Minister for Manpower (MOM) Lim Swee Say noted that the risk of mismatches between job seekers and jobs created has become greater in Singapore’s labour market and to overcome this challenge, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has expanded the scope of Professional Conversion Program (PCP) under the Adapt and Grow initiative last year to allow for conversion to different jobs within the same sector, or to different jobs within the same company for sectors with high risks of redundancy.
This is in reply to the questions raised by Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC) on the issues concerning PCP:
Mr Zaqy had asked:
- What is the Ministry’s assessment on the take-up of the PCP;
- What are the challenges in matching and retraining vulnerable professionals amidst increasing retrenchment;
- What are the take-up rates by workers from different race groups; and
- Whether the PCP has challenges reaching out to specific groups.
“With the expanded scope, we also increased the coverage of PCPs to most sectors, with 50 PCPs at the end of 2016 compared to 22 at the start of the year,” he wrote.
“We also stepped up salary support for mature or long-term unemployed Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) who participated in a PCP in 2014.”
The result of these changes has been encouraging, with more than 1,300 PMETs securing conversions through PCPs in 2016, which is 20 percent more than in 2015. However, data on take-up by race is not available, Mr Lim said.
“There remains much to do to support the manpower and skills needs of employers, and to help locals who may not have the relevant skills and experience to seize new job opportunities being created.
“MOM and Workforce Singapore (WSG) will continue to look at ways to strengthen our support for job seekers under Adapt and Grow, including through PCPs,” he finished, not answering the fourth question.
The PCP was launched in 2007 to help local PMETs acquire new skills to take on new careers.
Some programs include work attachment, to expose participants to real-life field experience. This enhances the employability of job seekers such as mid-career individuals, and gives them the necessary competencies to take on new jobs with greater confidence.
Positions offered by the PCPs are listed below. The details of each position can be explored on the PCP website.
- Aerospace
- Biologics and Pharmaceuticals
- Chemicals
- Creative Industries
- Early Childhood Care and Education
- Eldercare / Senior Services
- Electronics / Assembly & Test
- Electronics / Wafer Fab
- Energy
- Food Services
- Healthcare
- Hotel, MICE and Tourism
- Infocommunications Technology
- International Trade
- Logistics
- Manufacturing
- Marine
- Public Transport
- Retail
- Social Services
Adapt and Grow is said to help individuals set their career direction, take their career to the next level, or look beyond their current career with the following services:
- Career Coaching
- Career Conversion
- Careers in SMEs
- Wage Support and Training
- Online Job Matching