The Bill was passed without amendment although - as it was the last order of business of a long day in Parliament - there were not enough MPs left after the debate to form a quorum to vote on it.
Dr Fatimah estimated that 10 MPs were present when she gave her speech at close to 7pm. The bell was rung for two minutes to get enough MPs back in the House to make the 21-MP minimum requirement.
[email protected]
Read also: Simplistic to say foreign workers depress local
=============================
Training not just for lower-skilled
Bosses must pay Skills Development Levy for all workers from Oct 1
By Jeremy Au Yong
The services sector has a big pool of foreign workers, but its wages were comparatively better. -- ST FILE PHOTO
THE scope of the Skills Development Levy has been expanded, with employers required to pay the levy for all their workers, not just those with a salary of no more than $2,000.
However, they will not feel the pinch as the rate per worker has been slashed.
So the total payment will not change much, said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday during the Second Reading of the Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Bill.
What these changes do is signal a change in the focus of skills training.
No longer are training and upgrading for the lower-skilled only. All levels of workers need to keep up to date, said Mr Gan.
'With economic restructuring, faster skills obsolescence and shorter job tenures, every worker, regardless of educational or skills level, must continually upgrade and update his skills to stay relevant and do his work better.'
As the workforce becomes better educated and better skilled, it is timely to revise the levy so that it applies to more than just the lower-skilled, he said.
Mr Gan estimated that 60 per cent of Singapore's resident workforce will have at least a diploma qualification by 2020, compared to 36 per cent today and 22 per cent a decade ago.
Similarly, he added that one-third of the training places supported by the Skills Development Fund (SDF) last year were for employees with at least a diploma, up from one-fifth in 2000.
The SDF, into which the levy goes, was set up in 1979 and subsidises employee training. Together with other initiatives such as a government-supported Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund, it is part of a larger effort to train the workforce here so that workers keep pace with economic change.
The effort, announced earlier this year, is called the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Masterplan.
Mr Gan spelt out in his speech the various ways the Government was contributing to training, including topping up the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to eventually reach $5 billion.
But he stressed that employers also need to play their part.
'As the Government devotes more resources to CET, it is important that employers also continue to play their part in supporting CET. The Skills Development Levy institutionalises employers' commitment to the CET,' he said.
The amendments, approved by Parliament yesterday, will require employers to pay a monthly levy for each of their workers from Oct 1.
However, instead of the old rate of 1 per cent, they will pay 0.25 per cent of the first $4,500 a worker earns or $2, whichever is higher.
During the debate, two MPs, Dr Ahmad Magad (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) called for more to be done to create greater awareness among workers and employers of the training opportunities under the CET.
Mr Gan agreed with them and said the Workforce Development Agency will launch a national outreach programme later this year.
The Bill was passed without amendment although - as it was the last order of business of a long day in Parliament - there were not enough MPs left after the debate to form a quorum to vote on it.
Dr Fatimah estimated that 10 MPs were present when she gave her speech at close to 7pm. The bell was rung for two minutes to get enough MPs back in the House to make the 21-MP minimum requirement.
[email protected]
Read also: Simplistic to say foreign workers depress local pay
Dr Fatimah estimated that 10 MPs were present when she gave her speech at close to 7pm. The bell was rung for two minutes to get enough MPs back in the House to make the 21-MP minimum requirement.
[email protected]
Read also: Simplistic to say foreign workers depress local
=============================
Training not just for lower-skilled
Bosses must pay Skills Development Levy for all workers from Oct 1
By Jeremy Au Yong
The services sector has a big pool of foreign workers, but its wages were comparatively better. -- ST FILE PHOTO
THE scope of the Skills Development Levy has been expanded, with employers required to pay the levy for all their workers, not just those with a salary of no more than $2,000.
However, they will not feel the pinch as the rate per worker has been slashed.
So the total payment will not change much, said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday during the Second Reading of the Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Bill.
What these changes do is signal a change in the focus of skills training.
No longer are training and upgrading for the lower-skilled only. All levels of workers need to keep up to date, said Mr Gan.
'With economic restructuring, faster skills obsolescence and shorter job tenures, every worker, regardless of educational or skills level, must continually upgrade and update his skills to stay relevant and do his work better.'
As the workforce becomes better educated and better skilled, it is timely to revise the levy so that it applies to more than just the lower-skilled, he said.
Mr Gan estimated that 60 per cent of Singapore's resident workforce will have at least a diploma qualification by 2020, compared to 36 per cent today and 22 per cent a decade ago.
Similarly, he added that one-third of the training places supported by the Skills Development Fund (SDF) last year were for employees with at least a diploma, up from one-fifth in 2000.
The SDF, into which the levy goes, was set up in 1979 and subsidises employee training. Together with other initiatives such as a government-supported Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund, it is part of a larger effort to train the workforce here so that workers keep pace with economic change.
The effort, announced earlier this year, is called the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Masterplan.
Mr Gan spelt out in his speech the various ways the Government was contributing to training, including topping up the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to eventually reach $5 billion.
But he stressed that employers also need to play their part.
'As the Government devotes more resources to CET, it is important that employers also continue to play their part in supporting CET. The Skills Development Levy institutionalises employers' commitment to the CET,' he said.
The amendments, approved by Parliament yesterday, will require employers to pay a monthly levy for each of their workers from Oct 1.
However, instead of the old rate of 1 per cent, they will pay 0.25 per cent of the first $4,500 a worker earns or $2, whichever is higher.
During the debate, two MPs, Dr Ahmad Magad (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) called for more to be done to create greater awareness among workers and employers of the training opportunities under the CET.
Mr Gan agreed with them and said the Workforce Development Agency will launch a national outreach programme later this year.
The Bill was passed without amendment although - as it was the last order of business of a long day in Parliament - there were not enough MPs left after the debate to form a quorum to vote on it.
Dr Fatimah estimated that 10 MPs were present when she gave her speech at close to 7pm. The bell was rung for two minutes to get enough MPs back in the House to make the 21-MP minimum requirement.
[email protected]
Read also: Simplistic to say foreign workers depress local pay
