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SINGAPORE: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore are not spending enough on training their staff.
A survey by DP Information Group showed that almost half of local SMEs spend less than one per cent of staff costs on training their employees each year.
The survey also showed that 20 per cent of firms put aside less than a hundred dollars a year for training each employee.
According to International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, companies should spend between two to three per cent of staff costs each year on training.
These costs could add up in the long run as all employees need training in order to keep up with the rapidly changing environment, but investing in human capital is a must for SMEs.
Managing director of DP Information Network, Chen Yew Nah, said: "The SMEs have only their people to help them to grow the organisation. So it is very important for them to see... a good portion of their staff being able to be trained, and to keep it dynamic, with the changing conditions that you have today."
The survey also revealed that local firms are looking to distant markets such as Russia and Latin America. Observers said such markets have high growth potential that makes them attractive.
Deputy CEO of IE Singapore, Ted Tan Teck Koon, said the gross domestic product of Latin Americas had grown about six to eight per cent in the last four to five years, despite the current credit crunch in the US.
Companies from industries such as infrastructure, oil and gas and food supplies are among those that have already ventured into such regions.
- CNA/yt
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