These men are learning how to construct a simple electronic circuit during a class conducted by an Associate Trainer from NTUC. They are upgrading their skills under the Spur programme. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
SOME 124,500 workers have signed up for the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) in just six months since its launch, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) on Friday.
This includes 83,500 workers, or 67 per cent, sent by 1,800 companies, many of which are using Spur to manage their excess manpower.
Another 40,600 (33 per cent) individuals have signed up to upgrade their skills, with 36,200 at the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centres and 4,400 in courses at our polytechnics and Institutes for Technical Education (ITE).
More than 19,000 job seekers have also found jobs through SPUR, said a joint statement from MOM and WDA.
Two-thirds of SPUR trainees are rank-and-file workers, while about one third are Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs). Many are taking up Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) or Employability Skills System (ESS1) courses.
Close to 60 per cent of the workers, or 67,000, have already started or completed their training. About $210 million has been committed thus far.
The ESS comprises 10 essential foundation skills portable across all industries and especially relevant to low-skilled workers. The skills include workplace literacy, workplace numeracy, infocomm skills, communications, workplace safety and health, etc.
MOM and WDA said companies have responded positively to Spur particularly those from sectors more affected by the downturn.
Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) too are tapping on the programme. Of the 1,800 companies participating in Spur, almost two-thirds are smaller companies with less than 200 employees.
During the six-month period from December to May, more than 19,000 job seekers have found jobs through the effort of WDA, NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and CET Centres. This is a significant increase, compared to the 13,000 job seekers placed for the whole of last year.
About 60 per cent of the job seekers placed into employment were aged 40 years and above. Three-quarters of the job seekers placed were lower-skilled workers with secondary or less education. Some of the successful job seekers had undergone SPUR training before their re-employment.
In a survey conducted by WDA, six in ten of these jobseekers indicated that the training was useful in helping them secure the jobs. Nine in ten agreed that the training helped improve their skills for better job performance.
