Firms caught misusing govt training subsidies
By Cai Haoxiang
THE $200 million handed out by the Government for worker training during recession-hit 2009 has tripped up many companies and trainers - and brought out the worst in several.
Between April last year and March, its auditors caught 63 errant organisations, but most of the infringements were 'administrative lapses', the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) told The Straits Times yesterday, when asked how it tracks the use of government funds for training and skills upgrading.
The slip-ups tended to involve the wrongful submission of documents.
Serious offences such as falsifying attendance sheets and submitting bogus claims were few and far between, it added.
As a result, a warning letter was the most common punishment, received by 55 organisations. The remaining eight were suspended from receiving WDA funding for periods ranging from three to 15 months.
The situation appears to have improved compared with that in 2006, according to WDA's last figures of slip-ups and malpractices.
The sum handed out then was $85 million and its audits uncovered 50 errant organisations. Of these, 28 were given warning letters and 22 were suspended.
Worker training has been high on the Government's agenda, and it was given a big push last year when the national drive to boost workers' productivity went beyond just improving their skills to include preparing them for new jobs when the economy recovers.
Malpractices include false claims for no-show trainees
Money is given out to fund training charges as well as absentee payroll, where employers receive a sum to defray their wage bill when workers are away on training.
The subsidy can amount to as much as 80 per cent of these costs and for low-wage workers, it can go up to 95 per cent.
But despite the increasing amounts given out, only a handful of errant organisations are taken to court, said the WDA.
Since 2005, six organisations have been prosecuted as a result of what WDA describes as its ongoing audits.
In the latest audits last year, the malpractices included false claims for absentee payroll and course fee funding, and bogus claims for trainees who did not attend training or meet the minimum attendance requirements.
The punishments included fines, being blacklisted, and prosecution for the most serious cases, which are usually investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department, the agency said.
The WDA plays the lead role in Singapore's push for workers to make continuing education and training, or CET, a way of life. About $2.5 billion will be spent by the Government over the next five years to build a comprehensive CET system.
A major part of it is the development of a national skills certification standard for various jobs under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) system, which was introduced in 2005.
About 550,000 workers have gone through the programme, as part of the Government's push to grow productivity by 2 to 3 per cent a year for the next decade.
To help companies and training organisations understand the funding system, the WDA conducts regular briefings and sends out e-mail updates 'to highlight the terms and conditions for funding, common errant practices, and penalties that may be imposed'.
Overall, it said it adopts a balanced approach 'that takes into account the importance of ensuring the proper usage of government grants, while retaining business friendliness'.
Two organisations that passed the audit said keeping proper records was crucial.
Deputy general manager Morrie Hoon of logistics industry trainer Singapore Institute of Materials Management pinpointed the need to be careful with the 'start and end dates of the course' when making claims.
Mr Peter Ang, general manager of cleaning services company Sergent Services, said WDA staff went through employment contracts and pay slips, and also interviewed some cleaners in a July audit.
The company, with 1,200 cleaners, gets subsidies of up to $1,200 per cleaner, or around 70 per cent of training fees.
By Cai Haoxiang
THE $200 million handed out by the Government for worker training during recession-hit 2009 has tripped up many companies and trainers - and brought out the worst in several.
Between April last year and March, its auditors caught 63 errant organisations, but most of the infringements were 'administrative lapses', the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) told The Straits Times yesterday, when asked how it tracks the use of government funds for training and skills upgrading.
The slip-ups tended to involve the wrongful submission of documents.
Serious offences such as falsifying attendance sheets and submitting bogus claims were few and far between, it added.
As a result, a warning letter was the most common punishment, received by 55 organisations. The remaining eight were suspended from receiving WDA funding for periods ranging from three to 15 months.
The situation appears to have improved compared with that in 2006, according to WDA's last figures of slip-ups and malpractices.
The sum handed out then was $85 million and its audits uncovered 50 errant organisations. Of these, 28 were given warning letters and 22 were suspended.
Worker training has been high on the Government's agenda, and it was given a big push last year when the national drive to boost workers' productivity went beyond just improving their skills to include preparing them for new jobs when the economy recovers.
Malpractices include false claims for no-show trainees
Money is given out to fund training charges as well as absentee payroll, where employers receive a sum to defray their wage bill when workers are away on training.
The subsidy can amount to as much as 80 per cent of these costs and for low-wage workers, it can go up to 95 per cent.
But despite the increasing amounts given out, only a handful of errant organisations are taken to court, said the WDA.
Since 2005, six organisations have been prosecuted as a result of what WDA describes as its ongoing audits.
In the latest audits last year, the malpractices included false claims for absentee payroll and course fee funding, and bogus claims for trainees who did not attend training or meet the minimum attendance requirements.
The punishments included fines, being blacklisted, and prosecution for the most serious cases, which are usually investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department, the agency said.
The WDA plays the lead role in Singapore's push for workers to make continuing education and training, or CET, a way of life. About $2.5 billion will be spent by the Government over the next five years to build a comprehensive CET system.
A major part of it is the development of a national skills certification standard for various jobs under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) system, which was introduced in 2005.
About 550,000 workers have gone through the programme, as part of the Government's push to grow productivity by 2 to 3 per cent a year for the next decade.
To help companies and training organisations understand the funding system, the WDA conducts regular briefings and sends out e-mail updates 'to highlight the terms and conditions for funding, common errant practices, and penalties that may be imposed'.
Overall, it said it adopts a balanced approach 'that takes into account the importance of ensuring the proper usage of government grants, while retaining business friendliness'.
Two organisations that passed the audit said keeping proper records was crucial.
Deputy general manager Morrie Hoon of logistics industry trainer Singapore Institute of Materials Management pinpointed the need to be careful with the 'start and end dates of the course' when making claims.
Mr Peter Ang, general manager of cleaning services company Sergent Services, said WDA staff went through employment contracts and pay slips, and also interviewed some cleaners in a July audit.
The company, with 1,200 cleaners, gets subsidies of up to $1,200 per cleaner, or around 70 per cent of training fees.
