Singapore's Lifelong Learning Efforts Need an AI-Centred Overhaul

Continuing education must evolve quickly to equip learners with judgment, agility and AI fluency.

- Terence Ho

Recent advances in generative AI have prompted much soul-searching among educators on how it will transform teaching and learning in schools as well as in tertiary institutions.

Much of the debate has focused on the relevance of current pedagogies, the skill sets being taught, and the need for new approaches to education.

But one area that deserves more attention in these discussions is continuing education and training (CET) for adult learners which will be profoundly affected by AI. While pre-employment training (PET) lays the foundations for lifelong learning, CET has the critical role of equipping learners with timely, last-mile skills for employability, especially in a fast-changing, AI-disrupted job market.

In the last five years, there has been a 40 per cent increase in adult learners signing up for programmes at institutes of higher learning (IHLs). With growing demand for CET and significant national investment in it through initiatives like SkillsFuture, it is imperative to think about how CET must evolve to stay fit for purpose.

This must extend to what is taught, how courses are designed, and how instruction is delivered.

The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce headed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong has just announced a new economic strategy review with five focus areas, among them technology and innovation, and human capital. The nexus between these two focus areas is vital to harness technologies such as AI to achieve good employment outcomes.

Essentially, there is a need for a holistic, AI-infused framework to fulfil the goals of CET in supporting lifelong learning and enhancing career resilience in an era of rapid change. It is not just the Government's responsibility; all stakeholders—training providers, educators, learners and employers—have a role to play in imbuing training with a strong AI focus and workplace relevance.