Employers’ perspectives of effective continuing education and training in Singapore

Abstract

PurposeEmployers often claim that the lack of employee competence is a limitation in their enterprises’ success and viability. Consequently, employers are important stakeholders in considerations for workforce continuing education and training (CET) policies and practices. Hence, the authors undertook an exploratory investigation to understand how employers perceive provisions of CET offered through tertiary education institutions and how they might be improved.Design/methodology/approachOverall, 40 employers from a range of industry sectors in Singapore were surveyed and interviewed about effective CET for their employees.FindingsThese employers reported preferring one-on-one training in the workplace and being willing to invest in their employees’ training so long employees remained committed to their companies. They value online education, but prefer that it is combined with workplace or face-to-face learning experiences. They proposed effective CET trainers as those with relevant industry knowledge and teaching skills and effective CET learners as those who were self-motivated, goal oriented and open-minded.Originality/valueA study of such nature that focusses on the perspectives of employers, as opposed to employees and educators, has not been undertaken before in Singapore. Given Singapore’s increasing emphasis on lifelong learning and the workplace as a vital site for that learning, the lessons learnt here transcend national boundaries and may serve as a useful reference for other countries that seek to provide inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all.