Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System

Email a Friend

Printer Friendly Version

Glossary of Commonly Used Acronyms
Glossary of Commonly Used Terms

Glossary of Commonly Used Acronyms

Acronyms	Meaning
ACTA	Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment
BEST	Basic Education for Skills Training
CET	Continuing Education & Training
CRC	Career Readiness Certificate
CREST	Critical Enabling Skills Training
ESS	Employability Skills System
ISTCs	Industry Skills Training Councils
NAQC	National Accreditation and Qualifications Council
NCQF	National CET Qualifications Framework
NSRS	National Skills Recognition System
NTQC	National Training Qualifications Council
QTOs	Quality Training Organisations
RISTC	Retail Industry Skills Training Council
RPL	Recognition of Prior Learning
SDF	Skills Development Fund
SOA	Statement of Attainment
SRP	Skills Redevelopment Programme
STB	Singapore Tourism Board
TISTC	Training Industry Skills Training Council
WISE	Workers Improvement through Secondary Education
WSQ	Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications

Glossary of Commonly Used Terms

A - B | C - E | F - L | M - Q | R - W

Terms	Definition
Accreditation	A process by which an agency or organisation evaluates or recognises a training or academic programme or an institution as meeting certain pre-determined standards or requirements.
Adult learning	The process by which adults learn and build on their skills and knowledge.
Advanced Certificate	A qualification under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
Assessment	A process of collecting evidence and making judgements as to whether an individual has achieved a certain level of competency.
Assessment criteria	Provides the context and conditions, under which the assessment will be conducted, what evidence the assessor must collect and the grading criteria to be used.
Assessment guidelines	Provide an overview of the assessment system, assessor qualifications and training, designing assessment resources, and technical principles of assessment.
Assessment methodologies	Assess the degree of learning or extent of knowledge, skills or attributes acquired by an applicant to demonstrate prior learning in relation to a set of pre-determined competencies.
Assessment system	An essential process that supports and maintains the integrity, relevance and efficiency of assessment for an organisation or enterprise.
Assessment tool	An instrument or resource used in association with a given assessment method. It may include a questionnaire, test paper, interview questions, structured report template and record sheet.
Benchmark	Identify the best practices and compare and adapt the current system to at least match it. It is used as a point of reference to measure comparability.
	Back to top
CBA or Competency-Based Assessment	A process of gathering evidence and judging on whether a learner is able to achieve a standard of competency identified by a particular industry as essential for satisfactory performance under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
CET or Continuing Education and Training	Educational programmes for adults, usually at the post-secondary level and offered as part-time or short courses in occupational subject areas.
Competency	Knowledge, skills or abilities that a person needs and uses in an occupation that is both observable and measurable and that forms the basis for competency-based criteria.
Competency standards	Skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to perform a job task and describe the acceptable levels of performance.
Credit	A unit of measure assigned to courses or course?equivalent learning.
Credit transfer / exemption	The automatic granting of a competence result in a competency/module based on a student's satisfactory result in a unit/module. Credit (advanced standing) can only be given when the equivalence between the two units/modules is clearly stated in curriculum documentation.
Curriculum guidelines	Guidelines to the design of competency-based training programmes.
Employability Skills	Foundation skills and qualities that is transferable and critical for workers to become more competitive, resilient and agile at the workplace.
ESS or Employability Skills System	One of the initiatives of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to enhance the overall skills standards of Singapore workers at three levels: Operational, Supervisory and Managerial. It is developed in consultation with employers, industry associations and subject matter experts.
Evaluation (In training)	The process of determining the adequacy, value, outcomes and impact of training and learning.
Evidence	Information gathered which, when matched against the performance criteria, provides proof of competency.
Evidence Guide	Part of a unit of competency which aims to guide assessment of the unit of competency in the workplace and/or training environment.
Evidence sources	A dimension of a competency standard. Activities from which the types of evidence required to prove competent performance may be obtained. The evidences include product evidence, process evidence and knowledge evidence
	Back to top
Facilitator Guides	A guide which maps out a suggested training strategy for the delivery of a unit/module, which is part of a course of study. It is cross-referenced to the learner guide, and provides the trainer with examples of delivery methods that may be used for delivering the training.
Graduate Certificate	A qualification under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
Higher Certificate	A qualification under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
Industry competency map	A map which captures the type of competencies needed in an industry. The competencies are generally classified into employability skills, occupational skills and knowledge, and industry skills and knowledge. The competencies are grouped into competency categories. Each competency is further broken down into a set of competency units and competency elements.
Industry Skills	Knowledge that would enable a worker to understand and appreciate the impact of his work in relation to the worker's sector and its role to the Singapore economy.
Intellectual Property Rights	Ownership of WDA's works resulting from a person's thoughts. It includes patents, copyright, industrial design and integrated circuit topography.
Learning	The process of acquiring knowledge, attitudes, abilities or skills from study or experience.
Learning needs	Knowledge, skills or attributes identified that need to be acquired by an individual in order to close current or future competency gaps or to meet organisational or unit level goals or objectives.
Learning outcomes	The skills and knowledge a learner should be able to demonstrate as a result of having undertaken training and/or assessment. It must be measurable, clear and observable.
Level descriptor	A description of levels of learning through a hierarchy of knowledge and skills which begins with basic knowledge and skills from Certificate level to Advanced Diploma Level under the National Continuing Education and Training Qualifications Framework (NCQF).
Lifelong Learning	The life-time process of acquiring knowledge or skills via education, training, work and general life experiences.
	Back to top
Moderation	A process of comparing the assessment judgments in relation to the same competency by different assessors in a variety of contexts to achieve consistency and continuous improvement while ensuring that the assessment is valid, fair and reliable.
Mutual Recognition	The acceptance by one institution of a qualification or Statement of Attainment given to a learner by a different institution. It exempts a learner from repeating competencies that he/she has already attained.
NAQC or National Continuing Education and Training Accreditation and Qualifications Council	A council which aims to serve as the national authority to accredit CET courses, approve CET qualifications, and provide independent advice on the implementation of Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications.
Occupational Skills	Skills required for the performance of one's work set out in competency terms to meet standards of performance agreed by the industry.
Performance Criteria	Specifies the activities, skills, knowledge and understanding that provide evidence of competent performance for each element of competency.
Performance standards	Explicit definitions of what learners must do to demonstrate proficiency at a specific level on the competency standards.
Portfolio	A collection of a person's work, drawn from his/her daily work situations and other experiences and pursuits.
Portfolio assessment	A collection of different types of evidence which relates to the work being assessed. It may include evidence from the applicant's day-to-day work, from previous work situations and other experiences and pursuits. Such evidence includes: a. performance appraisals, b. description of tasks undertaken, c. completed work, training records, d. testimonials, e. autobiographical essays, f. work-based learning, g. in-company short courses, h. workshops attended, i. reviews and commendations, j. interviews, k. projects undertaken, and l. formal examinations.
Qualification descriptors	A statement that describes the characteristics of learning demand that the learner will encounter at each level under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
Qualifications	Formal certification issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes identified by the industry.
Quality assurance	A planned and systematic process of ensuring that the requirements of the assessment, competency standards and any other criteria are applied in a consistent manner.
	Back to top
Range and Context	Part of a dimension of a competency standard. It provides the type of contexts to which the performance criteria apply, covers items that are achievable or to be performed across by workers, such as types of equipment, products and services, types of customers.
RPL or Recognition of Prior Learning	The acknowledgement of a person?¡¥s skills and knowledge acquired through previous training, work or life experience, which may be used to grant status or credit in a subject or module.
SOA or Statement of Attainment	Certification issued to a person for completing a course, which consists of one or more modules, through either completion of training or the RPL process. Records of recognised learning can be accumulated towards a qualification under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System.
Trainer	A person engaged in the delivery of training or facilitating individual or group learning of a non-academic nature. Trainers may include coaches, facilitators and/or mentors but exclude lecturers and teachers providing academic training in private and public educational institutions.
Training	A planned process or procedure for changing attitudes, and/or increasing knowledge and/or increasing skills through specific learning experiences.
Training resources	Additional resources of information the trainer may wish to consult if additional or different types of training materials are required to better meet the learner's needs. The resources can be found in the trainers' guide, which includes textbooks, videos and website addresses.
UC or Unit of competency	A statement of a key function or role in a particular job or occupation.
Validation	A process for confirming the correctness or soundness of information or findings.
WSQ or Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System	A nationally agreed competency-based skills development system where skills acquisition, training and assessment is based on industry-approved competency standards. It embraces the concepts of competency-based training, Recognition of Prior Learning, open entry requirements and adult-centred learning methodologies. All of these aim to address adult learning barriers.

Privacy Statement Terms of Use