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RECOMMENDATION |
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REsponse |
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Extension of Budget Measures |
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Ministry Of Finance (MOF) |
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1. Given the uncertainty over the strength of economic recovery, the PSW recommends that the Government maintain some of the key Budget schemes – particularly the training and SME credit schemes.
The Wage subsidies via the Jobs Credit Scheme may however need to be gradually withdrawn and be more targeted, given healthier signs in the job market, and to encourage the necessary resource and structural adjustments.
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Finance Minister has given a response on this topic in his Parliamentary Speech on the extension of the Jobs Credit Scheme on 19 October 2009. The transcript is available here |
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Enhancing the CET development |
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Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) |
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2. The PSW suggested for more resources to be invested in the CET sector. Some areas where resources can be increased include:
a. Enhanced income support (Training Allowances) for workers taking time off to take approved courses;
b. Better terms for Absentee Payroll in the form of higher funding limits and wider applicability to benefit PMETs and higher-income workers;
c. Creation of Individual Learning Accounts where Government and workers can contribute fixed sums to CPF accounts which can then be tapped to fund workers for approved training courses;
More funding for the build-up of world class CET Institutes to match the stature and quality of our PET institutes.
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In 2008, the Government topped up the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to $3billion in support of the CET Masterplan to prepare workers for the future and develop a source of competitive advantage for Singapore. More than 40 CET Centres are currently available islandwide, where workers can access directly subsidised courses. In effect, the outcome is similar to the concept of providing direct funding to workers through Individual Learning Accounts.
In view of the economic downturn, the Government introduced the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) which is a 2 year programme costing $650 mil. Under SPUR, course fee subsidies were increased to 90%. Absentee payroll caps were also raised from $6/$6.80 an hour to $10 an hour so as to better support training for PMETs. As at end Sep 09, about 233,000 workers have been committed to SPUR training.
As part of continual efforts to broaden, and enhance the scope and effectiveness of CET programmes, we will be building 2 National CET Campuses by 2013. The campuses will serve as:
(i) A Gateway for all workers, from Rand-and-File to PMETs, to discover career opportunities and access relevant training;
(ii) A Hub of high quality CET providers, clustered under one roof;
(iii) An Employment Exchange
for employers to meet their manpower needs and for workers to seek out good job opportunities; and
(iv) A One-Stop Centre integrating career coaching, training, assessment and career services.
Together, the campuses are expected to provide 150,000 training places annually.
We will take into account the Committee’s feedback on training allowances when we review the funding rates after SPUR ends in Nov 2010. |
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Fine-tuning of Foreign Worker Policies |
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3. The PSW also recommends the Government fine-tune its current Foreign Worker policies to ensure that our Foreign Worker policies do not make it convenient or costless for employers to hire more low-cost and low-skill foreign workers.
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Their recommendations include:
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a. More stringent enforcement on issuance of Work Permits to end abuse by employers (e.g. use of phantom workers, transferring of worker permits from one employer to another etc.); |
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MOM conducts proactive upfront checks to detect and thwart potential Work Permit abuses. This effort is complemented by strict enforcement actions against errant employers guilty of the offence. We will continue to enhance our detection mechanism and step up enforcement to further deter employers from abusing the system. |
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b. Investigating Foreign Worker dependency, especially in the high tech manufacturing and services industries, to ensure a healthy ratio of skilled locals; |
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MOM has various controls in place to moderate demand for foreign workers, such as the Dependency Ratio framework and foreign worker levy. The Dependency Ratio requires companies to employ locals before being allowed to employ a specified number of foreign workers, while the foreign worker levy moderates companies' employment of foreign workers. MOM also reviews these controls regularly to ensure it remains relevant to the labour market situation. |
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c. Closer cooperation between economic agencies like EDB, and manpower authorities like MOE, MOM and WDA, to match the training and sourcing of local manpower with the needs of emerging industries and new investments before and not after these businesses start to ramp up their operations; |
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MOM works closely with MOE and WDA, and economic agencies such as EDB to match the supply of manpower to projected demand for manpower in various industries and investments.
MOM, WDA and the economic agencies have also identified this need for closer cooperation. We are working together to prepare ahead the skills and manpower pipeline for investments coming into Singapore.
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d. Extending minimum skills requirements for Foreign Workers (as was done by BCA for the construction industry) such that there is a Singapore-determined set of skills standards that are set as a minimum requirement for entry. [ the government may have to bear part of the costs of such training, for example via tax relief etc.] |
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Unlike the Construction sector, the Manufacturing and Services sectors consist of a wide range of industries with diverse sets of skills requirement. It may not be practical to develop a common set of skills standards as a minimum requirement for entry into these sectors. Instead, MOM adopts a flexible approach by recognising a variety of trade tests in the various industries. Foreign workers that are certified to be skilled in their respective trades are granted skilled workers status, and their employers pay a lower levy for them. Such a model aims to encourage employers to use their foreign workers more efficiently and productively. |
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