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SINGAPORE: Companies with in-house training programmes will now be able to tap into funds under the newly-launched Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) as long as they meet certain requirements.
The change comes just three weeks after the start of the scheme.
SPUR is a government initiative which provides funds to encourage employers to send excess staff for training rather than laying them off in these lean times.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say said the number of positive responses to the new scheme has been encouraging.
Numbers have increased over the past week and now stand at more than 30 companies supporting over 3,000 workers.
Most of the take-up for SPUR in the past weeks has come mainly from the manufacturing sector.
However, Mr Lim said when the scheme was first announced, the scope of training and training locations were quite restrictive.
Given the feedback over the past three weeks, he said the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have adapted the programme.
Mr Lim said: "If companies are able to put in place a well-structured training programme even if they may not be conducted in the CETs (Continuing Education and Training Centres), we will support it under SPUR as well."
There are 42 CETs or Continuing Education and Training Centres as at December 1.
Mr Lim said this flexibility in training location will depend first on the programme meeting the standards under the Workforce Skills Qualification System.
He said the economic situation is expected to worsen in the first quarter of next year.
And so, while agencies adapt the programme based on feedback from industry, they are also gearing up to expand the scope and capacity of the training programmes. - CNA/vm
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