As business competition is going fiercer, companies have been cautious about their hiring outlook. In order to thrive in rapidly changing world, agile talents with great adaptability skills are highly sought-after by organisations. Talents should always hone their skills set and knowledge to deliver good job performance. To serve that purpose, recently Singapore government launched new SkillsFuture programmes for polytechnic and ITE graduates.

Named as Earn and Learn Programme (ELP), the initiative aims to deepen students’ skills and knowledge in the field while they are working. So far, the initiative has helped 1,200 people from polytechnic and ITE graduates who have enrolled in ELP. Since it was first launched in 2015, there are currently 62 ELPs in 28 sectors, which is a three-fold increase from its initial launching.

Enhancements were unveiled during the inaugural ELP Carnival on Saturday (Nov 17), which also included seven new programmes offered by the local polytechnics and a one-stop ELP portal for both students and employers.

Speaking at the announcement of enhancements, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Dr Janil Puthucheary stated that the key to ELP’s success is strong backing from industry partners who have come onboard to support the programme, since they see it as an investment in their manpower pipeline. To date, there are total of 233 employers joining on board, indicating 50 percent increase than number of employers registered last year, he added.

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Additionally, the ELP has also recognised more interests from employers in emerging sectors such as Robotics, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and start-ups. Companies registered to participate in the programme include ST Kinetics, Micron and Seagate Singapore. Seven new ELPs will focus on these sectors, including one in entrepreneurship by Ngee Ann Polytechnic called as Startup Talent Factory.

To cater the needs of tech startups, the programme will develop fresh graduates in three specialisations, including digital marketing, business development, and user experience design. This programme will be open to fresh polytechnic graduates from any discipline and offers a flexible duration that stretches from 9 to 12 months.

The other ELPs include three new programmes in the Environmental Management, Food Manufacturing and Tourism sectors by Nanyang Polytechnic, a course in the Energy and Chemicals sector for ITE graduates by Singapore Polytechnic, and two courses in Robotics & Automation, and IIOT by Temasek Polytechnic, Today Online reports.

A dedicated ELP portal was also announced on Saturday. This portal is targetted for launch in the first quarter of 2018. It will serve as a one-stop-shop for students and employers to find out more about available ELPs, participating employers, job vacancies as well as to sign up for the programmes.

“We are continually strengthening and expanding the ELP by working closely with employers and industry partners to introduce new programmes, while ensuring a robust and relevant curriculum. With these developments, ELP has become an exciting programme with diverse options,” added Dr Janil, who is also the Senior Minister of State for Education.

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