NTUC’s Marine Engineering Cluster and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) have come up with key training initiatives to steer marine workers towards Industry 4.0.
The initiatives were announced at the launch of Marine Week on 3 December 2018 at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability.
The four-pronged training initiatives are parked under a campaign called the Skills Strategy for Marine and Offshore Industry, which comprises programmes and courses for digital readiness skills, advanced manufacturing skills, marine technical skills and masterclasses.
These programmes and courses aim to help workers cope with digital transformation and attain specialised skills.
Digital Readiness Framework
One of the key engines that will drive the Skills Strategy is the Digital Readiness Framework. The framework will serve as a guide to companies and workers on acquiring digital proficiency at the workplace and everyday life.
There are four levels of competencies under the framework – Bridging, Beginner, Intermediate and Proficiency. The levels provide a step-by-step guide for workers to tap on current courses available in the market.
For example, to reach the Beginner level, one must undergo SkillsFuture for the Digital Workplace, which is the national digital literacy course. Since it was rolled out in 2018, the course has trained more than 300 workers in the marine and offshore industry.
The Intermediate level, on the other hand, teaches participants on applying digital technologies in everyday life to increase personal productivity.
Commitment to Curate More Programmes
NTUC’s Marine Engineering Cluster, e2i, Association of Singapore Marine Industries, SkillsFuture Singapore and Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology also signed a memorandum of understanding at the Marine Week launch.
The MOU affirms their commitment to curate more training initiatives, implement the Skills Strategy for Marine and Offshore Industry, and for e2i to complement these efforts by rolling out more bite-sized training through the ULeap app.
For a start, more than 1,000 PMETs are expected to benefit from these training initiatives in 2019.