Towards an Effective, Accessible and Scalable CET Provision: A National Survey

Having a continuing education and training (CET) provision able to be meet the needs of all kinds and classifications of workers is central to its effectiveness in sustaining the employability of the working age population. Part of that requirement is for a provision that is accessible, effective and scalable to an entire population of working age adults. To identify and offer principles and practices for such an effective CET provision, this chapter reports and discusses the second phase of a national research project on CET in Singapore. The aim of this phase was to engage with a larger sample of working age adults than the 180 CET graduates who comprised the informants in the first phase. The second phase was enacted using an online survey that gathered data on the expectations of CET and the learning needs and requirements of working age Singaporeans. The sample included both adults who had participated and those who had not engaged in any recognizable form of CET. The items selected for this survey were derived in part from the findings of the first phase of the project. The intent was to engage with as wide a range of adult age survey respondents as possible to verify and extend the findings from those interviews across a broader working age population. Furthermore, items about factors that will encourage participation, completion and inform the effectiveness of the overall experience and the contributions of teachers were included, as were those associated with the worth of government subsidies and their influence on working age adults whether these made a difference to their participation in CET programs. This quantitative approach to data gathering and analysis is particularly important for informing both governmental, educational and workplace policies about CET. Findings from the survey emphasize the importance of pre-course counselling, readiness to participate in CET programs and preparatory experiences as well as the qualities of educational experiences, adult educators and subsidies as strong incentives for participation in CET by working age Singaporeans. The findings lead to conclusions about the purposes for, practices of, and means of engaging in CET that might be considered by government, tertiary education institutions and workplaces in providing an effective CET system that is accessible and scalable for the working age population.