Disbursement of WorkPro Funds

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Manpower since the launch of WorkPro (a) what is the total amount of funding support disbursed, with a breakdown by funding support type; (b) how many companies have applied for and received WorkPro funding support; (c) what is the average grant disbursed to each successful applicant; (d) what proportion of the amount budgeted for WorkPro in 2014 has been utilised; and (e) how does the Ministry increase awareness among companies, especially SMEs, of the funding available under WorkPro.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Manpower): The WorkPro programme was launched in April 2013. As of December 2014, over 1,500 companies have tapped on WorkPro. On average, each WorkPro company will receive around $29,000 to put in place progressive workplace practices. This will benefit a total of 58,000 workers. A total of $43.2 million or 27% of the overall budget has been committed so far. As many companies are still in the midst of implementing their projects, the total sum disbursed is $7 million as of December 2014. Companies can continue to tap on the budget until March 2016.

There are three main grant components under WorkPro. First, the Age Management Grant encourages employers to acquire knowledge and implement age management practices to better manage a multi-generational workforce. Its take-up has been encouraging - $28 million budget has been committed.

Second, the Job Redesign Grant provides support to employers who wish to go further to implement job and process redesign specific to their employees' and business needs. As of December last year, about $2 million has been committed.

Third, the Work-Life Grant encourages employers to implement flexible work arrangements (FWAs) at the workplace. $13.2 million has been committed to date.

Our tripartite partners, the National Trade Unions Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), are actively reaching out to employers, including SMEs, to highlight the importance of preparing for an ageing workforce. Firstly, they do so through regular outreach and briefings to employers on WorkPro, which take place three to four times every month. Secondly, they also target suitable recruitment events and job fairs to promote WorkPro to employers and individuals. Thirdly, NTUC and SNEF, together with the Government, have also profiled success stories at platforms such as the Age Management Seminar and through mainstream media. This helps to raise the awareness of WorkPro and showcase employers who had gone the extra mile to put in place age management practices.

To further increase awareness among SMEs, WDA taps on its partnership with SPRING's SME centres to promote enterprise-related schemes, including WorkPro. As a result of the concerted outreach efforts, the SME take-up of WorkPro amongst companies has been positive, with SMEs forming 88% of WorkPro employers.

We will continue to work closely with our partners to raise the awareness and sustain interest in WorkPro amongst companies, including SMEs.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I have several supplementary questions.

Firstly, I heard the Senior Minister of State say that there are 1,500 companies that have taken up WorkPro so far. So, given that there are over 180,000 businesses in Singapore, are the Senior Minister of State and the Government satisfied with the take-up rate of WorkPro so far? Secondly, does the Ministry have a yearly target for the number of companies that will take up WorkPro and what is this target? Thirdly, can I clarify with the Senior Minister of State that she said that last year, 27% of the budget for WorkPro was used up? If that is the case, why is that percentage so low?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: As I have said, what we have done is to have a budget for a three-year programme, WorkPro, April 2013 to March 2016, $160 million. Even before WorkPro was implemented, actually since 2004, we have been encouraging employers to implement progressive workplace practices. Under the previous schemes, ADVANTAGE! Scheme, WoW! Fund, as well as Flexi Works!, we have reached out to more than 3,700 companies which have benefited from these schemes, and the majority of them are SMEs.

For this particular programme, WorkPro, which replaces the three programmes and enhances the programmes, over one-and-three-quarter years, we have reached out and benefited 1,500 companies, and committed a budget of $43.2 million, which is about 27% of the total budget.

We do not have a target number for the number of companies that will come on-board. What we do is to work with our programme partners to reach out widely to as many companies as possible, and that is why we have about three to four outreach and briefing sessions every month, work with the SPRING's SME centres, as well as work through mass media platform. The idea is to reach out to as many companies as possible to get them on-board.

In order to improve take-up of the schemes, we have also been closely monitoring the effectiveness and accessibility of the programmes together with our partners, and review or enhance them where it is appropriate.

The take-up for Age Management Grant -- because there are three components -- is actually very encouraging. As I have noted, $28 million have already been committed. For Job Redesign, one of the reasons we have identified for the low take-up is because many companies, particularly, the SMEs, do not have the expertise to implement job and work process redesign. Therefore, we are encouraging them to send their employees for some of the courses conducted by WDA which will equip them with the knowledge to implement job and process redesign, as well as working to build up local capabilities to help these companies to implement job and process redesign. We will provide the details once these are ready.

The other area we have identified, which is the WorkLife component, there have been feedback as to why some companies do not take it up. For instance, one of the feedback is that companies say they may not need to actually incur any expenses in implementing flexiwork, for instance, staggered hours. Therefore, if you go on a reimbursement model, it is not an incentive because they do not actually incur cost.

We have revised WorkLife last year in July, streamlined the scheme requirements, in order to allow more companies to be eligible for the scheme. One of the things we have done, for instance, is under the Development Grant portion, we have allowed companies, once they have implemented flexiwork and then put it into a policy, they will be able to get the first $20,000, whilst the second $20,000 under the Development Grant will be on a reimbursement basis.

We have also streamlined the documentation requirements. For instance, instead of requiring the companies to submit, say, three to six months' worth of a list of the names of employees who have regularly used this flexiwork arrangements, we now require them to only submit the most recent one month's list of employees who have actually taken up flexiwork arrangements. This has helped. Since we implemented these, the number of employers who have come on-board this scheme has significantly increased in the last two quarters of last year. I think that more will come on-board. We will proactively reach out and encourage companies to come on-board and utilise the schemes to implement age and family-friendly workplace practices.

Whilst we are mindful and we do want to ensure that this Scheme is accessible to all companies, I think we also need to be mindful that we need to balance this outcome with good governance for the funds, because we are ultimately accountable. The companies must also show commitment, value the schemes, as well as take ownership of the schemes.

Assoc Prof Randolph Tan (Nominated Member): Thank you, Madam. I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for her comprehensive answer. As a matter of priority, I do not know whether the Senior Minister of State agrees, schemes like WorkPro are much more important than other incentive schemes like the Special Employment Credit (SEC). There is some overlap between them, as the Ministry has also clarified before.

Because process redesign, job redesign, is much more urgent, is it possible to look at companies who are already eligible for Special Employment Credits, and approach them, because of the overlap in eligibility criteria, and let them know that they are also eligible for WorkPro incentives, and encourage them to embark on job redesign? Thank you.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: I thank the Member for his suggestion. Just to reiterate that we try all ways and means to reach out to the companies. For SPRING's SME centres, for instance, I personally know that the staff go down to every company, small or big, to sell to them these programmes and to encourage them to take them up.

WorkPro, as the Member has noted, is one amongst several schemes we have to encourage companies to put in place progressive workplace practices, as well as to employ older workers, mature workers, back-to-work workers. All these schemes work in combination to achieve the objectives that we are trying to achieve.

For SEC, it is a direct incentive for employers who employ older workers. We will take the Member's suggestion to assess, reach out to these companies, although I am pretty sure that this might have been done at some level. But we will take up his suggestion.