programme is twinned with jobs deemed as desirable by workers, it may lead to a spending spree on courses with no employment outcomes for the workers. One training provider likewise shared that she was increasingly seeing trainees who had specific industries and CET courses in mind and went on to take courses in these areas, but subsequently were unable to transit into their desired industry. As noted in the preceding section, workers wish they have the chance to demonstrate their skills to potential employers to justify a higher pay. Employers we speak to also appear open to pay more, if the workers are able to demonstrate their work capabilities. An extended work-study programme may be one possible model with built-in key performance indicators (KPI), such that workers can eventually command higher pay if they achieve the KPIs. A work-study programme also plays to the learning preferences of this group of workers who thrive on learning by doing and by observing others. One pedagogical aspect to give attention to is how such work-study programmes can enable “boundary-crossing” for higher learning potential (Akkerman and Bakker 2011). This will assist the low-wage worker to go beyond his or her homophilious networks and access new networks. At its simplest, this may take the form of informal mentors based on the workers’ aspirations. Another “boundary-crossing” programme could be an IT programme that helps workers go online to search out learning opportunities. Aside from these, there is also a need for these workers to shift their perception of focusing / naming of their work by tasks, and develop ability to describe what they do in ways that build confidence and widen horizons. This should be a capability development outcome built into the CET opportunities for these workers.
4.5 Work and Citizenry - the Broken Promise for the Developmental Worker Members at the reference group session also discussed if workers should be counselled to take a more long-term view of their life and career, and take on permanent work at a lower pay with CPF and medical benefits so as to get the opportunities to build assets in terms of housing and retirement funds, and enjoy career progression down the road. As described in academic literature, this is the developmental worker who is willing to forgo current benefits for future gains.
Haphazard Occupational Narratives: the Work and Developmental Experiences of Non-permanent Workers in Low-wage Occupations in Singapore 44
