MIDDLE-AGED WORKERS (Number employed after retraining)

Mr Sin Boon Ann asked the Minister for Manpower if he will give an indication of the number of middle-aged workers aged 45 years who are able to find employment after having gone through some form of training and retraining to upgrade themselves.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Sir, the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP) is the Ministry's main programme to enhance the skills and employability of our lower skilled workers. Under the Skills Redevelopment Programme, enhanced financial incentives are provided for workers aged 40 and above. This is to encourage employers to equip older workers with certifiable skills that will enhance their employability. Individuals, including unemployed workers, can benefit from the SRP incentives through the SRP Surrogate Employer Scheme run by NTUC and the self-help groups. The SRP has shown encouraging results. As of end June this year, close to 54,000 training places have been achieved. This includes about 8,300 individuals who had enrolled in SRP training through the Surrogate Employer Scheme. There is good representation of older workers. Some 45% of SRP trainees are aged 40 and above.

The Member has asked for an indication of the number of middle-aged workers who are able to find jobs after retraining. My Ministry and the NTUC initiated a survey last year. About 75% of workers who took up full-time SRP training after being retrenched were able to secure re-employment within three to six months after their training. When asked if SRP training had equipped them with relevant skills for their new jobs, close to 60% agreed or strongly agreed that it had done so.

Mendaki, one of our SRP's Surrogate Employers, conducted a similar survey recently among the retrenched workers whom they had sent for full-time SRP training. All the respondents received job offers after completing the SRP courses. 70% of those who had undergone the programme were re-employed within three months after training. Close to 80% who were employed during the survey were also earning between $1,000 and $1,500 a month. Most importantly, 78% of all respondents said that the SRP course had been useful in helping them to gain employment.

Sir, I would also like to add that the SRP has not only benefited retrenched workers or the unemployed. It has also benefited employers and in-employment trainees, in other words, workers who are still employed and have a job. According to the same survey commissioned by my Ministry and NTUC, 70% of employers reported that workers who underwent the SRP training had become more productive. 75% of workers who had undergone in-employment training indicated that they were more confident of handling greater job responsibilities and more complex tasks after the training.

These results are an indication of the positive impact of the Skills Redevelopment Programme training on enhancing the skills of our older and less educated workers. With the economic downturn, we will intensify our efforts to deepen and broaden the programme, so that those who are affected by the downturn will be able to benefit from the programme.

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): Sir, will the Ministry consider actively helping these workers who have undergone SRP training? I am speaking of the 30% who have not been able to find employment despite having gone through SRP training. Essentially, can the Ministry set up a bureau to actively seek job placements for them upon completion of such training so as to achieve 100% employment upon taking up training?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: My Ministry would certainly do that. In fact, we are already doing so by helping people through our CareerLink@mom. This would include helping SRP trainees to find suitable employment upon completion of their training.

Mr Hawazi Daipi (Sembawang): Sir, I would like to know whether we are on target to achieve the objective of training 100,000 workers in five years.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: If we can hit about 28,000-30,000 participants in the SRP programme for each year for the next two years, we should be able to hit our target of 100,000.