From what I see, a lot of the new progression is actually for the more senior workers in PS/CS or quasi-govt services like PA. These workers have a lot of experience and are hard workers, but they were born in a time where going to uni was relatively unheard of. These workers are in their early 40s to 50s. In fact, it has already been implemented for quite some time. My father-in-law works in PA, he is well-liked by his supervisors and the residents he takes care of, but he couldn't move up because he only had an N-level cert. So he was sent to take a biz diploma from Ngee Ann Poly and just graduated last year. Now he's in unisim doing his degree.

But nowadays, its quite different, those who have both the intellect and the hardworking mentality usually end up with good poly/A-level results and end up in uni. Only a small number with good poly grades and good work ethics choose to work first instead of going to university.

Nevertheless, the point is to ensure that the doors and the opportunity to upgrade are ALWAYS open. Some late bloomers only realise their potential in the working world. Some only decide to push harder at work when they have kids of their own to work for. So for these people, opportunity is there to go up the ladder. Its not about equating diplomas to degrees. Its about realising people's full potential. Like what another poster has said above, there are frontline ops roles that need these people. Just like the example of my father-in-law, he works hard on the ground, so much so that the senior residents in his area are really fond of him. But because of educational barriers, they were unable to promote him to a senior ops role.