SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FUND

**

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FUND

**

**

(Collection and utilisation): **

22.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what was the amount collected for the Skills Development Fund in 2006 and 2007 and how much of the levy collected was spent on skills training; (b) how many companies with less than 10 employees had made use of the Fund in 2006 and 2007; and (c) what measures, if any, are in place to encourage employers, especially small companies, to utilise this Fund.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Skills Development Levy (SDL) collection for FY06 and FY07 totalled $108 million and $120 million respectively. Expenditure committed under the Skills Development Fund (SDF) amounted to $110 million in FY06 and $102 million in FY07. 3,400 and 3,200 companies with less than 10 employees each were funded in FY06 and FY07 respectively. This made up about 30% of all companies that received funding under SDF.

The SME Upgrading for Performance (or SUPER!) scheme administered by WDA encourages Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to train and upgrade their staff by providing funding support of $4 per trainee per hour up to the full course fees when SMEs send their staff for general skills training. This is double the typical funding norm for larger companies. SMEs can also receive funding for executive and managerial training, of up to 50% of course fees capped at $20 per trainee per hour.

WDA also actively works with SPRING Singapore and industry associations to reach out to SMEs. For example, WDA is working with the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) on a programme to reach out to SMEs and upgrade their HR capabilities through suitable HR courses under the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework. In the manufacturing sector, WDA partners with various industry associations such as the Association of Process Industry (ASPRI) and the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association (SPETA), both of whom have many members which are SMEs, to promote skills upgrading as a means to improve organisational productivity and competitiveness. As a result of these efforts, the value of SDF training assistance for companies with less than 100 employees, has nearly doubled from $29 million in FY06 to $42 million in FY07.