TRAINING AND RE-TRAINING OF WORKERS IN INDUSTRY

Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, in the current restructuring of the economy and upgrading of skills of workers, whether there are specific plans to train or retrain workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education (Mr Ho Kah Leong) (for the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education): Sir, in answering the question raised by the hon. Member for Pasir Panjang, I want to point out that the training and re-training of workers in Singapore takes place in a wide variety of ways both in the private and the public sectors.

Since the inception of the Skills Development Fund in January 1980, some 22 months ago, a new impetus has been given to the training of workers. An indication of the growing emphasis on training can perhaps be seen from the rate of application for grants from the SDF submitted by firms. The number of applications has grown from 58 during the first three months when the Fund was started to 820 during the three months from June to August 1981, an increase of 14 times. At mid-September a total of $43 million had been approved for 1,816 successful applications.

What about the opportunities for formal training and specific schemes? These can be divided into several categories which meet the needs of different types of workers. They are:

(a) Apprenticeship schemes which are provided by VITB and the EDB Training Centres in close collaboration with specific firms or industry groups. In 1980 there were some 6,900 apprentices employed by 301 firms. These apprentices are usually given block-period release to attend courses run by VITB and the EDB Centres. They also undergo supervised field training in their companies. The apprentices are paid a salary during the training period. Upon their successfully completing their National Trade Certification, they are required to continue to work for their employer for a period of one to two years to fulfil their obligation for having received apprenticeship training. The major apprenticeship schemes are in the metal machining trade, the shipbuilding and shiprepairing industry, the motor vehicle maintenance trade and the building construction industry.

(b) Evening and day-release courses at the Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic which lead to the Diploma qualification. In 1980 there were some 5,600 working people registered for such courses. This scheme enables those who have previously missed the opportunity to work for a higher qualification. The most popular courses are Electronics, Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Industrial Management.

(c) Continuing Education courses run by the VITB. There is a wide variety of such courses. Broadly speaking, these can be subdivided into:

(i) ad hoc special courses mounted at the request of employers who want to upgrade their workers. In 1980, some 7,200 workers took part in such courses.

(ii) Part-time commercial courses mainly leading to external examinations. In 1980, about 2,500 workers enrolled for such courses.

(iii) Part-time general education courses at different levels from Secondary 1 to Pre-U 2, as well as Worker's Foundation Course for those with only Primary level education. In 1980, about 10,300 working people enrolled for such courses.

(iv) Part-time language courses. In 1980, the enrolment for these courses was around 7,000.

From what I have briefly described, there are various opportunities for working people in Singapore to improve themselves through part-time courses. In 1980, the total number of people enrolled in these courses was 39,500. For comparison, the total full-time enrolment at Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and VITB in 1980 w9s around 18,000.