Retail workforce skills qualification (WSQ)
WSQ, or the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications, is a national credentialing system that trains, develops, assesses and recognises workers for competencies they need to stay employable. Based on standards developed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and various industries, WSQ ensures workers acquire workplace skills needed by employers.
With clear career progression pathways, workers can also use WSQ to:
- Upgrade their skills
- Plan their careers
As training and assessment are competency-based, not academic-based, workers have to demonstrate the right competencies before they are certified. Experienced and competent workers however, can opt for WSQ certification without training, as its entry criteria are skills and knowledge, not formal qualifications. Therefore, WSQ is accessible to all workers.
The quality of WSQ is assured by WDA, from the development of competency standards, accreditation of training providers to the award of qualifications.
Objectives of WSQ
1. To professionalise the industry:
- Where the industry lacks CET qualifications and the support of a Pre-employment Education and Training (PET) system.
2. To enhance labour market
- flexibility and skills portability: Where growing industries have high demand for skilled workers (high potential of skills conversion).
- Where movement between companies within industry is expected.
3. To establish skills standards for workers:
- As objective benchmarks for the skill level of workers.
Let's now look at how WSQ helps the:
- Retailer
- Retail Industry
- Person who is interested to start a retailing career
Retailer
As an employer, your organisation can reap the benefits of WSQ by sending your staff for training and assessment under the WSQ.
These benefits include:
- Benchmark against best practices across the industry;
- Guide job description development;
- Improve performance management systems and training programmes;
- Establish employee career paths;
- Guide training needs analysis;
- Facilitate recruitment of competent staff; and
- Provide skills assessments.
An employer can either send its staff to an external Approved Training Organisation or provide the training internally if they meet the required criteria as an Approved Training Organisation itself. For workplace literacy and numeracy skills (WPLN), you could obtain the current competence of your staff and seek recommendation for appropriate training level for your staff from the Centre for Employability Skills. For employability and industry-related skills, you can assess the training needs of your staff and send them for relevant training at any of the approved training centres under the WSQ.
Retail Industry
The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) for the Retail Industry helps you get the competencies you need to get and keep a job in the retail industry. WSQ is recognised by industry and provides useful career pathways for workers interested in career mobility and progression in the retail industry.
Training Modules
The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) for the retail industry offers a total of 76 modules grouped under three qualifications. The qualifications are offered at three levels: operations, supervisory and managerial. Depending on what you think is suitable for you, you can choose to either:
•Do one or more module/s; and/or
•The full qualification
Person interested in a retailing career
For basic work skills, you can be trained and assessed for your employability through the Employability Skills System.
With a WSQ certification, you:
–Can upgrade your skills
–Can assess your skills against established work standards
–Have credentials for your existing skills that is recognised by other employers in Singapore
–Can plan your career path
Service Excellence WSQ
The Service Excellence WSQ aims to professionalise customer service skills as well as to raise the level of customer service standards in Singapore through training. The training will equip aspiring or existing service professionals with the relevant core competencies needed in a wide range of service related jobs. These competencies were validated by industry partners and benchmarked against international best-practices. They form the basis of the Service Excellence WSQ and are set to shape the way in which organisations, regardless of industry sectors, train and mould their staff to deliver excellent service.
One of the Service Excellence WSQ modules, "Provide GEMS Service" was adopted as a core training module to increase service level in key tourist touchpoints for the IMF/Worldbank event held in September 2006. The training programme was named "The Singapore 2006 Customer Service Training Programme" and it has effectively trained some 30,000 service staff that may serve the IMF delegates.
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