16 August 2019

The Singapore University of Social Sciences’ Law School is expanding the depth and the diversity of its intake of students.

Besides gradually increasing the number of entrants each year, SUSS’ Law School is taking in an increasing number of polytechnic graduates.

This year, the school admitted 29 applicants from polytechnics, out of an intake of 68 across the undergraduate course and Juris Doctor programme.

The school’s other applicants include degree holders, International Baccalaureate diploma holders, and A-level holders.

At SUSS Law School, the average age of students is the late 30s. They include working adults like counsellors, paralegals, police and prison officers, and social workers.

Students need a grade point average of at least 3.5 upon graduation to qualify as professional lawyers, just like law graduates from the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University.

15 August 2019

To assist Singaporeans in deciding which course or skill to learn under the SkillsFuture national movement, the MySkillsFuture portal will be enhanced with artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide custom course and content recommendations.

Currently, the portal allows individuals to have access to various resources and information on industry insights, job roles and training courses.

The enhanced portal will enhance the range of digital offerings, in order to better cater to varied needs of individuals and employers.

Enterprises will also have a dedicated portal for their business needs, so as to provide easy access to relevant jobs and skills information, as well as resources such as self-help tools.

These new initiatives were announced recently at the third SkillsFuture Fellowships and SkillsFuture Employer Awards ceremony at Marina Bay Sands. It was attended by President Halimah Yacob and Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah.

14 August 2019

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day message that Singapore will face economic and existential threats as the world enters a “troubled period”.

On this front, the Government will continue to invest in Singaporeans to achieve their potential in the long term and help those with needs.

The Government intends to make education even more affordable, especially for lower- and middle-income families, as well as raise the retirement and re-employment ages for those who wish to work longer.

PM Lee added that each time the “world changed”, Singapore has managed to survive.

He said: “Each time, we reinvented and renewed our economy, our people and our city, and we thrived again. And this is what we must keep on doing.”

The workforce is also being reskilled and upgraded to be “future-ready”, he said, referring to how SkillsFuture initiatives are building up the skills of “tens of thousands of Singaporeans”, which will help workers to be more productive and employable, while preparing them for new jobs that are created.

13 August 2019

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung has clarified in Parliament that no Singaporean student is ever displaced from an institute of higher learning (IHL) because of the intake of foreign students.

Mr Ong said that the number of places in Singapore’s IHLs is planned with Singaporean students in mind. After admitting all Singaporeans who meet their standards, the IHLs then admit foreign students.

The minister said the annual education budget of about $13 billion is spent primarily on local students, through subsidies and financial aid to make education affordable. Annual government spending on scholarships and tuition grants for foreign students has fallen by about 50 per cent over the past 10 years, Mr Ong said.

Highlighting the advantages of admitting foreign students into local IHLs, Mr Ong said they give Singaporean students opportunities to build bonds and networks with students from other countries.

11 August 2019

The Institute of Policy Studies has proposed that the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Education be combined to ensure that Singaporean students graduate with the necessary skills needed by the economy.

Work and study are phases that are increasingly converging, with education no longer a linear process but a continuous cyclical process that follows industry cycles, according to Institute of Policy Studies’ research fellow Faizal Yahya.

A single ministry that oversees the supply and demand for labour would result in better coordination and timely government intervention.

Dr Faizal noted that there are acute shortages of skills in several sectors, especially in the info-communications and technology (ICT) sector.

Calling the shortage of skills a “key problem”, Dr Faizal said that new educational pathways need to be created so that workers would be able to access new employment opportunities that companies in the digital economy are offering.

10 August 2019

Singapore will be fielding a team of 32 students from the Institute of Technical Education, the five polytechnics, and Nanyang Technological University, to participate in the upcoming WorldSkills Competition (WSC) in Russia.

The biennial competition is dubbed the “Olympics of Skills”. It is the world’s largest vocational and technical skills competition for young people.

Commenting on the upcoming contest, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said: “I think all our contestants today, across different institutes of higher learning, have put in blood, sweat and tears in preparing for this competition.”

This year, Singapore will be competing in 29 skill areas, including six new areas: cyber security, chemical laboratory technology, cloud computing, fashion technology, water technology and hotel reception.

A Future Skills Competition, which tests emerging skills in demand for the digital economy, will also be held in conjunction with the WSC. Such skills include building information modelling technology and drone operating. Singapore will field three competitors in these two areas.

08 August 2019

ST Telemedia has launched three scholarships that are created in conjunction with its 25th anniversary.

The three scholarships are bond-free scholarships that target Singaporean students from disadvantaged backgrounds and are valued at an aggregate of up to about $4 million for a period of seven years.

In Singapore, STT is establishing the ST Telemedia Scholarship for a Master in International Affairs programme at the LKYSPP.

On the international front, STT is sponsoring undergraduate scholarships at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, through its Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship Fund, and Somerville College, Oxford, through the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust.

Mdm Ho Ching, patron of the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust, said: “The three scholarship programmes launched by STT will help open up more opportunities for young Singaporeans to ‘have a go’, especially for those who have risen against the odds in their lives.”