Spur training programme widened to 800 courses

A NEW Government-sponsored training programme has been expanded, in a move to help minimise the layoffs that are set to rise after Chinese New Year.

The Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur), which pays for part of the salary of a worker on training, will now cover 800 courses, instead of 150.

With five times more courses, the Government hopes Spur will coax more employers to retrain, not retrench, their workers during the current slump.

The extra courses will also help out-of-work Singaporeans gain relevant skills for new jobs in such growth sectors as health care and hotels, said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday when he made the announcement.

He foresees the export-oriented industries as being worst hit in the recession, especially manufacturing and electronics.

For workers, the impact will be felt at all levels. 'But compared to the previous recessions, we'll see more PMETs affected,' he added, referring to professionals, managers and executives.

Mr Gan was speaking to reporters at the end of a ministerial visit to the Ascott Centre for Excellence in Newton, a training centre for hotel industry workers.

His announcement was welcomed by jobseekers at the centre, including Mr Jason Lee, 25, who lost his job in October when his IT company shut down.

Mr Lee, who holds a national ITE certificate (Nitec) in mechatronics engineering, said: 'I've applied for several dozen sales and services jobs, but no luck.

'I want now to go into the hotel industry, which seems to be coming up with the opening of the integrated resorts.'

Some 10 hotels with a total of 5,100 rooms are expected to open this year.

The new courses on Spur's list include all Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses, Nitec courses and polytechnic diploma programmes for adults.

In all, the $600-million Spur programme will pay for some 220,000 training places over two years.

The latest expansion of Spur is the second since its launch in December, when it was only for courses at approved centres.

About a fortnight ago, in-house training programmes were also included.

But the funding for them will be given on a case-by-case basis, said the Manpower Ministry and the Workforce Development Agency yesterday.

In addition, such companies must commit to a training package that includes Spur-approved courses, and to retaining workers in line with the recent guidelines on managing excess manpower, they added. These include having a shorter work week, flexible work schedule and flexible wages to trim costs, so that retrenchment is a last resort.

Spur will pay for two things: up to 90 per cent of the course fees and up to 90 per cent of a worker's salary but this is capped at $6.80 an hour.

Jobless workers will also be sponsored. The low-skilled will be paid $4 for every hour they are on training, and the higher-skilled, up to $1,000 a month.

So far, 120 companies have signed up to send some 4,200 workers for training.

Asked if the number was too low, Mr Gan said Spur was only a month old, and some companies needed to adjust their work processes so that workers can go for training.

He also assured Singaporeans there are jobs in such sectors as hotels and education, despite the slowing economy.

Singapore has lowered its growth forecast for this year to between -2 and 1 per cent, following last year's worse-than-expected 1.5 per cent growth.

At the same time, layoffs are expected to rise way above the 6,418 reported in the first nine months of last year.

Analysts predict retrenchments will surpass the 30,000 peak in 1998, during the Asian financial crisis.

The new Spur offerings will help to ameliorate this loss of human capital, particularly in the professional and managerial groups, said labour economist Shandre Thangavelu of the National University of Singapore.

'They have very strong human capital that has to be kept intact. Expanding the range of course offerings is an excellent idea and will help ensure this.

'This enhancement also recognises the broad-based nature of this recession, which affects jobs in all sectors and at all skills levels.'

zakirh@sph.com.sg

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Faith groups raise funds for students

FOR the first time, Christians, Buddhists and Muslims have come together to raise funds for needy Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students in the South West district by collecting recyclables.

The project, involving City Harvest Church, the Singapore Soka Association and 13 mosques in the south-west, is on its way to exceeding its target of raising $60,000 too.

Each religious group, aiming to raise $5,000, has rallied its followers into donating old newspapers and clothing, which will be sold to a recycling company. An anonymous corporate sponsor has donated $15,000 to the cause, and the South West Community Development Council (CDC) will match all funds raised dollar for dollar.

Representatives from the religious groups said the project to amass 16,700kg of clothing and 45,500kg of paper is meaningful as it marries care for the environment with helping the needy.

The beneficiaries of the funds raised from the sale of the paper and clothing - about 600 ITE students from ITE College West - come from families with household incomes of $1,500 or less. They will each get at least $50 for school expenses.

The South West district is big on recycling. Separately, thousands of households in the district's 16 divisions took part in a recycling exercise yesterday in which recyclables were exchanged for food. For every 3kg of clothes or fabric turned in, residents received a coupon for 1kg of rice; every 2kg of newspapers got them a pack of instant noodles.

Senior dispatch master Osman Sinwan, 43, whose family turned in 28kg of unwanted items, said: 'It keeps the house clean. We have a place to dump the items and we get something in return.'

South West District Mayor and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said she was glad more households joined in this year, especially since most of the divisions were already on a weekly 'Cash for Trash' programme. The National Environment Agency said the 11/2-year-old programme, run in tandem with the South West CDC and grassroots groups, had by last November given out $350,000 and collected 2.1 million kg of waste.

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Students on ITE fast-track doing well

THE first group of Normal (Academic) students to enrol in a fast-track programme are making good progress.

All 358 students are studying in a new way that allows them to advance from Secondary 4 to a higher-level Institute of Technical Education (ITE) course.

In January this year, 377 Normal (Academic) students enrolled in 19 Higher National ITE Certificate (Nitec) courses ranging from engineering to hospitality to business. Previously, the courses were open only to those with O- level qualifications.

To qualify, Normal (Academic) students must score 19 points or fewer for English, Maths and three of their best subjects in their N-level examinations. They also need to score at least a Grade 4 in English and Maths.

An ITE spokesman said 5 per cent, or about 20, of the original intake of students dropped out because they had found jobs or had decided to pursue other study options.

He said all remaining students have completed one semester and have done well enough to go on to the next semester, which starts next month.

Some of the fast-track students whom The Straits Times spoke to urged Normal (Academic) students who received their N-level results yesterday to apply for the Higher Nitec courses.

The students said Normal-stream students should be 'realistic' about how they will perform in their O levels.

About 40 per cent of Normal stream students do not do well enough to make it to a polytechnic.

'If you can't make it to the polys after sitting for the O levels, you will have to come to ITE anyway,' said Muhammad Farhan Mohd Idros, 17, a fast-track student enrolled in the Higher Nitec course in mechanical engineering at ITE College East at Simei. 'Why not cut down one year of study and come here directly after you receive your N-level results?'

His classmate, Loo Jun Yuan, 17, added: 'The difference in standards in N-level and O-level subjects is very big.

'Students have less than a year to prepare for the O levels. If you come to ITE, you also stand a good chance to get into the polys after that.'

Higher Nitec students can advance to a polytechnic like their Sec 5 peers. Those who do well can also enter the second year of some polytechnic courses.

While the option of skipping the O levels and getting a certificate in a shorter period of time seems attractive, it has been a controversial issue.

Earlier this year, a principal drew ire from parents and the public when she advised a class of Sec 5 students to transfer to the ITE before they sat for the O-level examinations.

She pointed out that their grades would not allow them to advance to the polytechnics.

Parents of the students in the class said the principal's words punctured their children's self- confidence.

'It is natural for parents to want the best for their children,' said Dr Ricky Tam, principal of ITE College East, who has 138 students in the fast-track programme in his school.

However, students and their parents have to be realistic about their learning abilities and also understand what kind of teaching style suits them, he said.

'I hope the good performance of the first batch of students will encourage others to consider this programme as another route for them to further their studies,' he added.

Fast-track students said their time at the ITE has renewed their self- confidence. For the first time, they are getting good grades in school.

Muhammad Farhan and classmate Jun Yuan received a perfect Grade Point Average of 4.0 in this year's examinations.

Goh Pei Qi, 17, who is enrolled in the Higher Nitec course in Business Studies (Event Management) at ITE College Central in Bishan, said she now knows what she wants as a career.

'After organising school events as part of the course, I realised I like planning and managing events,' she said. 'I hope to study events management at the Singapore Polytechnic when I graduate and become an events planner.'

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Classmates clinch top spots

BUKIT Panjang Government High student Lim Shi Hui cried as she walked out of the classroom after her English exam, when she realised she did not complete the last page of the paper.

She discovered there was a final page of questions, worth seven marks, just minutes before the scripts were collected and thought the grades for her favourite subject would be badly affected.

So she got a pleasant surprise yesterday when she turned out to be one of the top two Normal (Technical) stream students among those who took only N(T) subjects.

The other was her classmate Nurul Farhana Winarto Utomo, 17.

Shi Hui is the eldest child of a warehouse supervisor and housewife and she hopes to study business administration at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

Like Shi Hui, Farhana has been a consistent worker, studying three hours every day.

Farhana, whose tuition teacher mother is Singaporean and businessman father is Indonesian, has been living in Indonesia since she was born and returned here only two years ago.

The biggest adjustment she had to make was in language as in Jogjakarta, the subjects were taught in Bahasa Indonesia.

'I failed my science in Sec 3 even though I liked the subject and worked very hard, because I didn't know how to express myself properly in English,' said Farhana, who has an elder sister studying for a degree in a private school.

Failing that one subject spurred her on to work even harder for her other subjects. Having the support of her family also helped, she said.

'I want to make my mum proud and this is just a starting point,' she said.

She hopes to study either pharmaceutical studies or finance at the ITE.

She said she did not want to take up an additional subject from the Normal (Academic) stream as she wanted to focus on her seven core N(T) subjects.

Both girls are aiming to repeat their feat at the ITE and move on to the polytechnics after that.

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New school offers boarding stint

A SECOND school for less academically inclined children will give them a taste of real life through a residential programme and industrial attachments.

From January, Assumption Pathway School will start taking in students aged between 13 and 16 who have failed the Primary School Leaving Examination.

Like the successful two-year-old NorthLight School, on which it is modelled, Assumption Pathway aims to give children a foundation in the basics as well as equip them with technical skills.

Schools like NorthLight and Assumption Pathway, which offer children an alternative to dropping out of the school system, are a recent addition to Singapore's education scene. They are meant to prevent students from being left behind.

NorthLight has been popular, and now has 630 students.

When Assumption Pathway opens its doors, its plan is for students to attain 'personal success' upon graduation.

'I'm not referring to the typical success where you earn lots of money,' said principal Wee Tat Chuen.

'It's about them coming to Assumption Pathway and finding out their talents and strengths, and creating a future out of that.'

The school replaces Assumption Vocational Institute, the last technical school in Singapore, which focused on subjects like car repair.

The vocational institute system provided youth with technical skills to prepare them for courses at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

The staff at Assumption Pathway are excited about the school's programmes to equip children with life skills.

Mr Wee, a former vice-principal at NorthLight School, said its three- and four-year programmes will require students to live in a hostel with classmates for one week each semester.

'We want it to be very family-oriented with a lot of interaction. Working with others will hopefully help them find out more about themselves and what they are good at,' he said.

But school will not just be about life skills and work.

Like NorthLight, Assumption Pathway will offer foundation courses in English, mathematics and infocomm technology.

These courses, taken by the first group of 240 students, will be taught by 14 teachers who used to work in primary or secondary schools.

There will also be vocational classes preparing students for the ITE skills certificate in areas such as mechanical servicing, electrical servicing and food preparation.

A $28 million overhaul of the campus will see brand-new kitchens for cooking and baking, a hairdressing salon, a training restaurant and workshop space.

And all students will have to take up a co-curricular activity in sports or join a club.

'Even if they don't make it to ITE, they will be equipped with the skills and the character to survive,' said Mr Wee.

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Poly, ITE lecturers may get less leave

LECTURERS at polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will soon be given a choice: money or vacation.

Poly lecturers can choose to take a 14-day cut in annual leave while getting a roughly 6 per cent pay raise and a bonus, or staying on the current scheme which gives them a 42-day vacation.

However, lecturers who opt to stay on their current terms could end up losing in the end.

When their contracts come up for renewal, they will be automatically put on terms that are set for new hires: 21 days of leave.

ITE lecturers can also choose to have their leave reduced to 28 days with the same compensation.

The options were part of a joint review by the ITE and the polytechnics released yesterday. It was designed in part to make teaching more appealing and to stem the flow of lecturers from polytechnics, which lose about 6 per cent of their teachers every year.

The move by the five polytechnics to cut vacation time was first reported by The Straits Times in August.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many said yesterday they would opt for the new scheme - reluctantly. Many bemoaned the change, especially those with children.

A mother of three, who asked not to be named, said it would mean less time for families.

Another said she had hoped the cut would not be so 'drastic'.

Some of those without families were also unhappy with the news.

Mr Clarence Ng, 36, who has been teaching for seven years, said the pay increase was not enough to compensate for the loss of annual leave.

'If you do the sums, it doesn't add up. While the new salaries are supposed to be pegged to industry, I doubt it. I think my peers are earning a lot more,' he said.

Others, though, welcomed the changes.

Business IT lecturer Faizah Ishak, who used to work in the travel industry, said: 'To me, it's fair news. In the industry, we also got 21 days of leave.'

The salary review will align salary scales and career paths for staff in Singapore's five polytechnics.

With an across-the-board increase in salaries, the five polytechnics also hope to lower the relatively high resignation rate, which has hovered between 6 and 6.5 per cent over the past three years. About 13 per cent of junior lecturers quit annually.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic principal Chia Mia Chiang, who chairs the review committee, said raising salaries to better match industry standards would stem the outflow of talent.

Mr Chia, who personally interviews job seekers, also said a 'very significant' number of strong candidates declined the polytechnic's offer because they did not want to take a pay cut.

To attract new staff, starting salaries will also go up by 5 or 6 per cent.

janeng@sph.com.sg

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