Dear Jobseekers, how many job applications have you sent since the pandemic started / you lost your job because of Covid-19? For me, I sent 800 applications between Jan and July. I believe there are people who are in the same, if not worse, situation as me. In the second quarter of 2020, Singapore’s unemployment rate rose to 2.8% (Source: Ministry of Manpower). The GDP also contracted by 12.6% in the same period. Given the grim situation, the government rolled out a series of monetary and non-monetary assistance. One of the approaches was to retrain workers who can’t find jobs in this downturn.
Read More: Top 10 Industries With the Highest Demand for Talents in 2021, based on data released by MOM
It was through one of these initiatives, the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, that I managed to escape from the dread of job searching. Let’s face it, being a student is a much better experience than receiving dozens of rejections a month! I will share information about SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways from my lens, on why I think enrolling into SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways is a good decision, and what my concerns are regarding this programme. As SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways and SGUnited Skills are an ongoing effort, programmes are being added and amended. Therefore, I have also linked the SSG’s portal that allows one to search for the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways and SGUnited Skills programmes conveniently. And since both are similar programmes under the SGUnited umbrella, I will also use the terms interchangeably, except for instances that are specific to the individual programmes.
Note: This article is also available in Chinese, which you can refer to your Chinese-speaking friends whom you think will find it useful!
What is SGUnited Skills programme (SGUS)?
According to SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), the SGUnited Skills programme is a full-time training programme ranging from 6 to 12 months. The programme will comprise certifiable courses, which will be delivered by Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centres, including Institutes of Higher Learning.
The courses focus on areas like healthcare, cybersecurity, AI and software development that are projected to be in-demand in the coming years. In this way, workers who could not find a job in this downturn can take the chance to re-skill and be prepared to new job opportunities that will arise when the economy recovers. Additionally, participants of this programme will receive $1,200 in monthly allowance throughout the duration of the training.
Read Also: Top 5: SGUnited Skills in Numbers
What is SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme?
SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways is another branch of the SGUnited Skills initiative. It is further split into Company Training and Company Attachment. For the purpose of this post, I will refer to the Company Training branch when I use the term “SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways”.
Much like SGUnited Skills Programme, the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways targets mid-career professionals and support them to widen their professional networks and gain new, in-demand skills while preparing for more permanent jobs in the future (Source: https://www.ssg-wsg.gov.sg/programmes-and-initiatives/sgunitedmidcareerpathwaysprogramme.html).
SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways is different from the SGUnited Skills Programme in that the training would be developed and conducted by companies that are leaders in their industries. For example, i.am-vitalize is a 6-month SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programme by IBM. Additionally, SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways learners receive a higher monthly allowance of $1,500.
Read More: What is SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways – Company Training, and what is in store for 2021?
Why Did I Enrol Into SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programme?
I may sound like a marketing executive for SSG, but the moment I saw the news announcing SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, I knew this was a good initiative. All it needed was close coordination and good implementation by the training providers.
Off the cuff, here are some of the advantages of being enrolled into SGUnited Skills Programme.
Focus On In Demand Skills To Increase Employability
As mentioned above, the courses under SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme focus on in-demand areas like healthcare, cybersecurity, AI and software development. Already, companies were finding it hard to staff these positions before the recession (Source: Ministry of Manpower). Therefore, it is expected that these skills will be high in demand when the Covid-related restrictions eases.
We’re paying $500 for a $20,000 training by an internationally acclaimed tech company!
Low Programme Fees For High Value Training
Additionally, courses in the SGUnited programmes are highly subsidised. For example, I am currently on IBM’s i.am-vitalize which cost $20,116. However, with SSG’s funding, I only need to pay $500. In general, SGUnited training that lasts for 6 months costs $500, while the 12 month programmes cost $1,000. Training duration in between will be prorated.
Read More: What’s in store for jobseekers in 2021 under the SGUnited scheme?
Programme Fees Can Be Further Reduced With SkillsFuture Credit
The programme fees can further be reimbursed by SkillsFuture Credit (available since 2015), the SkillsFuture Credit top-up (available from Oct 2020), and the Additional SkillsFuture Credit for Mid-Career Support (for Singaporeans aged 40 – 60 years old). With each support at $500, one gets up to $1,500 to pay for re-skilling and up-skilling training, which is more than enough to pay for the SGUS fees!
Check your SkillsFuture Credit at MySkillsFuture portal,
Facilitation For Employment By Training Providers
SSG intended for SGUnited programmes to help Singaporeans be more employable. In other words, not only will the content be practical, there will also be employment facilitation provided by the training providers. In fact, some training schools say that they have industry partners who will “sponsor” the in-class projects, so that the trainees can apply what they learned into real life industry needs.
All It Needs Is For You To Be A Singaporean or Permanent Resident!
SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme are open to all job seeking Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. This is unlike SGUnited Jobs and SGUnited Traineeships that have more stringent eligibility criteria.
Read Also: Best SGUnited Skills Programmes
My Concerns About SGUnited programmes
Not everything is perfect, and so is SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme. Here are some of the less than rosy parts of SGUnited.
No Job Placement Guarantee
As with all job support initiatives for job seekers, SGUnited programmes do not guarantee a job. The training’s objective was to impart in-demand skills to participants so as to make them more employable. Therefore, if one does not put in the effort to master the skills or to be actively searching for jobs, then the possibility of him still being jobless at the end of the programme would be higher.
Must Drop Out Upon Finding A Job
In essence, as soon as a person secures a job, he will have to drop out of the programme. However, he will be refunded course fees on the portion of training unconsumed.
Having to drop out of school sucks. Personally, I think this is a happy problem. The monthly allowance may keep me from starving, but nothing beats being employed and earning a higher, steady income.
Not Open To Fresh Graduates
Technically, it would be absurd to get a fresh graduate to embark on a re-skilling training programme. Practically, these are already workers who are trained with some of the latest skills demanded by companies. What’s more, there are already various support available, like the SGUnited Traineeships, that helped many graduates secure jobs since the graduation season opened in May.
That being said, this is still a rule that won’t sound good in the ears of fresh graduates. Especially if they had been unable to find a job for almost half a year like Darren Cheong.
Many Programmes Involve A Career Switch
With many SGUnited programmes focusing on skills in the emerging areas, which are essentially skills that mid career workers like me were not familiar with or trained back in school, enrolling in an SGUnited programme would mean a big leap outside of the comfort zone.
For example, the IBM i.am-vitalize programme that I am taking offers AI or Cybersecurity tracks. Even though I graduared with electrical engineering that included a couple of coding modules, none of the courses I took as an undergraduate was related to either of the tracks. Moreover, I was not involved in engineering jobs after graduation. With that in mind, I spent days deliberating on my decision to embark on the i.am-vitalize programme.
Ego
However, I decided to enrol for i.am-vitalize in the end, after recognizing that it was my ego that was holding me back. Indeed, the idea of having to restart from the bottom in another field, with the possibility of “failing” or exposing my shortcomings to other people was harrowing. Therefore, one of the downsides of SGUnited is having to reconcile with one’s ego and to step out of the comfort zone!
What Are The Programmes Available For SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme?
A quick search on SkillsFuture Singapore’s course portal returned 189 courses under SGUnited Skills programme (A similar search can also be conducted for SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme). I also know of offerings from SUTD that have not been listed too. Therefore, it’s possible that there are still numerous SGUS offerings “in the wild”.
It would be impractical for me to list all 189 SGUS courses here. What’s more, the list is still being updated. SkillsFuture Singapore had indicated that they would also make changes to the programme in response to the pandemic’s progress.
Therefore, I have compiled an overview of the SGUS programmes found on SSG’s portal in the table below. I have organised the information based on Area of Training. Therefore, it would be easier for you to find the Training Provider who are offering SGUS programme in the area of your interest.
Edit (Dec 2020): I have researched on the best SGUS and SGUP programmes in the market. Click on the post below to find out about them!
SGUnited Skills Programmes By Area of Training
| Area of Training | Training Providers |
|---|---|
| Accounting, Banking & Finance | Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic |
| Advertising, Sales & Marketing | Singapore Polytechnic |
| Agriculture and Fishing | Temasek Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic |
| Building and Construction | BCA Academy, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Institute Technical Education |
| Business Management | Singapore Management University Academy, Temasek Polytechnic |
| Community and Social Service | Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic |
| Customer Service | Institute Technical Education |
| Design | Temasek Polytechnic |
| Electricity, Gas and Air-conditioning | Singapore Institute of Power and Gas |
| Engineering | Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Institute Technical Education, Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Technology, Republic Polytechnic |
| Environmental Cleansing | Republic Polytechnic |
| Food and Beverages | Republic Polytechnic |
| Healthcare | Republic Polytechnic, HMI Institute of Health Sciences Pte Ltd, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Temasek Polytechnic, Institute Technical Education |
| Hotel & Accommodation | Shatec Institutes Ptd Ltd, Ascott International Management (2001) Pte Ltd |
| Human Resource Management, Employment and Recruitment | Republic Polytechnic |
| Information and Communications | Lithan Academy Pte Ltd, NTUC Learning Hub Pte Ltd, National University of Singapore, Singapore Media Academy, NTU Centre for Professional and Continuing Education (PACE@NTU) |
| Legal | Temasek Polytechnic |
| Manufacturing | Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, National University of Singapore |
| Marine & Port Services | National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic |
| MICE & Events | Temasek Polytechnic |
| Personal Services | Institute Technical Education |
| Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology | Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic |
| Productivity and Innovation | Temasek Polytechnic |
| Real Estate | Singapore Polytechnic |
| Security and Investigation | Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic |
| Tourism, Travel and Tour | Republic Polytechnic |
| Transportation and Storage | Temasek Polytechnic, Institute Technical Education, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Management University |
| Water Supply and Waste Management | Temasek Polytechnic |
| Wholesale and Retail Trade | NYP-SIRS, Institute Technical Education, Republic Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic |
Next Step: Research
Once you’ve narrowed down the area of training and training provider, go to SkillsFuture Singapore’s course portal. Once there, click on the button labelled “SGUnited Skills” under the search bar (can’t believe how easy SSG made this to be!).
Narrow down your search using the filters on the left sidebar.
Of course, you can also use the left sidebar to toggle other filters like “Minimum Qualification” or “Mode of Training”.
SSG’s course portal only serves as a respository for the SGUS programmes available. Most of the time, registration for the courses has to be done at the training provider’s official website.
Click on the image below to go to SSG’s programme search portal to start looking at the SGUS programmes available!
Post-Registration
Unlike the usual course registration, many training providers of SGUnited programmes have set up various enrolment criteria. For example, the IBM i.am-vitalize programme I’m taking required applicants to go through a simple test. Another programme I applied for at Temasek Polytechnic carried out interviews. (Though I must say it was an awkard experience. They asked questions like “Why did you apply for SGUS?” – I don’t think anyone who has a job or has impending job offers would consider applying for SGUS, would they? This compounded the ego issue I mentioned earlier. They’re forcing applicants to verbalize their pain and desperation. In their quest to find suitable, motivated candidates, they’re inflicting hurt on a group of people who are already emotionally vulnerable. To their benefit, those interviewers were obviously not HR trained, so they would have been oblivious of the ethos and principles of recruitment interviews.)
More than half of the programmes conducted course previews. Since SGUS is a new initiative, there is no doubt many queries to be answered.
After being selected, one would be asked to make payment. If you had indicated at registration that you wanted to use your SkillsFuture Credit, there would be a separate form to fill in. If not, most training providers asked for direct bank transfers and sending them the screenshot of the successful transaction.
For IBM, they conducted an orientation before the course started. If you want to know more about IBM’s i.am-vitalize programe, read my other post where I gave a detailed description of my application process, course information and my perspective of taking the course.
I have not seen similar initiatives anywhere else in the world.
Parting Words
Nobody can understand the mental toll of being in long term unemployment, except for the unemployed/jobseekers. The dread of receiving rejections was getting to me. Therefore, I was really relieved to be accepted into one of the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programmes, i.am-vitalize by IBM.
While the SGUnited Skills and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme has its shortcomings, it still does a lot to help those who were adversely affected by the current downturn. With retrenchment on the rise as the pandemic drags on around the world, the labour market is getting bleaker by the day. Being trained in in-demand skills while receiving a monthly allowance is definitely better than watching your savings dwindle as you wait for potential employers to call you up for interviews!
Moreover, the training providers of SGUnited programmes will also facilitate employment opportunities throughout the duration of training. Entry to any of the programmes is also low, especially when we consider that the SkillsFuture Credit top-up in Oct 2020 will easily cover the full cost of a 6-month programme! This means free training in a high demand skill while receiving a monthly allowance.
I have not seen similar initiatives anywhere else in the world.
Therefore, if you have been out of job for a long time like me, take a deep breath and leap into the new beginning offered by SGUnited Skills or SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme. The positives outweigh the negatives!
Till then, stay curious!
If you’re actively looking for a job, you can also make use of another SkillsFuture Singapore initiative, Skills Passport. It can be found on the MySkillFuture portal, where you can send your prospective employers digital (and secure) copies of your academic qualifications and training certificates. Read more on how you can make use of Skills Passport to give your job search a boost.
References
Find out more about SGUnited Skills programme in this official FAQ published by SSG:
https://www.skillsfuture.sg/-/media/SGUnited/FAQ/15092020-FAQ/SGUS_SGUP_CT_FAQs_Public_10_Sep_v1_Public_Final.pdf
All of the statistics were obtained from the official website of Singapore Ministry of Manpower.
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