractive programme benefits are a key reason for this positive take-up rate.

1. Most learners are interested to gain work experience while pursuing a higher qualification.
2. Up to the post-diploma level, the programmes are structured as place-and-train to facilitate transition into the workforce. What does place-and-train mean? This means that these learners are hired as employees by companies, earn a salary and can enjoy a career head-start. So, the previous thinking was that at one point of your life you are a learner, and at another point in your life you are an employee. The place-and-train concept is that you are a learner and an employee at the same time. You have already been hired, but you are going to learn more for that qualification and that job.
3. At the degree level, the programmes offer extended structured on-the-job training, these allow learners to develop deeper work-relevant skills and experience and many learners are also offered job opportunities with the sponsoring company after graduation.

6. The other selling point is the positive employment outcomes that work-study trainees gain from the training.

1. On average, work-study graduates in place-and-train programmes earned 33% more after completing the programme. More than 9 in 10 graduates were employed six months after programme completion.
2. Compared to their peers who entered work directly and did not take up the work-study option, Work-Study Post-Diploma graduates who completed the additional 1 or 1.5 years of training enjoyed a wage premium of between 6% to 9%.
3. From our surveys, the median starting salaries for ITE's Work-Study Diploma graduates are comparable to those of full-time Polytechnic Diploma graduates. So, it's a new way of thinking about learning and training. Not so new now that it has been 10 years, but now, 10 years later, we have some data to suggest that this is the right approach.

7. Two learners who have benefitted from the Work-Study Programmes are Ms Nerine Teo and Ms Natasyah Sari Binte Mohamed Noh.

1. Nerine pursued a ITE Work-Study Diploma in Tourism Management while working at Resorts World Sentosa. She gained meaningful work experience through rotations across work functions, such as VIP Tours & Event Operations, Park Ambassadors, and Stage Management. And all of this prepared her for the workforce, and allowed her to gain exposure to her employer's different career opportunities.
2. Natasyah upgraded to a Work-Study Specialist Diploma in Robotics and Engineering at Temasek Polytechnic, sponsored by her employer Micron. She acquired new technical skills in automation and when she completed the programme, she earned a promotion. Congratulations and well done Nerine and Natasha!

8. You can see from this that one of our key partners in the expansion is employers who have readily participated in these programmes.

1. Today, about 950 employers participate in the Work-Study Programmes, up from 35 employers in 2015.
2. And these employers come from a wide variety of sectors – hospitality, tech, healthcare, logistics, and engineering, just to name a few. And their profiles range from Small and Medium Enterprises, to Large Local Enterprises, Multi-National Corporations, and even some Voluntary Welfare Organisations and Government agencies.

9. This is remarkable growth, and it suggests that employers also see benefits from participating in the Work-Study Programmes.

1. First, these Work-Study Programmes allow companies to tap on ready talents, addressing their manpower and skills shortages. With the necessary upskilling, the ITE and Polytechnic graduates can take on higher-level tasks and jobs.
2. Another key benefit is that the curriculum is co-developed and delivered by the employers, with the support of our IHLs', so that training more directly addresses that employer's needs. Delivering 50% to 70% of the curriculum via on-the-job training also minimises the time that trainees spend away from work.
3. And again, the data suggests that we are on the right track. Retention rates have been positive. From our surveys, around 7 in 10 graduates stayed with the company that hired and trained them six months after graduation – possibly due to the career head-start they have enjoyed, the on-the-job training and competitive wages that they have been provided.

Growing The SkillsFuture Work-Study Pathway

10. The positive responses and interest from learners and companies as well as the good outcomes, give us confidence to continue growing the work-study pathway, particularly in emerging skills areas.

11. Sustaining and strengthening the "win-win-win" partnerships between IHLs, employers and the learners is key to this expansion.

12. The IHLs must continue to play a key intermediary role in industry demand-sensing and convening a marketplace to facilitate the placements of graduates into participating companies. The IHLs continue to play a key role between the learners and industry.

1. This year, the Polytechnics are introducing five new Work-Study Programmes, including a Work-Study Post-Diploma that Singapore Polytechnic is offering for learners to gain a Specialist Diploma in Data Science (Artificial Intelligence).
2. I would encourage IHLs to work closely with SkillsFuture Singapore, sector agencies and industry partners in your networks to deepen your understanding of industry needs and continue to play this vital role in the partnerships.
3. It takes effort to co-develop the work-study curriculum with companies, and the IHLs can gain first-hand insights into the industry's evolving needs amidst rapid technological advances. And these insights could further inform the institutions' curriculum design and applied research.

13. The success of Work-Study Programmes largely hinges on the employers' commitment to delivering structured, quality on-the-job training.

1. The employers who have succeeded have put in place good workplace learning practices such as an on-the-job training blueprint and they have invested in training supervisors and mentors who can guide the trainees and better deploy them at work.
2. And today, we will be presenting Appreciation Awards to 18 exemplary employers to recognise their contributions to the Work-Study Programmes.

14. Finally, we have talked about the IHLs and the employers. I have a few remarks to address the prospective learners, those of you who are here at the Work-Study Fair today, trying to decide or assess what to do as a next step:

1. Do explore the many options showcased at the Fair. Take the chance to find out more about the curriculum, the work commitment required and the educational support available so you can better gauge whether you can juggle both work and study.
2. Find out more too about the career progression opportunities from employers who are present today, and decide if the Work-Study Programme might be suitable for you to kick-start your career and facilitate your transition from school to work.

15. With that, let me thank Nanyang Polytechnic for hosting this year's SkillsFuture Work-Study Fair. I hope all of you have a rewarding and useful experience at today's Fair, and this year's SkillsFuture Festival. Thank you very much.