According to an announcement by the Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Dr Faishal Ibrahim in the Parliament on February 28, he said more than 400 placements are targeted this year under the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme.

Last year, more than 500 graduates from Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education participated in the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme. The SkillsFuture Work-Study scheme helps to place people in companies where they can learn on the job, gain practical working experiences and also pursue higher qualification at the same period of time.

Currently, there are 40 Earn and Learn programmes across 23 sectors, including those where the Industry Transformation Maps are being developed in logistics, hotel, and Infocomm technology sectors.

The Education Ministry (MOE) has received positive feedback from employers and trainees on this programme and it will continue working with respective sector agencies to introduce more work-learn programmes, Straits Times reports.

See: SkillsFuture Plans to Reach Out to More Singaporeans This Year

However, Labour MP Desmond Choo (Tampines GRC) opined that the entry salaries for the industries, in the Earn and learn programmes should be more attractive.

In the Parliament, Dr Faishal further revealed details of a new one-stop online portal for training and employment to be rolled out soon in stages this year, called the Individual Learning Portfolio.

It will include platforms for users to provide feedback on the available training programmes. There will also be tools for people to profile their career interests, skills gaps and work values, and explore possible jobs and relevant training programmes. The Jobs Bank will be integrated into the portal.

Also a feature highlighting internship opportunities could be considered for roll out at the later stages in future phases of the portal. Dr Faishal further assured members that the job postings on the Jobs Bank are up-to-date, as postings are automatically removed after 30 days.

Also read: More than 4,400 Individuals Submit False SkillsFuture Credit Claims in January 2017