Educators teaching SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)-supported courses for adult learning will soon be required to clock practice hours and undergo regular training, in a move to raise the quality of training, said Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 7.

Speaking at the opening forum of the annual SkillsFuture Festival held at Raffles City Convention Centre, Mr Lee announced a new Training and Adult Educator Professional Pathway that will create a new national registry.

From April 1, 2026, those who wish to conduct SSG-supported courses must be on the registry. To stay registered, they must complete at least 40 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours and 80 practice hours every two years.

This will ensure that adult educators continue to upgrade, and keep up with industry developments and new training methods, Mr Lee said.

CPD hours refer to those spent on learning and development, which includes structured training, workshops and conferences. Practice hours are those fulfilled by delivering training or other activities like curriculum assessment or design.

Currently, they only have to complete a certification programme by the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), said Mr Lee, but he noted that this one-off certification will not be enough.

This certification will still be mandatory for adult educators seeking to join the SSG registry. The online registration process for the new registry will start in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Apart from ensuring the quality of adult educators, the aim is also to bring in more industry practitioners as they have the necessary knowledge and experience, Mr Lee said.

“As such, we will offer more entry pathways for expert practitioners from the industry in certain selected professional sectors to be recognised and certified as adult educators,” he said.

SSG will first work with leaders in the legal and healthcare sectors to identify experts in their fields, to nominate them as adult educators.

IAL will work with NTUC, through the Education Services Union, to support educators during this transition period.

The SkillsFuture Festival is jointly organised by SSG and the Lifelong Learning Institute, and runs from July 7 to Aug 18. During the festival, Singaporeans can visit various roadshows and job fairs, and attend learning events at venues across the island.

Mr Lee said the SkillsFuture movement is celebrating its 10th year, but the journey is “far from over”.

Currently, over half a million people, or one-fifth of the workforce, take up SSG-supported courses each year. The number of employers sending their employees for training has doubled from 12,000 in 2018, to 24,000 in 2024, he added.

But these foundations must be built on, he said.

“Increasing training participation is not an end-goal in itself. Training has to lead to good social and economic outcomes for Singaporeans and for our country,” he said, as he outlined three key shifts for the next phase of the SkillsFuture movement.

Aside from measures to improve the quality of adult educators, Mr Lee laid out plans to strengthen employers’ commitment to training, and more support for individuals as they take ownership of their upskilling.

More support will be given to employers as SSG continues to grow its SkillsFuture “queen bee” companies to drive training in their sectors, said Mr Lee.

Queen bee companies refer to firms that provide industry-relevant training and guidance on training practices, and include Sembcorp, Raffles Hotel Singapore and CapitaLand. Currently, there are 37 such firms providing training to over 5,700 companies, Mr Lee said.

The latest firm to join the initiative is UOB, which will focus on skills development in AI, digitalisation and sustainability, as part of a three-year appointment. More than 200 small and medium-sized enterprises and 800 of their employees stand to benefit from the bank’s training programmes, funding and mentorship.

“We understand that some employers worry that their employees may choose to leave them for other companies after building up their skills with their current employer’s support,” Mr Lee said.

“While this worry is natural, we must remember that this goes beyond firms losing out. Everyone will be worse off if we do not build up our human capital and our resilience as a nation.”

Singaporeans will also get more support in their career and skills development with a new advisory centre at the Lifelong Learning Institute building in Paya Lebar, he said.

He added that the centre will provide career guidance, job insights and opportunities for industry exposure, while the institute will organise more sector-based workshops.

“I encourage everyone to actively tap these opportunities and tap the support provided to equip ourselves to stay agile and relevant,” Mr Lee said.

At the opening forum, there was a panel discussion conducted by industry leaders where they spoke about the importance of skills development in the context of artificial intelligence and workforce transformation. They brought up key points including the need for training aligned with business needs, the role of AI in augmenting rather than replacing jobs, and the importance of continuous learning.

Ms Gloria Tan, academic manager for training provider Biz IQ Academy, said the new requirements for educators is a timely move that will help raise the bar “across the board” and ensure they remain relevant and credible.

“Learners deserve to be taught by someone who’s up to date, especially in fast-changing fields like AI and digital media,” said Ms Tan, who manages a pool of about 40 educators under Biz IQ Academy.

Smaller training providers, however, could struggle to meet these requirements due to limited resources, she added.

“Training costs, time away from classes, or just not having the internal capacity to manage all this could become real pressure points,” she said. “So, some support or flexibility in implementation could go a long way.”

Mr Tay Ee Learn, assistant chief executive and chief sector skills officer of NTUC LearningHub, said the new requirements will give educators a proper path to develop themselves.

“Now that we have a more structured pathway, (training providers) have clarity and are better able to scale our training to meet the demands of learners.”