SCHEME FOR EDUCATION OF THE ILLITERATE

Mr Shriniwas Rai asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) the number of people in Singapore below the age of 45 years who are illiterate and (b) whether the Government will start a scheme to give them some form of education so that they can be more productive.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: The 1997 Labour Force Survey showed that there are 117,500 economically-active persons in the workforce aged 45 and below who have either never attended school, or have only lower primary education. This represents 6.4% of the labour force, down from 15% in 1985. These workers are especially vulnerable to structural unemployment.

The Government, the NTUC and community self-help organizations have put in place several programmes to help upgrade these workers.

The Basic Education for Skills Training (BEST) programme, launched in 1983, caters to those who have missed out on a basic education. BEST allows workers to study English Language and Mathematics up to Primary 6 level. As of December 1997, 217,600 workers have enrolled in at least one BEST module. To date, 57,100 have received the BEST Module 4 Certificate (equivalent to Primary 6) in either English Language or Mathematics, or both. 23,000 (40%) of them have progressed to other courses like the WISE (Worker Improvement through Secondary Education) or MOST (Modular Skills Training) programmes.

Fast Forward is another such programme. A national tele-video training scheme offered by the Productivity and Standards Board (PSB), it is specially designed for the worker with low education and little time for training. About 33,300 have completed or are still engaged in the programme.

The NTUC, EDB, PSB and ITE have launched the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP) to help unskilled and semi-skilled workers increase their employability. To date, a total of 50 companies have signed up to train 5,900 unskilled workers in ITE-certified courses under the scheme. The SRP will be expanded to train more workers during this period of economic downturn.