Google, Economic Development Board (EDB), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) have launched a new jobs and skills training initiative for 3,000 local entry-level and mid-career jobseekers in Singapore. The Skills Ignition SG – A Grow With Google Program is aimed at boosting candidates’ employment and employability outcomes, by offering industry experience. Application deadline is August 21.
The initiative is aligned with Singapore’s National Jobs Council, which will provide jobs and training opportunities in various sectors, catering to every skill level.
Skills Ignition SG offers two programmes, one focusing on providing on-the job training opportunities, and the other focusing on upgrading skills that are relevant to digital marketing and cloud technology.
This includes:
- Place and Train programme – A nine-month programme for up to 600 applicants, entailing three months of online vocational training before six months of hands-on work experience. Starting October, 100 positions will be made available at Google. The remaining 500 positions will be supported by Google’s key partners. This programme is open to all local graduates, professionals, and jobseekers. The programme is supported by the Company-Led Training Programme under TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, by IMDA. All costs are covered.
- Full-time training courses in Digital Marketing and Cloud Technology: Two six-month full-time training courses for up to 2,400 mid-career professionals. These courses provide industry-relevant skills to boost employability of in the ICT sector. Each enrolled participant will receive S$1500 per month. The majority of fees will be covered by SkillsFuture Singapore, with a participant fee of S$500 (deductible from SkillsFuture credit).
Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said, “COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge for Singapore, affecting our lives and livelihoods. In this uncertain environment, the government’s over-riding economic priority is to create jobs and opportunities for our people, and I am encouraged that companies, such as Google, are also stepping up to join us in this critical national effort.”
Scott Beaumont, president, Google Asia Pacific said, “We are delighted to partner with the government in supporting 3,000 local jobseekers through Skills Ignition SG… While the pandemic has impacted jobs and career opportunities, it has also accelerated digitalisation by businesses and increased demand for digital skills. We hope this programme will help bridge that gap.”
Ben King, country director, Singapore, Google added, “we’re really humbled to be the first tech company to partner the government in offering meaningful skills upgrading opportunities at such a scale across the ecosystem… [There’s] a need for workers with new digital skills, as it becomes more and more important for even the smallest of businesses to come online, and we welcome those businesses to become part of this programme as well.”
The travel companies that have chosen to partake in the programme include Trip.com, ZUZU Hospitality and RedDoorz. Each company will be able to offer programme participants vocational and hands-on training, as well as longer-term job opportunities.
“With traditional hiring methods, we can only spend a couple of hours with candidates before making the final decisions. However, with Skills Ignition SG, we have more than six months to explore. It will be a great opportunity for both the employer and trainee to find out if candidates can integrate into the team and fully unleash their talent. The training programme and modules that Google is offering also fit well with our expectation of skill sets and traits for candidates,” said Serena Sheng, HR director, Trip.com.
“ZUZU is recruiting through this scheme as we value the close partnership with Google, and the hands-on skills they will learn with Google prior to working with us. Getting that deep expertise in data analytics, online marketing, and project management approaches from Google will help ensure they hit the ground running at ZUZU, which is critical for a fast-growth startup like ourselves,” said Dan Lynn, co-founder, ZUZU Hospitality.
“Ambition, intellectual curiosity and a passion for all things digital are some of key traits we will be looking for in participating candidates. RedDoorz is a diverse group of people but all of us here want to drive a positive change in the Southeast Asia hospitality and travel industry – we hope to attract like-minded people who enjoy working on big, ambitious projects,” commented Amit Saberwal, CEO and founder, RedDoorz.
The private-public partnership extends beyond the two programmes into community initiatives, such as Code in the Community, designed to helped underprivileged young Singaporeans.
Skills Ignition SG is open for applications until August 21. Apply here.
Image credit: Getty Images
