Kaplan Professional SkillsFuture courses suspended due to ‘serious lapses’

Kaplan Professional’s Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) accreditation has been suspended for a period of 12 months and funding from SSG will cease. This comes after SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) uncovered “serious lapses” in delivery of WSQ courses.In a statement to Marketing, Kaplan Professional confirms that it will discontinue WSQ courses effective 1 July 2019. This follows an audit by SSG and its own subsequent review in March that found that several trainers adopted assessment practices that were not in compliance with SSG’s standards. “We are disappointed that such instances occurred despite a rigorous programme implemented over past months aimed at ensuring such non-compliance could not occur for WSQ courses,” added a spokesperson.According to the training institution, only WSQ courses at Kaplan Professional are impacted. The WSQ courses, which are intensive two-day professional training courses, fall under the frameworks of employability skills, service excellence and business management. All other courses offered by other parts of Kaplan’s business, such as digital marketing certifications in the areas of digital analytics, social media and search engine, will operate as per normal.SSG said the decision was a result of further investigations following a suspension barring Kaplan Professional from delivering courses under the Leadership and People Management WSQ framework for six months in December 2018. “SSG takes a serious view of any individual, training provider or organisation which does not adhere to our guidelines for WSQ delivery, and will not hesitate to act against those who contravene our guidelines. This is necessary to maintain the quality of WSQ courses,” said SSG.In the mean time, Kaplan Professional is putting in place a plan to facilitate any necessary transition arrangements to ensure that affected learners are able to continue their training. Under instructions by SSG, the school is expected to continue teaching learners enrolled in WSQ courses that will be completed by 30 June 2019. For individuals whose enrolled courses were scheduled to commence after 30 June 2019, Kaplan Professional is required to place them with other WSQ ATOs to minimise disruption in their learning.