WORKFORCE SKILLS QUALIFICATION SCHEME

WORKFORCE SKILLS QUALIFICATION SCHEME

33.

Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Minister for Manpower in respect of the Workforce Skills Qualification Scheme (a) which industries are still lagging in terms of employer participation in the scheme and take-up rates by employees; (b) what other efforts are being taken to encourage more Singaporeans to take up jobs in industries such as precision engineering.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: The Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) was introduced in 2004 and officially launched in 2005. It is a national skills certification framework developed by WDA in conjunction with industry and validated by employers. WDA has implemented 12 WSQ frameworks, in industries, such as Food & Beverage (F&B), Finance, Tourism and Precision Engineering, and will be developing WSQ in other sectors, such as the Creative Industries, Human Resources, Aerospace and Process Cluster Industries.

WDA has been working closely with NTUC, various economic agencies and industry associations to promote the adoption of WSQ. The take-up has been encouraging. The implementation of WSQ in industries like Tourism and Retail is in full swing and many companies are embracing the WSQ standards. In 2006, over 41,000 workers upgraded their skills through the WSQ system. This increased to over 70,000 by May this year.

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In some industries, like Finance and ICT, the delivery infrastructure, such as training programmes, is still being developed so it will be several more months before we can see results. For Precision Engineering, the WSQ framework was launched in August 2006, with the first training intake admitted in April this year. In the first two months, eight workers obtained their WSQ qualification in Precision Engineering. As the Precision Engineering WSQ is relatively new, we will need to monitor and refine the implementation over time.

WDA is working with agencies, such as SPRING and EDB, to promote careers in Precision Engineering through career & education fairs, as well as scholarship programmes to attract local talent into the industry. This is an industry which presents good job opportunities for locals. For example, an experienced machinist can earn up to $2,500 per month, including overtime pay, after working for a number of years.

WDA will continue to work closely with industry and NTUC to roll out WSQ in more sectors and encourage companies to adopt it.