A final year student at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), 19-year-old Ng Jia Xuan discovered Google Career Certificates (GCC), a flexible online training program that equipped her with the fundamentals of Data Analytics. The professional certification helped her to land a 10-week internship with Altanium, a technology consultancy firm, as a Data Analytics intern. Jia Xuan felt a great sense of accomplishment when she earned recognition from her internship supervisors for her abilities that she picked up through the program, from Structured Query Language (SQL) to data applications and business operations.
GCC launched in Singapore a year ago to help learners like Jia Xuan develop skills and earn professional certifications for entry-level jobs in high-demand technical fields, such as Data Analytics, IT, UX Design, Project Management, Digital Marketing and E-commerce. The growing interest and uptake of professional certification in Singapore shows that Singaporeans are keen to develop themselves to take part in the fast-growing digital economy. Since its inception, seven out of ten GCC graduates said the program had a positive impact on their career — such as a raise or a new job — within six months of completion.
GCC is one of the pathways offered through our Skills Ignition SG (SISG) program to help more Singaporeans learn the digital skills they need to unlock new career possibilities. Entering its fourth year, more than 7,000 people have benefited from the SISG program.
Doubling our commitment with an additional 5,000 scholarships
As the demand for technical skills continues to grow, we are adding 5,000 GCC scholarships to help more Singaporeans pursue their tech-related ambitions, bringing our total commitment to 10,000 scholarships. Learners who earn their certification can also connect with 39 companies under our employer consortium that are looking to hire qualified graduates and grow their talent pipeline.
At an event today with Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Manpower, and Deputy Chairman of Yayasan MENDAKI, we also shared the expansion of our network of scholarship distribution partners. Ten new partners will distribute GCC scholarships to reach a wider community of learners — this includes universities such as Singapore Management University, the National University of Singapore, and the National Technology of Singapore, and community organizations like Young Women’s Leadership Connection and SG Enable. With a total of 23 distribution partners, we hope to provide equal and inclusive learning opportunities to all.