In this article, we share briefly our experiences in adult training, and offer insights into the training outputs drawn from internal sources, before concluding with recommendations for a more integrated approach to promote skills upgrading to the Malay community in Singapore.

The SSA Consulting Group (SSA) has been providing training programmes, both Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) and non-WSQ courses, for more than 30 years. As one of the early adopters of the WSQ initiative, SSA has experienced first-hand the changing dynamics in Singapore’s adult training landscape. This article discusses the adoption of skills upgrading programmes within the Malay/Muslim community from the perspective of SSA as a training provider in adult training, using empirical evidence from SSA’s own database.

EXPERIENCES IN ADULT TRAINING
SSA trainees comprise individuals from all walks of life. They may be company-sponsored workers or self-registrants; the latter includes the employed and unemployed. People of all races and ages attend SSA’s courses, from 20-year-olds to senior citizens; some in their 60s and 70s. They hail from various educational backgrounds – ranging from primary to tertiary/post-graduate levels.

SSA offers five groups of WSQ courses, each focusing on specific skills set, namely,

1. Workplace Skills (WPS) Series comprising 44 courses on soft skills for rank-and-file workers.
2. Executive Development and Growth for Excellence (EDGE) Series comprising 21 courses on soft skills for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
3. Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Series offer 12 courses on English literacy and numeracy for workers of all levels.
4. Generic Manufacturing Skills (GMS) Series contain modular courses and qualifications for the manufacturing workforce.
5. International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) courses are an international standard in end-user computer skills. These courses enable learners to become fully competent in the use of a computer and computer applications¹.

Since these courses are government-approved, each course is highly subsidised, between 70% and 95%, for Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents, depending on the eligibility criteria. Companies too, stand to benefit from the Absentee Payroll scheme, if they sponsor their workers for training².

Despite these incentives, barriers to learning exist. To overcome them, SSA developed several solutions, including having training venues islandwide. Many of the venues are in the heartlands, with good proximity to public amenities especially MRT stations. Access to training is further facilitated with flexible training schedules, including weekends, weeknights, and even graveyard shifts. Where necessary, training is conducted on-site (at client’s premises), even in places like Tuas and Jurong Island. Since a sizeable portion of these trainees are less fluent in English, SSA’s team of trainers are required to be able to converse in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, besides English.

TRAINING PLACES
Based on available data from January 2014 to December 2016, total training places³ generated in all five groups of WSQ courses were almost 40,000. These comprise trainees from all races. Malays made up slightly less than 5% of this. Interestingly, Malays made up almost 54% of the 2,000 total training places at SSA Culinary Institute (SSACI) alone. This figure was recorded over a five-month period, between November 2016 and April 2017. It must be noted that the baking courses offered at SSACI comprise two types, i.e. WSQ and courses offered at SSACI under the SkillsFuture Credit scheme. The primary differences are: the former is designed as competency-based learning; contains an assessment component and a learner gets a Statement of Attainment post-assessment. These outputs do not suggest that Malays/Muslims lag in upskilling programmes. We think the higher representation of Malays in baking courses compared to other types of skills programmes might be due to their preference towards food-related courses and activities, possibly triggered by cultural and/or religious factors. Indeed, a qualitative or quantitative study should be undertaken to understand this phenomenon better and the extent of its prevalence.

CALL TO ACTION
Amidst the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous global environment, the rhetoric by policymakers, scholars and analysts continues to emphasise the importance of skills upgrading as a means to mitigate these uncertainties if not to enhance one’s employability and economic relevance. In the SkillsFuture agenda, the government outlines a “more sophisticated strategy”⁴ to promote lifelong learning, encouraging the pursuit of “mastery, meritocracy and self-discovery”⁵ in and for every individual. Unlike previous government schemes and programmes of yesteryears, SkillsFuture is backed by a more pronounced political and financial will. And so, it is not surprising that three years after Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced the SkillsFuture movement at the official opening of the Lifelong Learning Institute in 2014, the current discourse in the popular media tends to gravitate towards the adoption rate of this agenda and its extent, including whether Malays have increased their participation. It is important to emphasise that skills upgrading courses are only one of many interesting features of SkillsFuture that the Malay community, along with the other communities, should capitalise on. Other features include: SkillsFuture Credit, SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme for fresh Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnic graduates, enhanced subsidies for mid-career Singaporeans (aged 40 and above) for courses funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG); and SkillsFuture Study Awards .

We argue for a more coordinated approach in this matter.

First, data should be captured at the national level covering all training and adult education providers to identify the rate of Malay participation in all skills upgrading programmes. If this has already been done, the data should be published so that our Malay leaders, with support from the Malay community and other stakeholders, are better informed in identifying strategic and targeted approaches to address the issue. A detailed analysis should be done to understand the reasons behind such trends, and intervention measures be introduced quickly.

Second, to urge more Malays to embrace the spirit of lifelong learning, and inevitably achieve the aims of SkillsFuture, a more persuasive marketing approach is required. Our experience informs us that the engagement process with Malay employers and workers is different from their non-Malay counterparts. We observe that the former group requires a different form of buy-in to convince them before taking the decisive step to enrol in a course.

Third, a task force should be formed, whose purpose is to create better awareness of SkillsFuture within the Malay community. To this end, the task force should replicate some of the outreach activities used to educate the public about the Pioneer Generation Package. Hence, it should go to the ground and engage with various segments – from workers, union leaders to business owners in small enterprises, to housewives and congregants in mosques. Its agenda should be to help the layperson make sense of the various schemes in SkillsFuture and reap its benefits. The task force should also comprise members of the community representing various sectors and ages.

In conclusion, our experiences in adult training inform us that Malays participate in skills upgrading programmes in varying degrees. Our data show Malays constitute about 54% of the total training places in baking courses. However, their participation in soft skills courses are rather low at 5%. We recommend a coordinated approach to better articulate the philosophy and objectives of the SkillsFuture agenda, particularly amongst the Malay community so that they would be able to fully benefit from the SkillsFuture movement. ⬛

¹ See ICDL Signs New MOU with WDA At www.icdlasia.org.
² SkillsFuture Singapore, www.ssg.gov.sg.
³ Training places refer to enrolment, not individuals (headcount).
⁴ J. Tan., (2015). The Prospect of Future Skills Development in Singapore. P.2.
⁵ Ong Y-K., (2016) in C. Tan., (2017). Lifelong Learning through the SkillsFuture Movement in Singapore: Challenges And Prospects. (p.281).

Suhaimi Salleh is the CEO of SSAGroup, one of the leading companies providing a diverse range of professional services. He has more than 40 years of post-graduate experience in audit and finance, management consulting and corporate training. An author and a business mentor, he is also active in charity and non-profit organisations, currently serving as President of Lembaga Biasiswa Kenangan Maulud (LBKM) and Board Member/Audit Committee Chairman of SG Enable.

Siti Hawa Samsuddin is a Senior Manager and HOD (Learning Design & Development) of SSA Group. Prior to SSA, she worked in three Malay/Muslim organisations for a total of about 16 years.