NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED THIS YEAR TO EXCEED THAT OF 2009
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SINGAPORE - With the economic turnaround and improved hiring sentiments, the Ministry of Manpower expects the number of jobs created this year to exceed that of 2009. Commenting on the better-than-expected performance of the labour market last year, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said it was helped by key initiatives like the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
So far, nearly 200,000 workers have completed or are undergoing Spur training.
On the future of Spur after it ends in November this year, Mr Gan said the MOM was reviewing this and will announce the details in due course. He assured Parliament yesterday that training will remain "affordable", and "programmes that were still relevant beyond the recession" will be retained.
Educating the Singapore workforce - young and old, rank-and-file and PMETs - was a common issue raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday.
Responding, Mr Gan said the key is to expand the continuing education and training system (CET) to serve a wide range of workers.
"To bring our CET system to the next level, we will develop two CET Campuses by 2013 at Paya Lebar Central and Jurong Lake District. When ready, the two CET Campuses will deliver a total of 150,000 training places and train up to 50,000 workers annually," said the minister.
The government will also look at the differing needs of professionals who want to upskill themselves and as well as develop deeper expertise among CET practitioners.
Among the measures, the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) will introduce a suite of courses including a Diploma in Adult and Continuing Education to "deepen" the skills of educators in curriculum design, and a Masters Degree in lifelong learning with the University of London, to name a few.
To encourage new training methods and better curriculum design, the Workforce Development Agency will launch a $3-million Research and Innovation Fund, on top of the $2 million allocated to IAL for research.
On the issue of higher foreign worker levies, MP for Nee Soon Central Oh Ah Heng was concerned firms would pass the costs on to consumers.
Mr Gan said the levy adjustment which takes effect in July, "represents an average of less than half a percent of the overall wage bill". And if companies "improve their productivity and reduce dependence on foreign workers, the cost impact on them will be lower".
PLANS MOVING SLOWLY
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SINGAPORE - The implementation of central bus planning has taken longer than expected, with grassroots consultations set to take a few more months.
Of the 14 Group Representation Constituencies and nine Single Member Constituencies, just over half have been consulted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), revealed Second Minister for Transport Lim Hwee Hua yesterday.
It was previously reported that the first tenders of bus routes were likely to take place early this year. But giving a glimpse of the task's complexity, Mrs Lim also highlighted some challenges in balancing communities' contrasting needs.
Splitting a long-distance trunk service into two complementary services would increase reliability, but affect "the minority of commuters who use it for longer inter-town travel", for instance.
And in her Serangoon constituency, the suggestion to shorten service 315's route by bypassing Serangoon Gardens was eventually ditched, as "doing so means Serangoon North residents would have to forgo a direct service to Serangoon Gardens where the market and food centres are located".
Adding new services to plug existing gaps could cause more congestion, and would only work if there was ample demand.
Several Members of Parliament, including Seng Han Thong and Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, had asked the Transport Ministry for an update on central bus planning, a role the LTA undertook last year as part of the Land Transport Masterplan announced in 2008.
What would guide LTA's decision on service routes given conflicting interests, and would the tendering of bus routes take into account more than price, wondered Mr Seng.
Route changes would proceed only with "good support from the community", replied Transport Minister Raymond Lim. And opening up basic bus services for more competition will be a gradual process, slated to begin in the second half of next year.
"We will start with perhaps one or two pilot packages, and let these have some time to run before we make firm decisions on the rest of the network," said Mr Lim, who added that comfort, reliability and bus headways would be factors when evaluating bids. NEO CHAI CHIN
MORE PARK AND RIDE LOTS FROM MAY
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SINGAPORE - From May, an extra 90 lots will be available at three popular Park and Ride (P&R) spots. And by June, motorists will be able to buy their P&R sets online, easing queues that form on the 15th of every month at Transitlink offices for the first-come-first-served slots.
After the online purchase, they can then head down in their own time to collect the sets.
The extra carpark lots - 20 each at Buona Vista and Yio Chu Kang, and 50 at Queenstown - will add to the 200 now at the three locations. On MPs' calls to increase take-up rates, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said publicity will be stepped up.
Leaflets will be sent to motorists, and information like detailed walking paths to the nearest transport node posted on the Public Transport @ SG portal.
The 37 existing P&R sites with about 4,700 lots see uneven take-up rates varying between sub-50 per cent and 100 per cent
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