Helping Singaporeans Re-Join the Workforce and Employers Improve Progressive Workplace Practices

WorkPro and Enterprise Training Support to start 1 April 2013

1. At the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Committee of Supply 2013, Minister of State for Manpower Dr Amy Khor announced two new programmes – WorkPro and Enterprise Training Support (ETS).
2. Under the ETS, employers will receive a wide range of assistance to enhance training and HR capabilities while raising the skills of their current workforce through training. Employers will also be assisted and incentivised to plan their employees' career development.
3. WorkPro will provide comprehensive support to encourage economically inactive locals, including women and mature residents, to return to work. WorkPro will also encourage employers to foster progressive workplaces, by providing help when they recruit mature workers and back-to-work locals, or place their employees on flexible work arrangements (FWAs).
   
   WORKPRO – TOWARDS PROGRESSIVE WORKPLACES
4. WorkPro is a tripartite programme jointly developed by the MOM, Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF) and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to encourage the adoption of flexible work arrangements, job redesign and support the employment of mature workers and back-to-work locals.
5. WorkPro is an enhancement and consolidation of the Work-Life Works! (WoW!) Fund, Flexi-Works! and the ADVANTAGE!. It will be a one-stop programme to help employers to improve work-life harmony, and to recruit and retain mature workers and back-to-work locals to meet their manpower needs.
6. How will WorkPro work? WorkPro provides funding support to help employers and workers alike through the following:
   
   i) Support for age management initiatives, job-redesign, on-the-job training, recruitment and retention efforts, to help employers to meet the needs of an ageing and multi-generational workforce and to tap on back-to-work locals. Each company can receive funding support across a series of grants aimed at these improvements. 
   
   ii) Support for work-life initiatives to improve work-life harmony, through a Work-Life Grant. The Grant has 2 components –
   
   a. A Developmental Grant aimed at helping employers defray the costs of implementing FWAs and other work-life programmes; and
   
   b. A FWA Incentive to motivate employers who have implemented flexible work arrangements for work-life friendly workplaces.
   
   iii) Support for back-to-work locals: Individuals who have not been working for three months or more will receive support to become more job-ready and improve their employability. They can attend fully funded job preparation workshops, and those earning a gross monthly salary of up to $4,500 will receive a Retention Bonus if they stay on the job with an employer under the WorkPro scheme. Back-to-work locals and mature workers from low-income households will also receive additional help in the form of a one-time Transport Allowance.
7. A total of $170 million will be made available to companies over 3 years under WorkPro. SMEs are expected to form 70% of the companies that will benefit from WorkPro. More information on the WorkPro funding support for employers and workers can be found in Annex A.
   
   ENTERPRISE TRAINING SUPPORT (ETS) – ENHANCE TRAINING FOR GREATER PRODUCTIVITY
8. Providing companies with further support for their training and capability development needs is the ETS scheme, jointly developed by the MOM and WDA. ETS offers a holistic HR and training support package for companies to train and develop their employees, and raise productivity.
9. Under the ETS, each company can receive funding support for (a) their employees’ training; (b) developing training plans customised to their needs; and (c) enhancing the company's human resource development and management functions.
10. ETS will offer five types of grants –
    
    i) Training Grant,
    
    ii) Capability Grant,
    
    iii) Curriculum Contextualisation and Alignment Grant,
    
    iv) HR Development Grant, and
    
    v) Compensation and Benefits System Review Grant.
    
    These grants will support companies in training their workforce, as well as build capability in developing and delivering in-house and On-the-Job (OJT) training. At the same time, ETS will also defray costs incurred by companies in enhancing their human resource development functions and in reviewing their compensation and benefits system to attract and retain local talent.
11. Under ETS, a total of $20 million will be made available to companies over 2 years. SMEs are expected to form 70% of the companies that will benefit from ETS. A detailed explanation into each grant and how it benefits the company is found in Annex B.
    
    What companies should do
12. To make it easier for employers to tap on these programmes, they will be offered through integrated one-stop touch points. Companies who wish to tap on ETS and/or WorkPro can call WDA's Hotline at 6883 5885 or email WDA_Enquiry@wda.gov.sg for more information. SMEs can also approach the SME Centres. For WorkPro, companies or individuals can also approach the following programme partners for more information and to come onboard the programme: