Singapore Budget 2019: Singapore to launch new Professional Conversion Programmes for new growth areas

SINGAPORE will launch new Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) relating to blockchain, embedded software and prefabrication to prepare Singaporeans to move into new growth areas, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in Parliament on Monday.

The minister also announced the extension of the Career Support Programme for two years. The programme was launched in 2015 to provide wage support for employers to hire eligible Singaporeans who are mature and retrenched, or are in long-term unemployment.

"We must also ensure that the benefits of enterprise transformation are passed on to our workers,'' Mr Heng said.

Over the years, the government has instituted a range of support measures for workers, including the Workforce Income Supplement, Special Employment Credit, and PCPs. Investments in supporting people in their careers reached more than S$1.1 billion in fiscal year 2017.

The percentage of residents in the labour force who participated in training grew to 48 per cent in 2018, from 35 per cent in 2015. From 2016 to 2018, more than 76,000 job seekers found employment through the Adapt and Grow initiative.

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