Singapore pushes skills over credentials with new workplace framework

The framework proposes 12 pilot ideas to trial before rollout.

The Centre for Skills-First Practices at the Institute for Adult Learning released the Skills-First Framework for Action (FfA), identifying Skills-First practices and recommending pilot ideas to support adoption.

Released as the sixth and final paper in the Skills-First Working Paper Series, the FfA seeks to make skills articulation, activation and recognition a stronger basis for career and business decision-making.

Three shifts are proposed in the country’s SkillsFuture Movement: making skills reviews and skills-based decisions routine; Skills-First decisions as a standard approach; and turning experiences into shared learnings for wider adoption in workplaces.

Twelve pilot ideas are also proposed for testing with Trade Associations and Chambers, employers, unions, education providers and industry partners, before rollout.

Key recommendations include: introduction of recurring career and skills reviews; development of a Skills-First Enterprise Transformation Pathway; strengthening of shared skills infrastructure; and development of Skills-First Observatory.

The framework is co-authored by five institutional partners: the Skills and Workforce Development Agency, National Trades Union Congress, Singapore Business Federation, Singapore National Employers Federation, and Singapore University of Social Sciences.

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