In parallel to the arrival of SkillsFuture Credit, Singapore’s five public universities and polytechnics, as well as Singapore’s only private university, UniSIM, are set to offer 300 modular courses to the public. The aim of these qualifications is to foster a culture of lifelong learning and to keep Singaporean’s skills relevant to the changing requirements of the workforce.

From July, UniSIM will be offering 186 of these courses, mostly available through distance learning, with some classroom teaching. These modular courses will include subjects such as company law, financial accounting, and human resource management. Students of these qualifications can even select several related modules together and obtain a degree over time. The costs per course will range from $600 to $1300, but government subsidies will mean more than half the fee will be paid for, and students can use their SkillsFuture Credit to fund the remaining total.

These qualifications will become even more distributed when UniSIM begin teaching in rented spaces within MRT train stations. The idea is that these spaces will be more convenient for people to access across the country, especially for retirees. Although UniSIM doesn't have any transnational education partnerships, its sister company, SIM Global Education, does. This includes the University of London, which is the largest external provider of UoL courses in the world.

This news also comes as the government announces a new Individual Learning Portfolio portal, which will come out in 2017, and is designed to help people find the best career path according to their interests. These will include online games, self-assessment tests and training courses.

As to whether the new modular courses will affect TNE numbers being that students will be able to combine them together to form a degree or diploma, we do expect that a modest number will choose this route rather than a UK TNE course, especially if learning is more convenient and closer to home. However, UK qualifications will continue to be very desirable due to the strong recognition by employers and the prestige of a UK education. In addition, some of the modular courses will be only aimed at retirees, which is generally a different market. So even though some students may choose this modulated pathway, we don’t expect this to significantly affect UK TNE numbers.

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