NYP to open second intake for professionals making the switch to nursing

Mid-career professionals in Singapore who are interested to join the healthcare sector as nurses are now offered more training places. According to a report by Channel NewsAsia, Nanyang Polytechnic is starting a second intake this October for the Professional Conversion Programme for Registered Nurses.

This was announced on 18 Sep by senior minister of state for the Ministry of Health, Amy Khor, during a visit to a training facility at Singapore General Hospital.

With the new intake, there will be around 60 trainees this year, said minister Khor who added that there's been growing interest in the sector.

“In April this year, 34 mid-career individuals have started on the Professional Conversion Programme for Registered Nurses with Nanyang Polytechnic. This represents a 62%  increase in the intake as compared to the average annual intake of about 21 over the last three years from 2014 to 2016,” she said.

Under the programme, course fees are not only sponsored, trainees will also receive a monthly allowance throughout the training period.

Additionally, employers are given incentives, with an on-the-job training support of S$16,000 for the first three years, for each trainee that they hire.

This supports the Manpower Ministry’s announcement that more will be done to aid job seekers land positions in five industries - financial services, professional services, healthcare, wholesale trade, as well as infocomm and media. These industries were identified as they are deemed the most affected by rapid technological changes. Initiatives for the other four sectors will be announced in the next few months.

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