Saving jobs, finding new jobs, and increasing the capacity for continuing education and training are the priorities for Singapore's Workforce Development Agency (WDA) this year.
It is also playing a key role in implementing the S$650 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) during the economic downturn.
Seven hundred companies are currently taking part in the programme.
It has been three months since the SPUR programme kicked off. It is aimed at encouraging companies to send their excess manpower for skills upgrading - and the results have been encouraging, according to WDA's Chief Executive Officer Chan Heng Kee.
Up to end-February, 43,000 workers have been sent for SPUR training. Of these, 27,000 come from companies, with the rest being individuals who enrolled with the training centres directly.
Twelve thousand workers from the companies involved, have already started claiming their absentee payroll.
Since the launch of SPUR last year, WDA has made several refinements. WDA said it is important to take into account the feedback given about the programme and the funding process from both employers and workers.
Mr Chan said: "They are telling us that the economy is very fluid, they are in different sorts of work arrangements and shorter work week, and their needs can change quite rapidly. So we continue to listen to them.
"We will honour the commitment for it to be a two-year programme, so employers do not have to worry that if they come onto SPUR now and later should the economy recover, we would not honour the funding. We have already set aside funding for two years and we will guarantee the two-year funding period."
The agency is also ready to develop new training frameworks, so that more sectors can tap on SPUR.
Also taking advantage of the many initiatives like SPUR and the Professional Skills Programme are some 6,000 professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) - a group quite affected by the downturn.
WDA is putting in place more diploma courses and conversion programmes for them. Currently, there are 26 such programmes and this could be increased to 50 this year.
WDA added that Singapore's quick response with SPUR was also because of its many continuing education and training centres.
Mr Chan said: "Some of them are expanding facilities. We are looking at temporary facilities to take care of peaks in training. (For example), we are ramping up the development of trainers, the conversion of trainers, trainers with expertise. (In terms of) rescheduling, we are helping them to rearrange because companies are (implementing) shorter work weeks, so their scheduling can be quite unique."
In the pipeline are another 10 new centres with programmes to meet the needs of emerging sectors like community and social services.
Meanwhile, giving a report card of its achievements in 2008, WDA said it more than doubled the number of continuing education and training centres - from 19 in 2007 to 42 last year.
Also, 24 per cent of some 10,800 companies surveyed said they recognise the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) scheme. WDA said the WSQ framework has only existed for the last two years and the increased adoption is a giant step by companies in Singapore.
WDA has also played a leading role in helping workers get jobs. About 13,000 were placed into jobs by the Community Development Councils career centres and another 22,000 through the various WDA-supported programmes.
- Channel News Asia
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