Jamus Lim on SkillsFuture Singapore Agency and Skills Development Levy amendment bills

The revisions that aim to plug the gaps in the current framework are important common sense steps to improve the functioning of the system, said MP Jamus Lim. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Jan 9), he highlighted "minor shortcomings", and asked if the proposed regulatory enhancements alone are sufficient to ensure that SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) is able to identify and ensure that the training providers for workers are the very best available. He said the provision for a type of clawback beyond fines is important because channelling recovered monies towards funding operational costs may strike one as a pragmatic way to finance the agency tasked with oversight. But he pointed out that there is a downside from such an approach, which he hopes SSG will guard against. He said tying enforcement actions to funding can give rise to potentially perverse incentives towards over-regulation and possible abuse by state authorities. He wanted to know how the Government will track such abuses. He also stressed the need to ensure that the training provided is "fit for purpose".