A new $2 billion jobs and training package will create close to 100,000 opportunities for workers affected by the Covid-19 economic slowdown, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.

He told Parliament in his speech on the fourth Budget this year that the support, dubbed the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, would include 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 skills training opportunities.

Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, said: "In the tough months ahead, we must be prepared for some job losses.

"While we will try to preserve jobs in the midst of this crisis, we cannot protect every job. However, you have my assurance that the Government will protect every worker.

"Our promise to workers is this: As long as you are willing to pick up new skills and adapt, to access available opportunities to work or learn, the Government will provide our strongest support to help you."

JOBS

The 40,000 and more new jobs that the package will create, said Mr Heng, include 15,000 in the public sector. These will encompass both long-term ones in areas such as early childhood education and healthcare, as well as short-term ones related to Covid-19 operations, such as healthcare declaration assistants and swabbers.

The public sector will also give local job seekers two-year positions and train them with an eye to eventually placing them in relevant private sector jobs.

Meanwhile, government agencies will also work with businesses to create 25,000 jobs, he said.

"Many businesses have stepped forward with openings in a wide range of job roles, such as computer engineers and machine operators.

"I encourage more businesses to do even more in the coming months."

He said the Government will expand capacity in career conversion programmes such as Place-and-Train under the Adapt and Grow initiative, which will be scaled up to more than 14,000 places this year, and company-led training programmes under the TechSkills Accelerator.

Launched in the 2016 Budget, TechSkills Accelerator has trained more than 1,000 people in partnership with firms such as Accenture, DBS Bank and Google as of last December.

More than 90 per cent of them have been placed in roles related to information, communications and technology.

TRAINEESHIPS

The Government aims to create about 25,000 traineeship positions this year, said Mr Heng.

Of these, 21,000 will come from the SGUnited Traineeships programme, which was announced in March for local first-time job seekers and will now have its places more than doubled from 8,000 previously.

Workforce Singapore will fund 80 per cent of qualifying training allowances for up to 12 months with host companies.

Mr Heng said more than 1,000 host companies have shown strong interest, as has the public sector.

Some of the traineeships on offer are in technology-related areas that are in high demand or emerging rapidly, as well as in research and development.

The Defence Science and Technology Agency will offer diploma holders the opportunity to build skills in areas like IT and engineering.

The universities, Agency for Science, Technology and Research institutes, AI Singapore and SGInnovate will work with local deep-tech companies and start-ups for trainees to work with industry partners on real-world science and technology projects in areas such as software learning and artificial intelligence, he noted.

These will be offered progressively from June 1.

Another 4,000 traineeships will come from a new scheme, SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeships, for unemployed mid-career job seekers.

SKILLS

A new initiative, the SGUnited Skills programme, will expand training capacity for about 30,000 job seekers looking to upgrade their skills while job-hunting.

Participants will get an allowance of $1,200 per month in the course of their training, to cover basic subsistence expenses.

They will take industry-relevant, certifiable training courses full-time at subsidised rates, with the course fees substantially, if not fully, offset by their SkillsFuture Credit.

They will get opportunities to apply their training through attachments or participation in company projects, and will also receive career guidance and job placement support.

This programme will be rolled out progressively from July.

HIRING INCENTIVES

Mr Heng said employers will get a hiring incentive to take on local workers who have gone through eligible training or reskilling schemes.

He had earlier announced such an incentive in February under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package, for eligible workers aged 40 and above.

He will now double the incentive to cover 40 per cent of their salary over six months, capped at $12,000 in total.

The incentive will also be expanded to eligible workers under 40, covering 20 per cent of their monthly salary over six months, capped at $6,000 in total.

Mr Heng added that he was heartened by tripartite partners' support for these various initiatives.

He noted that the Singapore Business Federation, which is the programme manager for SGUnited Traineeships, is working hard to bring companies on board and as quickly as possible.

The National Trades Union Congress is also reaching out to fresh graduates to consider the traineeships programme as an option.

"Some employers have stepped forward to offer jobs and traineeships," said Mr Heng.

"This not only contributes to the national effort, but is also a farsighted move to build longer-term capabilities for their companies.

"I encourage employers to also make good use of the strong support we provide to upskill their existing workers during this downtime, so that they can emerge stronger when business picks up."

Job seekers can find out more at www.mycareersfuture.sg.