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A recent study predicting a global skills deficit of 4.3 million workers by 2030 has prompted RMIT Online to enter into a strategic partnership with the Singaporean government’s SkillsFuture program.
SkillsFuture Singapore is a government-backed initiative that plays a key role in empowering Singaporeans to upskill to stay relevant.
RMIT Online’s short courses will appear on the program’s curated list of industry-relevant training for mid-career professionals, following a successful pilot of the program last year with more than 20 teachers from schools including East View Primary, Ngee Ann Secondary and Raffles Girls’ School.
The courses will also feature Singapore-based mentors from global industry partners, including Accenture and Tigerspike.
RMIT Online chief executive Helen Souness said RMIT would initially be offering its iOS App Development with Swift courses, as well as Developing Blockchain Strategy.
“SkillsFuture Singapore aims to foster a nation-wide culture of lifelong learning with a focus on emerging tech fields, so these courses were a natural fit,” said Souness.
“On top of our cutting-edge learning platform, students will have localised support through Singaporean-based industry mentors from partners like Accenture and Tigerspike.
“We’re incredibly excited about this announcement and hope to explore future opportunities to expand our offerings in the region.”
Souness said RMIT had a rich history in Singapore through its partnership with the Singapore Institute of Management, with over 47,000 RMIT alumni already contributing their skills to the economy and community in Singapore.
“We’ve seen enormous success from these two courses on Australian shores, with over 1300 total course enrolments in Swift and Developing Blockchain Strategy selling out within 48 hours.
“Now that we know this industry and mentor-driven model works locally, we’re thrilled to be able to offer it to the Singaporean community.”
Souness said the burgeoning skills gap in areas like coding and blockchain was not a unique problem to the Australian workforce.
“There is a global skills shortage in these emerging fields and it’s an incredible initiative of the Singaporean government to take active measures in preparing its citizens for the future of work.
“The partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore presents an exciting opportunity for us to bring our lifelong learning vision to a market acutely aware of the need to continually upskill its citizens to be ready for the future of work.
“In a period defined by rapid technological advancements, all nations are seeing a need to invest in developing homegrown talent to drive innovation and prosperity. This shift validates the need for us to remodel education to follow industry’s lead,” Souness said.
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