Oral Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on the Capability Transfer Programme

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1058 OF 2021 FOR SITTING ON 04 APRIL 2022

QUESTION NO. 2670 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Abdul Samad

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide an update on (i) the number of companies that successfully applied for the Capability Transfer Programme since it was first introduced and (ii) its assessment of the programme's effectiveness in terms of helping companies, associations and professional bodies to develop and acquire new capabilities for their Singaporean workforce.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1076 OF 2021 FOR NEXT AVAILABLE SITTING

QUESTION NO. 2691 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Saktiandi Supaat

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what studies have been done on the take-up rate of the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP) by the different sectors; (b) how does the Government measures the CTP's success in achieving foreign-to-local skills transfer; and (c) whether the Government has considered imposing conditions on the funding of CTP, such as requiring the applicant company to meet targets for the reduction of foreign labour after a specified period of time.

Answer:

1. Since the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP) was introduced in October 2017, more than 140 companies and over 990 locals across more than 20 sectors have benefitted or are expected to benefit from the programme. The top three sectors in terms of the number of local trainees are Precision Engineering, Air Transport and Logistics.

2. Under the CTP, funding support is provided to companies to acquire global capabilities that are not available in Singapore. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as by (i) bringing foreign specialists into Singapore to train locals in new capabilities, (ii) sending locals for overseas training attachments, (iii) facilitating remote capability transfer from foreign specialists, and (iv) supporting follow-on training in Singapore by local specialists who were trained by foreign specialists or had trained overseas. To qualify for funding, companies are required to submit a training plan on the new capabilities to be acquired, and the number of local employees who will be trained. This way, we ensure that each CTP project leads to genuine upskilling. For example, the CTP project by SP Services Limited sent 12 local employees to the United States to learn about advanced network design and optimisation. Upon their return to Singapore, these employees in turn trained 13 other local colleagues. As a result of this project, the local team is now able to take on an expanded job role, performing more advanced tasks such as fault isolation and data analysis. These were previously jobs that could only be undertaken by contractors.

3. MP Saktiandi Supaat also asked about conditions that are imposed on the CTP. CTP companies are required to commit to training a specific number of locals. As to the suggestion to require that the company reduce its foreign workforce after completing a CTP project, this would be too blunt an approach. Such conditions would penalise companies that are transferring expertise to locals, but at the same time, they still need to grow their overall workforce, both locals and foreigners, to meet growing demand.

4. Due to travel restrictions arising from COVID-19, take-up of the CTP has been minimal over the past two years. With the gradual resumption of international travel, we expect more enquiries and applications for the CTP, which has been extended to September 2024.

5. CTP is not the only way in which the Government supports firms in capability transfer. Enterprise Singapore’s Global Ready Talent Programme supports Singapore companies in building young talent pipeline through internships and overseas work opportunities. MOM is also piloting the Global Rotation Scheme, which facilitates the entry of high-potential employees from abroad, on the condition that these same companies post Singaporeans abroad on the same leadership development programme.

6. Beyond Government schemes, skills transfer takes place through structured company training programmes, as well as learning from a variety of people including peers, superiors, customers and suppliers. Workers may also acquire valuable skills through a range of assignments, including overseas postings and even job changes to gain exposure to different industries or markets. We can see that this is reflected in the macro employment data. Resident employment has grown strongly over the past ten years, driven by PMET jobs which now make up 62.1% of resident workers, compared to 52.7% in 2011. Resident unemployment rates have remained low – they rose during the pandemic but have since recovered to 3.1% as at January 2022. Real median income of full-time resident workers grew an average of 2.6% per year from 2011 to 2021.