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SINGAPORE: Workers in the retail sector can now turn to a new programme to help them improve their productivity.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran announced this at the Singapore Retail Industry Conference Tuesday.
The Certified Productivity Practitioner training curriculum for retail is targeted at the so-called "productivity champions".
These productivity champions are executives who have been identified to help boost productivity in their respective organisations.
Under an eight-day training programme, participants will learn to identify and analyse productivity issues affecting their companies.
They will also help to develop solutions and implement strategies that will address those issues.
Course trainees will also be equipped with tools and systems that will help the company develop a productive sales team and grow its top line.
The Singapore Retailers Association and the Singapore Productivity Association jointly developed the programme.
Mr Iswaran said the programme will help retailers improve their productivity rates and enhance their products and services.
This will then enable the companies to stay ahead of regional competition.
Raising the retail workers' productivity is also crucial.
Mr Iswaran said this is because productivity of a worker in the retail industry now stands at S$37,000. That is only 40 per cent of that for the whole economy.
Singapore lags behind other international cities, with retail productivity here at only 66 per cent that of Hong Kong's and 44 per cent that of New York's. This is according to a recent poll by Global Language Monitor.
The retail industry registered some S$26.2 billion in sales revenue and generated S$3.8 billion in 2008, accounting for 1.4 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product.
The industry also employs over 100,000 workers in some 19,000 establishments, which is about four per cent of Singapore's total workforce.
Jannie Tay, president, Singapore Retailers Association, said: "There has been a tremendous dilution of our skilled staff where more stores have opened and the trained and skilled staff are less. So training and productivity is the key." - CNA/wk/ms
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