We refer to the report in The Sunday Times on the SGUnited traineeship programme (Traineeships a mixed bag of experiences for graduates, Jan 10).
As Workforce Singapore's (WSG) appointed programme manager for the SGUnited Traineeships and Mid-Career Pathways Programmes, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) takes seriously any allegation of abuse of the programmes by either host organisations or trainees.
Allegations with substantive evidence are thoroughly investigated, and, in serious cases of fraud or abuse, organisations may have their approval to participate rescinded, and asked to return any grants disbursed.
In the event of a dispute, individuals or organisations can contact SBF at SGUTraineeship@sbf.org.sg or SGUnitedMidcareer@sbf.org.sg, and SBF will investigate and help to mediate between both parties.
SBF will refer disputes that go beyond the scope of the programmes to the relevant authorities for further review.
SBF encourages trainees who have issues with their traineeship experiences, such as "Nicole" interviewed in the report, to contact us directly. This will allow us to gather more details to conduct a thorough investigation and assist them. SBF was unable to provide any comment or follow-up as we were not provided with details of the individuals when approached by The Straits Times last October.
SBF has a stringent review process to scrutinise each application from interested organisations based on criteria set by WSG. Organisations are required to declare any cost cutting and retrenchment measures made over the last six months, and to submit a development plan for every traineeship position.
The review includes ensuring that organisations are not retrenching existing staff and replacing them with trainees, and that the development plans are robust and able to guide trainees during the programme.
Following approval, approved host organisations are required to post their positions on MyCareersFuture, interview and select candidates, and sign a contract to formalise the traineeship. These contracts are mutual agreements between the trainee and the organisation, and both WSG and SBF are not party to the contracts. SBF advises trainees to review the terms and conditions of contracts carefully before signing them.
Thian Tai Chew
Executive Director, Jobs and Skills
Singapore Business Federation
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Our report was based on information provided to us by sources who wanted to remain unidentified but provided evidence of having written to both WSG and SBF on Oct 7. When approached by The Straits Times, the SBF declined to respond to questions on the safeguards in place and quotas on the number of trainees in companies.
