The 2020 Healthcare Manpower Plan launched by Minister for Health Mr Gan Kim Yong projects a total of 30,000 new healthcare jobs to be created by 2020. These jobs cut across various levels, and will provide good job opportunities for Singaporeans – fresh school leavers, mid-career Singaporeans, non-practising healthcare professionals and older workers.
The plan outlines various initiatives to help Singaporeans take up good jobs in healthcare. For example, we are supporting the expanding Community Care sector to recruit mid-career talent under the Senior Management Associate Scheme (SMAS) and more healthcare support staff through the Community Care Traineeship Programme and a new retention bonus incentive.
Local nurses who have been out of practice have also been encouraged to return to nursing and join the aged care sector under the enhanced Return-to-Nursing (RTN) scheme.
The plan also highlights strategies to transform the healthcare workforce. In the area of building future skills, a new SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme in gerontology nursing will be launched by the Nanyang Polytechnic to enable nursing graduates to deepen their skills and knowledge to provide aged care in the community.
In the area of technology, the healthcare industry will see exciting transformations to achieve higher productivity through innovation efforts in the areas of care redesign, technology and workforce transformation.
Minister for Health Mr Gan Kim Yong said: “The transformation of our healthcare workforce is a journey. It is a journey that we need to embark on together – as leaders, as healthcare workers, as patients and caregivers, as students, as young adults and parents. Only if we all share the same vision of what a good healthcare system for tomorrow is and what the important skills and career choices are, can we build a healthcare system that will serve Singaporeans well for the years to come.”
Three strategies are a plan of the new Healthcare Manpower plan, they are:
MOH will provide scholarships and sponsorships to young Singaporeans looking to pursue a career in the healthcare industry by facilitating training programmes at both local and overseas institutions. Mid-career professionals will be supported with several initiatives, including an enhanced healthcare professional conversion programme which will provide participants with a training allowance during their courses of study, Channel News Asia reports.
“In tandem with our aspirations to become a Smart Nation, public healthcare institutions are endeavouring to deliver more efficient and productive services through the use of technology,” MOH stated in documents distributed on the plan.
