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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Definitive Proof: 2/3 of FTs are TRASH!</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>3:41 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>35933.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Jul 11, 2010
1 in 3 foreigners passes new Service Literacy Test
<!-- by line -->By Deepika Shetty
http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_552079.html
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Pan Pacific's Ms Lynn Shuang Shuang has cleared the listening segment of the Service Literacy Test and is waiting for the results of the written part. --ST PHOTO: AIDAH RAUF
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The passing rate is one in three.
That is how well foreign workers, who work in service establishments and who took an English proficiency exam, have fared.
Some 140 people have taken the Service Literacy Test which kicked off on May 3, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Singaporeans have voiced frustration over foreign service staff who have a poor or limited grasp of English.
With this test, a bar has been set to improve standards among foreigners who are on work permits and hired in three service sectors - food and beverage, retail and hotels.
___________The test, which costs $70 a worker, is not compulsory, and Malaysians are exempt from it.[/SIZE]
But there is a carrot for bosses who prep their staff to pass the test. Those who pass it qualify for skilled levy status. So instead of paying the $260 monthly levy for unskilled workers, employers pay only $160.
MOM has appointed the Workforce Development Agency to develop and administer the test, with 60 questions that evaluate speaking and listening skills.
Among the 140 exam-takers is Chinese national Lynn Shuang
Shuang. The 24-year-old, a junior housekeeping supervisor at the Pan Pacific Singapore hotel, sailed through the listening component and is awaiting results of the written section of the speaking component.
'I spent about a week preparing for the test but I had already learnt a lot on the job, and by talking to guests and my colleagues,' she said.
Her efforts to improve her English date back to 2006 when she joined the hotel and went for classes offered in-house.
At restaurant chain Fish & Co, all six employees who sat for the test cleared it. Chinese national Ben Yang, 24, a cook, described the test as 'very easy'.
Employers said getting staff to clear the test is not just about cost savings.
Ms Evelyn Goh, director of human capital and development at Pan Pacific Singapore, said education has always been a key aspect of its training programme.
'The Service Literacy Test complements our overall educational initiatives. It provides employees with the opportunity to grow their English-language capabilities and credentials,' she added.
Companies can send their staff on courses conducted by, say, the NTUC Learning Hub, or private schools such as Ascend The English Professionals.
Said Mr David Doyle, chief executive of Ascend: 'What the ministry is looking for through this test is a certain standard for basic conversational English. I think this is something essential in people-oriented sectors and particularly in a cosmopolitan city like Singapore.'
When asked if the test would be expanded further, an MOM spokesman said there were no plans to consider refinements or to apply the test to other industries.
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1 in 3 foreigners passes new Service Literacy Test
<!-- by line -->By Deepika Shetty
http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_552079.html
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
<!-- story content : start -->
The passing rate is one in three.
That is how well foreign workers, who work in service establishments and who took an English proficiency exam, have fared.
Some 140 people have taken the Service Literacy Test which kicked off on May 3, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Singaporeans have voiced frustration over foreign service staff who have a poor or limited grasp of English.
With this test, a bar has been set to improve standards among foreigners who are on work permits and hired in three service sectors - food and beverage, retail and hotels.
___________The test, which costs $70 a worker, is not compulsory, and Malaysians are exempt from it.[/SIZE]
But there is a carrot for bosses who prep their staff to pass the test. Those who pass it qualify for skilled levy status. So instead of paying the $260 monthly levy for unskilled workers, employers pay only $160.
MOM has appointed the Workforce Development Agency to develop and administer the test, with 60 questions that evaluate speaking and listening skills.
Among the 140 exam-takers is Chinese national Lynn Shuang
Shuang. The 24-year-old, a junior housekeeping supervisor at the Pan Pacific Singapore hotel, sailed through the listening component and is awaiting results of the written section of the speaking component.
'I spent about a week preparing for the test but I had already learnt a lot on the job, and by talking to guests and my colleagues,' she said.
Her efforts to improve her English date back to 2006 when she joined the hotel and went for classes offered in-house.
At restaurant chain Fish & Co, all six employees who sat for the test cleared it. Chinese national Ben Yang, 24, a cook, described the test as 'very easy'.
Employers said getting staff to clear the test is not just about cost savings.
Ms Evelyn Goh, director of human capital and development at Pan Pacific Singapore, said education has always been a key aspect of its training programme.
'The Service Literacy Test complements our overall educational initiatives. It provides employees with the opportunity to grow their English-language capabilities and credentials,' she added.
Companies can send their staff on courses conducted by, say, the NTUC Learning Hub, or private schools such as Ascend The English Professionals.
Said Mr David Doyle, chief executive of Ascend: 'What the ministry is looking for through this test is a certain standard for basic conversational English. I think this is something essential in people-oriented sectors and particularly in a cosmopolitan city like Singapore.'
When asked if the test would be expanded further, an MOM spokesman said there were no plans to consider refinements or to apply the test to other industries.
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