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Written Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Making Skills Development Fund Similar to Edusave with Funds Given to Every Worker

Notice Paper No. 333 Of 2014 For The Sitting On Or After 3 November 2014 Question No. 123 For Written Answer

MP: Mr K. Karthikeyan

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider making the Skills Development Fund similar to Edusave in terms of the Fund being given to individual workers.

Answer

  1. The Skills Development Levy (SDL) was introduced to encourage employers to upgrade their employees’ skills. SDL collections are channeled into the Skills Development Fund (SDF), which supports a wide variety of skills upgrading programmes and activities. Individuals benefit from the SDF through subsidies provided by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)1 when they undertake for courses conducted by WDA-approved training providers. Employees can also benefit from the SDF, in the form of course fee subsidies for employers who send their workers for training.
  2. Our current system works well in supporting individuals for training. As of March 2014, 1.2 million individuals have been trained and awarded employer-recognised certifications under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system in 34 industries. 83% of both individuals and employers surveyed by WDA reported that WSQ training was useful2. We are open to considering new ways to enhance our Continuing Education and Training (CET) system, but also want to ensure that any system we implement maximises the benefits to individuals and employers.
  3. More fundamentally, we need to go beyond funding and subsidies, to build a culture of lifelong learning where individuals are passionate about continuously developing themselves throughout life, and a society where the mastery of skills, regardless of field, is respected and cherished. We will continue to look at ways to encourage individual ownership of skills development and inculcate a culture of lifelong learning.

1SDF monies are used to defray upfront training costs for both individuals and employers through direct course fee subsidies given to WDA-approved training providers. Individuals and employers need only pay nett course fees.
2Outcomes Evaluation Survey (OES) 2013, WDA.