Ministry of Manpower Is SkillsFuture used effectively?
The govt has set aside a large sum of money for the SkillsFuture fund. I tried to search for the this sum, but could not find it. 

This fund allows individuals to select their own training courses to develop personal skills. The fund pays for a large part (perhaps 70% to 90%) of the course fees.

Many people have benefited from attending the courses. They found the courses to be "useful" in developing their knowledge and personal skills in areas that they are interested. 

It has its negative aspects. Some enterprising crooks have set up scams to milk the fund. They create bogus training courses and entice people to sign up for these expensive courses to take out the credits. In return, they provide part of the course fees as "kickback" to the attendees. 

I recall that they were charged for cheating the fund. I do not recall if the crooks have been convicted and sent to jail. Lately, I do not hear about the scams.

I suspect that the purpose of SkillsFuture is to allow workers to get new skills for the jobs of the future. 

The scheme has probably failed miserably in this respect. I do not hear of many retrenched workers  being able to get re-employment after attending these courses. 

Is there a better way to use the fund to keep people employed? Yes, there is. I will offer my suggestion in a separate post. 

I very much regret that the money set aside in the SkillsFuture fund is largely "wasted". 

I have a further issue. It concerns the Skills Development Fund (SDF) that employers are required to contribute during the past decades. The SDF is now set at 0.5% of the payroll. Surely, the SDF can be discontinued? Why continue a levy that has lost its purpose?

Minister Teo - I hope you are listening

Tan Kin Lian

Vote- Should SkillsFuture and SDF be reviewed to improve effectiveness?



 

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