By Sing Chee Wong
Singapore has its own Career Development association!
Launched on Jan 11, 2018, the People and Career Development Association (PCDA) aims to promote and advocate for career development in Singapore among career practitioners, and those who have keen interest in career development, but may not offer direct services in this profession. They include Human Resource professionals, Talent Managers, C-suite Executives, Line Supervisors, Teachers/Instructors, Recruiters and even parents! These groups of people exert significant influence on the career planning and development of individuals, especially in career choices of their clients, co-workers, students and children.
We also want to enhance the practice of Career Development in Singapore among our members.
It is therefore PCDA’s mission to:
It is therefore PCDA’s mission to:
- Promote and Advocate for Career Development in Singapore
- Advance Career Development Practices in Singapore
- Ensure Sustainability to Promote Members’ Interests and Benefits
Although the focus is on developing career development in Singapore, PCDA also has a vision to reach out to the Asia Pacific region. Through the Association, we hope to exchange knowledge, best practices, resources, as well as visits with career practitioners and career development associations in the region.
Our mission is to:
“Impact Societies Through Career Development”
At the recent PCDA’s launch, hosted by Prudential Insurance, we were pleased to have with us Ms Ono Motoko. She is currently residing in Singapore, and was referred to us by Mr Yoshimi Sasaki, Director-General of Japanese Career Development Association (JCDA). She is our first overseas visitor. We look forward to more of such visits and exchanges.
PCDA has ambitious plans to initiate many projects and activities this year. They include organizing Townhall meetings, Community of Practice activities, Master Classes, conferences, webinars, local research projects, development of action-based resources for use in Singapore, e-bulletins, website development… The list goes on. Finally, we hope to form more relationships and elicit support from friends and Career Development communities in the Asia-Pacific region.
by Sing Chee Wong
Singapore has launched a new website to help Singaporeans acquire greater self-awareness, plan for their training and career needs, and adopt learning as a lifelong process. It is complemented by a public outreach initiative known as SkillsFuture Advice. Together, these two initiatives aim to provide Singaporeans with both online and offline access to information about skills and training, as well as job opportunities so that they can actively acquire and deepen their skills and plan their careers suitably. Each Singaporean has a personalised account which can be used throughout one’s lifetime, beginning with schooldays.
Whilst schools and Institutions of Higher Learning have career counsellors to guide students from primary/elementary school to universities, members of the public and those in the workforce could seek assistance from SkillsFuture Advice for their career planning needs. Whilst schools and Institutions of Higher Learning have career counsellors to guide students from primary/elementary school to universities, members of the public and those in the workforce could seek assistance from SkillsFuture Advice for their career planning needs. This section of the website allows workers and adults looking for employment to find out what jobs that are available as well as the skills required to work in these jobs. It also enables users to identify the skills gap between the skills they already possess and the skills they require to perform the job. The site further directs users to the training/training courses available to acquire these skills.
To encourage more Singaporeans to use and benefit from the “My SkillsFuture” website, talks are regularly conducted at community centres and clubs to reach out to more Singaporeans on skills upgrading and career planning so that no one is left behind as Singapore develops. Every Singaporean above the age of 25 years old is given a SkillsFuture credit of $500 to enable them to register and attend skills training and upgrading courses. In addition there are different incentives for new graduates and mid-career switchers, as well as older Singaporeans and people with special needs to pursue and enhance their careers. For more information on this website, please refer to
I am a career professional in private practice, based in Singapore. I am grateful for this opportunity to share what we private practitioners see in the trenches every day, where logical theories and neat structured methods meet fuzzy real world client demands that may not be so rational. Like they say, it can get complicated.
Since I’m fortunate to have worked with a wide spectrum of individuals, from age 12 to 66, low-risk and at-risk individuals, no formal education to post-graduates, blue collar to gold collar, I think it is opportune to share my experiences so that we can all learn and grow together.
As you may have read in earlier issues, there is now a national movement in Singapore called “SkillsFuture” that provides opportunities for all Singaporeans to develop to their fullest potential at different stages of their lives. To find out more, visit
There are 4 key thrusts in this movement and the 1st one is to help individuals make well-informed choices in education, training and careers.
As a result, career development is suddenly thrust to the forefront in schools, tertiary institutions and the workforce. There are education and career counselors assigned to mainstream schools. In tertiary institutions, some lecturers have to double up as career guides and mentors! You can imagine how the lecturers feel when this “extra duty” is assigned on top of their existing overloaded plate in the name of job enlargement.
One of the key tenets in career development is self-discovery, in order to answer the 3 basic questions:
Who am I?
Where do I want to go (or what do I want to be)?
How do I get there?
However, good intent may not always work as planned. For instance, I was engaged to train a group of lecturers to be career guides in a tertiary institution. In the meeting with the powers that be, I was told point blank that career development is good, as long as the status quo is not upset too much. Students are currently assigned to courses based on their academic results. We all know that many would not get into their preferred courses because competition is intense and few would actually know what they want to do with their life in their late teens.
In this instance, the fear is that once students discover their strengths and interests through career development classes, they may ask for a change of course of study. This could trigger an administrative nightmare of paper work and justifications if the numbers asking for transfers are significant. It is a real concern because then the popular courses would be over-subscribed and the less popular ones may have to close due to low intake!
One tool that we used in class was the RIASEC tool by John Holland, where one can find out their best fit work role with their 3-letter RIASEC code based on work interests. The 6 letters in RIASEC covers the whole world of work. To avoid the issue of students using their 3-letter code as an excuse to ask for a course transfer due to wrong fit, we focused on 2 key messages in class:
- Work Interest is not competency. Interests alone will not get you a job. You need to work on your competencies to compete and be selected.
- Instead of using their 3-letter code to look for specific jobs, we expanded their minds. We told them to explore the work roles in ½ the world of work, which is what the 3 letters covered. Imagine the vast opportunities in half the world of work, rather than by being constrained to just a few jobs. Through the process, they discovered many other options. With options, the world is their oyster and they can look to the future with hope.
To cut a long story short, the status quo was maintained and the lecturers were enlightened. The students were also more informed about their future through career development classes. Win-win-win to say the least.
Till the next time, go M.A.D. (Make a Difference) every day!
Han Kok Kwang is the 1st legacy partner lifetime member of APCDA and the 1st Certified Master of Career Services (NCDA) in Asia. A 30-year veteran & pioneer in the workforce and career development scene in Singapore, he is also an award winning professional and serial author of 5 books on career management, including 2 bestsellers. Han is one of only 2 NCDA Master Trainers in the world (outside USA) where he trains and prepares career practitioners for the CCE GCDF and/or NCDA CCSP credentials, and also to become NCDA instructors. You can reach Han at Han actually wrote a book called “Million Dollar Mission” for parents and tertiary students on how they can explore career planning effectively. The topic was also discussed at a session he presented last year at the APCDA Conference in Taipei, with rave reviews. If you are keen, you can download a free preview copy at |
I am a career professional in private practice, based in Singapore. I am grateful for this opportunity to share what we private practitioners see in the trenches every day, where logical theories and neat structured methods meet fuzzy real world client demands that may not be so rational. Like they say, it can get complicated.
Since I’m fortunate to have worked with a wide spectrum of individuals, from age 12 to 66, low-risk and at-risk individuals, no formal education to post-graduates, blue collar to gold collar, I think it is opportune to share my experiences so that we can all learn and grow together.
As you may have read in earlier issues, there is now a national movement in Singapore called “SkillsFuture” that provides opportunities for all Singaporeans to develop to their fullest potential at different stages of their lives. To find out more, visit
by Gerald Tan
In Jan 2016, I shared a commentary about Singapore embracing Career Development as a critical component towards the strategic development of its economy and workforce. The commentary may be found at the following link
The Career Development Pill for Singapore More than a year later, I am pleased to update that Career Development has continued to proliferate in Singapore. The nation is seeing greater public interest and ownership in career and skills planning – this is evident through the emergence of new and diverse forms of Career Development services offered by both the private and public sectors. This bodes well for Career Development professionals* in Singapore.
*My personal definition of Career Development professionals are people who help others by providing career direction and career transition assistance. These professionals could be career coaches, career counsellors, recruitment specialists.
My commentary will cover the following:
- Reasons for Career Development proliferation in Singapore
- Beneficiaries of the Career Development proliferation in Singapore
- Impact on the Career Development professionals in Singapore
Reasons for the Career Development Proliferation in Singapore
Career Development proliferation in Singapore is caused by two main factors – technology and active government policies.
New Technology Development
Singapore is one of the most internet-connected nations in the world. The total number of personal smart-devices being used exceeds the entire population of Singapore. More recently, the nation has embarked on a ‘Smart Nation’ effort, to embrace and leverage technology to automate and optimize both work and life.
Global technological developments such as Internet of Things, BlockChain, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics have started to influence the Career Development services in Singapore. Today, there are private and public sector services to improve job search activities and generate useful labour market information to support career advising as well as help Human Resource recruiters source candidates more accurately and efficiently.
Government Efforts to Restructure the Economy
The Singapore Government has been pushing for economic restructuring to boost the national economy over the last few years. In 2015, the national SkillsFuture initiative was launched to promote the importance of skills mastery and career development with plans to move towards growth opportunities.
To support the economic restructuring efforts, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the national agency for manpower development, reorganized itself into two agencies: SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG).
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) has been tasked to drive the nation’s SkillsFuture initiative, promote lifelong learning efforts and advocate for skills mastery in order to ensure that the national workforce is sufficiently skilled to embrace new forms of work, an inevitable consequence of increased automation and productivity.
Workforce Singapore (WSG) has been given a mandate to look after the nation’s public employment services for people who have been displaced as a result of economic restructuring. WSG also has rolled out initiatives to prepare the employed workforce to navigate career transitions.
Beneficiaries of Career Development Proliferation in Singapore
The proliferation of Career Development in Singapore has created a positive impact on three groups within Singapore: the youth, the employed and the unemployed.
The Youth
Today, the youth in Singapore have more access to career guidance services than before. For instance, students studying in the mainstream schools have access to certified career guidance counsellors. The counsellors have been trained to guide students to make appropriate education and internship choices. At the tertiary education level, government universities and institutions have established their own career guidance offices to provide dedicated career guidance to their students.
In addition, several private sector entities have emerged to provide career related services to students as well as young working adults. For example, tuition services have evolved to include basic career guidance for students. There also has been a rise of online platform service providers. For instance, Glints and TalentTribe specialise in internship/first-work opportunities matching, as well as career advisory services for those in their early careers. Such interventions help youth navigate the school-to-work transition and mitigate their lack of work experience when entering the workforce.
The Unemployed
The unemployed in Singapore received a much-needed boost when the public employment services were enhanced to allow more people to receive help through online and offline platforms. In order to serve a larger group of unemployed, job coaching and job fairs have now been made available on a virtual platform, in addition to the usual event fairs. Coaching services are also being delivered on a group basis to leverage peer-dynamics for better learning.
Within the private sector, specialised career service providers Maximus (from the United States) and Ingeus (from South Korea) have also established a presence in Singapore to provide career services to unemployed professionals. Both aim to bring a fresh service approach compared to our public employment services. Private local firms like Grab and FastJobs have developed mobile applications to facilitate job search and increase access to job vacancies. For example, Grab launched GrabJobs, an application which conducts instant screening via a chatbot and decides instantly if a job applicant is suitable for an interview.
Besides employment assistance, peer-to-peer networking and mentoring efforts initiated by the union (PIVOT ), as well as social media interactions on platforms such as LinkedIn, have also taken off amongst the unemployed professionals. Such initiatives allow the unemployed professionals to take ownership of their employment search, allowing them to make use of the most effective job search method of all-time – ‘word of mouth.’ The evolution of our public employment services and the newly created help avenues for the unemployed certainly promote a richer and more supportive environment to help the unemployed get employed.
The Employed Workforce
Career Development efforts are typically focused on the youth and the unemployed. In Singapore however, there is a strong desire and push towards raising the awareness of and increasing active participation in career development for the employed workforce.
The government and union have created complementary efforts to study future-growth industries, job prospects and in-demand skills. A national portal for careers and learning will soon be launched to facilitate active planning and preparation for careers. Local private sector technology firms have also sprouted – JobKred and JobTech. They deploy machine learning and data analytics to curate labour market and job information to pinpoint skills demand and industry prospects so as to facilitate skills upgrading and career planning. The government has also subsidised the cost of skills learning under SkillsFuture in order to encourage the workforce to gain new skills as part of their personal career development.
Within the community, ground-up initiatives have been launched to educate workers on the importance of career planning and development. For example, community organizations such as ToDoToDo have started to match district residents to volunteer career guides in order to receive career mentorship. SkillsFuture Advice is a series of workshops designed and delivered by the Government to reach out to the community to promote the importance of skills and career planning. Unibly is a mobile application that helps match mentors to mentees.
The various functions within the Human Resource (HR) department of many organisations have also started to recognise the importance of providing career related services to develop the careers of their employees. With more millennials entering the workforce and the constant battle for talent, career development and progression have become increasingly important HR functions required in order to attract and retain the best talent. As a result, organisations have been turning to specialised companies to provide career development and consultancy services to construct career development frameworks and conduct workshops for their employees.
Impact on Career Development Professionals in Singapore
Career Development professionals in Singapore need to recognize the growing importance of Career Development in Singapore. The professionals need to increase their competence in the field beyond their certifications and constantly seek to leverage newly-created resources mentioned throughout the commentary to ride the Career Development wave in Singapore.
This rising importance of Career Development in Singapore has led the government to develop a national competency framework for Career Development professionals in Singapore – to ensure consistency and standards amongst the professionals.
To further support the developmental needs of Career Development professionals, APCDA’s Singapore Country Director, Ms Wong Sing Chee, along with Ms Wendy Lam, Mr Hector Lin and Mr Gerald Tan (the author) have set up the Career Development Interest Group Singapore (CDIG). CDIG was formed as a response to help local Career Development professionals develop and adapt to the latest workforce trends and developments in Singapore. CDIG does this by bringing the community together to work on various learning efforts; including joint development of research, resource kits for different client groups, and communities of practice. CDIG also welcomes thought leaders from the other nations to speak to the Career Development community in Singapore. (Please see Ms Wong Sing Chee’s article above.) With such efforts in Singapore, there has never been a more exciting time for the Career Development profession than now!
by Sing Chee Wong
Singapore has attained the status of “Global Career Development Facilitation – Singapore Chapter.” On April 15, 2016, career professionals who completed the “Advanced Certificate in Career Development Facilitation (ACCDF)” course were awarded their Certificates at a Ceremony. These recipients are now eligible to apply to become Global Career Development Facilitators approved by the Centre of Credentialing and Education (CCE), USA. Ms Patricia Gates, Vice President of CCE was at the Ceremony to present the Certificates.
The Institute for Adult Learning, training division of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, initiated the ACCDF course in 2015. Currently, the participants of this course are mainly career coaches working at career centres operated by the Workforce Development Agency and National Trade Union Congress; Education and Career Guidance Counsellors working in schools and educational institutions; Human Resource Officers; and Recruitment Executives. A month later, in June, Deloitte released an important report ‘The path to prosperity – Why the future of work is human’. This is the 7th paper in the Building the Lucky Country Series, which was developed to prompt debate and conversations across business, industry associations, government and the media on issues facing the Australian economy.
The June Deloitte report launches the Australian economic discussion from the very positive premise of Australia’s 27 years of continuous economic growth, even through a period of global economic volatility. So far, more than 100 career professionals have attended this course, and many more people who are interested in becoming career professionals, are expected to enrol for the course in the near future. The registration fee for this course is heavily subsidised by the Singapore Government to encourage more people to complete the training needed to provide career guidance.
The contents for the ACCDF course were written by a local GCDF Master Trainer and career practitioner in accordance with specifications by CCE. The materials were contextualised to better suit the Singaporean/Asian culture. As far as possible the course contents, including case studies and materials, were written with Singaporean/Asian users in mind, so that they could identify and apply the contents more readily and realistically with their clients. Additional training courses in career development soon will be introduced to provide continuing education opportunities for career professionals who completed the ACCDF course.
by Gerald Tan and Jeremiah Wong
This article was written to share our ideas with fellow career development professionals on how to help clients who may not be familiar with the career development process. In today’s fast moving economy, clients can no longer afford to be passive in their current jobs. It is all about exploring, learning, connecting and maximising their potential opportunities! The steps proposed are based on Dr John Krumboltz’s by Sing Chee Wong
Historically, Singapore was a patriarchal society. Hence, it was common for children to learn and follow the parents’ trades, or to continue the family businesses, especially during the era when Singapore was dependent on its entreport trade and related economic activities. However, after becoming an independent nation in 1964, improved economy, better education with emphasis on meritocracy, and higher employment rate changed the livelihood of the people. Career guidance was not deemed necessary then as industrialization and manufacturing provided abundant employment opportunities and workers could hop from job to job till they landed in one that they liked. Lifelong employment was also the norm, so it was not unusual for a worker to work in the same job for his entire work life.
But globalization and changing social values and lifestyles have altered such traditions. Singapore’s economy has further evolved, resulting in a demand for workers with high-end and specialised knowledge and skills, e.g. research and development, banking and finance, etc. Hence, job search has become more complex as job seekers attempt to find the fit between themselves and their careers. In addition, globalization has resulted in greater competition
both locally and globally, making it necessary for workers to know themselves and their potential contributions to the companies if they want to excel in their careers. The aging population and low unemployment rate (2%), require older workers to remain in the Singapore workforce to augment manpower needs.
Career guidance is fairly new in Singapore. Educational institutions provide career guidance to students to prepare them for working life after completion of their formal education. Some bigger companies, i.e., multi-national companies seek and identify talents among their staff and endeavour to develop them. For the majority of the Singapore working population, access is available to career guidance at career centres belonging to the Workforce Development Agency and the National Trade Union Congress. At public institutions career guidance services are provided without cost to job seekers. Training is also available for job seekers to upgrade their skills, or to equip them for career transitions, at minimal costs. Job fairs are organized regularly for job seekers to apply for employment opportunities, learn about different kinds of jobs in the labour market, and network with employers.
Singapore’s changing economic and social conditions call for greater demand for career guidance services!
by Sing Chee Wong
Singapore has made significant economic progress since becoming an independent nation 50 years ago. Workers with quintessential skills are important for its continuous progress. However, skills mastery is more than just having the right paper qualifications and being good at what the person does currently; it is a mindset of continually striving towards greater excellence through knowledge, application and experience.
A new program called SkillsFuture was developed as a national movement to provide Singaporeans with opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points. Practically, there will be a full system of career guidance to help individuals make choices in education, training and careers, starting from educational and career counselling in schools, and extending throughout a person’s working life. It will also foster collaboration between the Government, industry, and educational institutions to provide individuals with exposure to a wide range of occupations and industries from young, and ongoing information on the changing needs of the labour market.
A generous training allowance is given to all workers so that they can participate in life-long learning. Every Singapore citizen aged 25 years and above will receive an opening credit of $500 to support his or her learning needs at every stage of life, including those seeking to re-enter the workforce. The credit can be used for work-skills related courses. Periodic top-ups to individuals’ account will also be made. This is in addition to the current highly-subsidised training programmes available to all workers.
To address challenges in anticipating manpower needs and to encourage higher productivity among workers, the Singapore Government appointed a committee “Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review” (ASPIRE) to strengthen Singapore’s applied education pathways. ASPIRE will work with students in postsecondary schools and institutes and to provide more opportunities for Singaporeans to realise their full potential and aspirations. ASPIRE has recommended that more career guidance services be available for both secondary and postsecondary students. As a result, approximately 300 Career Guidance Officers will be hired and trained to provide ASPIRE’s proposed services within the next few years. A new “Specialist Diploma in Career Counseling” has been launched by The Republic Polytechnic, a government institution, to train some of these Officers.
A second career advisor training program is also offered in Singapore. The Institute of Adult Learning, the training wing of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, offers the Career Development Facilitator course. This course is similar to the one developed by NCDA, but its curriculum has been contextualized to suit the Asian culture. The Institute of Adult Learning’s program requires candidates to acquire the 12 competencies required by the US’s Center for Continuing Education (CCE) to qualify for the Global Career Development Facilitator accreditation. The Institute of Adult Learning is currently working with CCE to accredit this course.
It is an exciting time for career professionals in Singapore!