Back when I was a polytechnic student, I tried to enroll in a Japanese module as part of my General Studies curriculum. Much to my dismay, I found out that the all of the slots were filled up and I had to pick another class in different field.
It didn’t occur to me that the Japanese culture was that popular in Singapore.
A similar thing happened this year. Yesterday, The Straits Times reported that the Japanese language and IT courses are the top picks in the SkillsFuture Credit scheme.
Japanese, IT and Coffee
SkillsFuture is a national initiative that awards every Singaporean aged 25 and older $500 credit to further upgrade their skills to better prepare themselves for the future economy.
The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) also revealed the other courses that emerge top in the government programme: food and beverage classes (coffee and cake), and security and investigation.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Ng Cher Pong, WDA chief executive, said, “We recognise that when we talk about 2.5 million Singaporeans, the sort of skills they need and the interests they have will be quite diverse. We will certainly need more than 12,500 courses in order to meet all their needs.”
SkillsFuture gaining ground
Just last Friday, it was revealed that there are more than 18,000 Singaporeans who have used their SkillsFuture credits in the first three months of 2016.
The Japanese culture is immensely popular in Singapore; it’s understandable that it would emerge as one of the top courses in SkillsFuture.
Likewise, the computer and information technology industry is blooming. As you might expect, there are many Singaporeans who want to arm themselves with a variety of skills and get ahead in their career.
The demand for food and beverage courses plainly aligned with NMP Kuik Shiao Yin’s recent parliament speech. Last Friday, Vulcan Post wrote about her latest statement on the increasing number of F&B entrepreneurs in Singapore and her comparison to the marine and construction industries.
So now it’s over to you—what do you make of the top courses in the SkillsFuture Credit scheme?
Featured image credit: SkillsFuture
Also read: Desmond Choo: “Talent Will Be The Game Changer. Keys To Success – Agility And Adaptability.”