Institute of Adult Learning to focus on Trainers

Skills upgrading in Singapore has been given a boost with the launch of the Institute of Adult Learning (IAL).

With the government's recent announcement that it is giving training a S$600 million boost with the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), the IAL has been set up to focus on training trainers.

Dr Gary Willmott, executive director, Institute of Adult Learning, said: "We would not want to send our children to a primary school without a qualified training teacher. (It's the) same thing – we would not want people to go out to learn new skills for their work unless they have a qualified trainer."

IAL has 35 staff and an annual budget of some S$7 million, which includes course subsidies for trainers.

The institute aims to cover three areas – establish best practices and improve standards for trainers, increase the pool of trainers, and to provide support and advisory services in curriculum, assessment and training practices.

The 42 Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres in Singapore will be increased to 52 by next year. The government also plans to double the current number of some 4,000 trainers.

For those considering a career in this field, the new IAL will offer a diploma in CET from next year.