On Tuesday, the chamber held its first briefing on the new Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) for 120 officials from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

It is to acquaint them especially with who is eligible for the $600 million scheme. Spur pays part of the workers' wages while they are on training, a move aimed at minimising layoffs.

The chamber's secretary-general Lim Sah Soon said another area of help for the SMEs is in guiding them to tackle the massive paperwork for getting government- backed loans from banks. Often, they have to submit to the bank an application form that could run to 70 pages.

The chamber also played middleman for its 4,000 corporate members and 130 trade associations when it urged the Government to reduce business costs in the upcoming Budget.

It cited especially rents of HDB and JTC Corp space, as well as property tax.

At Tuesday's briefing, company executives also sought clarification on the tripartite guidelines on how to manage excess manpower.

On hand to tackle their questions were officials from the Manpower Ministry and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

One question was whether employers needed workers' approval to reduce the monthly variable component of their salaries.

The answer: No, but it is very important to communicate the rationale for wage cuts to employees.

Another issue was whether certain groups of employees, such as diploma and degree holders, and foreign workers, could qualify for the Spur scheme.

The answer: Yes for diploma and degree holders, but No for foreign workers.

However, the paperwork involved in getting government aid seems to be particularly irksome. Said an executive with a manufacturing company: 'There are so many forms to fill up.'

Replying, WDA's deputy director Annie Lin said it had simplified the forms. But it would take a few months before the forms for the Skills Development Fund can be submitted electronically, she added.

Ms Lin also said the WDA is prepared to send its officers to help companies struggling to complete the forms.

Mr Lien Whai Cheng, managing director of an engineering company, wants foreign workers to be eligible for training subsidies but possibly at a lower rate than Singaporeans.

His company, Coway Engineering and Marketing, hires 15 workers: seven are from Malaysia and China, and eight are Singaporeans.

'We're paying levies for foreign workers,' he said. 'These workers also have the potential to become permanent residents and citizens if they upgrade their skills.'

As his orders have dropped by 15 per cent, Mr Lien said he is keen to send not only his Singaporean workers for training, but himself as well.

'I'm trained in engineering, but I will use Spur to take an accounting class,' added the 42-year-old.

chinlian@sph.com.sg