http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/426652/1/.html
SPUR-JOBS to provide up to S$400k in co-funding recruitment, training
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 May 2009 1907 hrs
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SPUR-JOBS to provide up to S$400k in co-funding recruitment, training
SINGAPORE: Companies in Singapore can now receive a grant of up to S$5,000 per worker or up to S$400,000 to co-fund costs incurred in recruitment and training.
This is under the new SPUR-JOBS, a two-year programme open to all Singapore-based companies which have not retrenched workers in the last three months.
Giving details of three new schemes announced by the prime minister at the May Day Rally was Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, who met the media on the sidelines of a community event on Sunday.
Mr Gan said SPUR-JOBS and the increase in absentee payroll will cost the government an additional S$100 million. He believes S$650 million already allotted to the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) will be able to absorb these additional costs.
SPUR-JOBS will provide support for on-the-job training after workers have been hired, and design or redesign jobs to make them more suitable for locals.
Mr Gan said: "We also want to make sure that the companies don't take advantage of this scheme to… retrench some and then use this scheme to recruit new workers. We want to ensure that companies who are really tapping on this scheme are companies that are growing."
Another new scheme announced at the May Day Rally is the Professional Skills Programme Traineeships.
2,500 traineeships will be offered over two years under the programme which is aimed at helping companies in growth sectors build new manpower capabilities.
The traineeships will offer fresh graduates and retrenched professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) opportunities to be equipped with relevant work experience to enhance their employability.
Mr Gan said: “There will still be a lot of jobs available other than the traineeships. We mentioned there are going to be 45,000 jobs created in the next two years -- 18,000 from the public sector and the majority of that will be for PMET level of jobs. So there are a lot of jobs available.
“The traineeship scheme will supplement the jobs available to help companies in the growth sectors to develop capabilities in specific areas, and that is why the traineeship scheme will be administered by the various agencies targetted at specific growth sectors. These agencies will be working with the various companies in these sectors to work out specific traineeship programmes for the different sectors"
Local job seekers can take up traineeships with a duration of between six to 24 months. They will undergo structured training and gain meaningful work experience, and also receive a training payment.
And thirdly, the absentee payroll cap will be increased from S$6 to S$10 and this will come into effect from May 15.
With this, a company will now be able to claim up to S$1600 a month for its worker undergoing full-time SPUR training.
- CNA/yt
SPUR-JOBS to provide up to S$400k in co-funding recruitment, training
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 May 2009 1907 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Video
SPUR-JOBS to provide up to S$400k in co-funding recruitment, training
SINGAPORE: Companies in Singapore can now receive a grant of up to S$5,000 per worker or up to S$400,000 to co-fund costs incurred in recruitment and training.
This is under the new SPUR-JOBS, a two-year programme open to all Singapore-based companies which have not retrenched workers in the last three months.
Giving details of three new schemes announced by the prime minister at the May Day Rally was Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, who met the media on the sidelines of a community event on Sunday.
Mr Gan said SPUR-JOBS and the increase in absentee payroll will cost the government an additional S$100 million. He believes S$650 million already allotted to the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) will be able to absorb these additional costs.
SPUR-JOBS will provide support for on-the-job training after workers have been hired, and design or redesign jobs to make them more suitable for locals.
Mr Gan said: "We also want to make sure that the companies don't take advantage of this scheme to… retrench some and then use this scheme to recruit new workers. We want to ensure that companies who are really tapping on this scheme are companies that are growing."
Another new scheme announced at the May Day Rally is the Professional Skills Programme Traineeships.
2,500 traineeships will be offered over two years under the programme which is aimed at helping companies in growth sectors build new manpower capabilities.
The traineeships will offer fresh graduates and retrenched professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) opportunities to be equipped with relevant work experience to enhance their employability.
Mr Gan said: “There will still be a lot of jobs available other than the traineeships. We mentioned there are going to be 45,000 jobs created in the next two years -- 18,000 from the public sector and the majority of that will be for PMET level of jobs. So there are a lot of jobs available.
“The traineeship scheme will supplement the jobs available to help companies in the growth sectors to develop capabilities in specific areas, and that is why the traineeship scheme will be administered by the various agencies targetted at specific growth sectors. These agencies will be working with the various companies in these sectors to work out specific traineeship programmes for the different sectors"
Local job seekers can take up traineeships with a duration of between six to 24 months. They will undergo structured training and gain meaningful work experience, and also receive a training payment.
And thirdly, the absentee payroll cap will be increased from S$6 to S$10 and this will come into effect from May 15.
With this, a company will now be able to claim up to S$1600 a month for its worker undergoing full-time SPUR training.
- CNA/yt
