LIFELONG LEARNING ENDOWMENT FUND

LIFELONG LEARNING ENDOWMENT FUND:

(Report on utilisation): 15.

Mr Ong Ah Heng asked the Minister for Manpower if he can provide a progress report on the utilisation of the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund and the areas it had benefited our workers

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most in enhancing employment opportunities.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, I would like to refer the House to the Singapore Workforce Development Agency's (WDA) Annual Report, which was presented to Parliament on 28th September. The Annual Report provides a very detailed account of the utilisation of the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund (LLEF). Usage of the Fund has grown steadily from $17 million since its inception in FY01, to $63 million in FY06. This reflects our commitment to step up support for job placement and skills upgrading programmes.

In FY06, the largest disbursement of $35 million from the LLEF was used to help job-seekers find employment and tackle structural unemployment issues. Key examples of such initiatives were the Job Re-Creation Programme (JRP), Public Employment Service (PES) Programme, ADVANTAGE! Scheme and various placement programmes.

The LLEF money has been well spent. I will just cite the key programmes funded by LLEF. In FY06, WDA placed 21,000 unemployed workers into jobs through the Distributed CareerLink Network (DCN). Sixty percent of them remained in their jobs for at least three months. In addition, WDA has implemented more than 20 Place-and-Train Programmes to help job-seekers take hold of opportunities in growing sectors, such as tourism, healthcare, retail and marine.

WDA spent $12.5 million on various initiatives under the Job Re-Creation Programme. Over 12,000 workers benefited from this. The JRP is targeted at industries and companies to redesign work environment and processes, so as to raise the productivity of workers, leading to better jobs and better pay. Together with NTUC and SNEF, WDA has also

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secured commitments from over 400 companies under the ADVANTAGE! Scheme to hire over 3,000 mature workers and re-employ close to 3,900 workers when they reach the age of 62.

With funding from the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund and Skills Development Fund, more than 49,000 workers were assessed and recognised for their skills in various trades and occupations under the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) framework. Nearly 27,000 workers, many of whom were older and less-educated, were trained and assessed under the employability skills system for workplace literacy, numeracy and other workplace skills. This helps them stay employable and progress in their careers within and across industries.