S$5,000 carrot for potential apprentices in F&B, other fields
SINGAPORE — From April, polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates keen on undergoing apprenticeships under the new Earn and Learn programme will get S$5,000 as a sign-on incentive, while employers will receive up to S$15,000 from the Government for each trainee.
The programme — part of the SkillsFuture initiatives announced in the Budget on Monday — will first be rolled out in the food manufacturing, retail, food and beverage, and logistics sectors, said the SkillsFuture secretariat yesterday as it released the details.
Training will last between 12 and 18 months, and the incentive for trainees will be paid over two tranches: At the beginning and the halfway mark of the apprenticeship.
Some of these sectors face high attrition; for example, F&B and retail firms told TODAY that they are struggling to retain new hires, several of whom quit within six months because of the irregular hours.
A secretariat spokesperson said in response to queries that participants who drop out will have to pay back the cash incentive. “Participants are strongly encouraged to complete the programme, so they can realise its benefits,” the spokesperson said. Employers who wish to terminate trainees during the programme have to justify their request and might be asked to return reimbursements paid out to them if the termination is invalid.
In general, there will be no bond imposed on the trainee. “However, employers may need or wish to institute a bond for participants in selected sectors when the cost of training is high. Any bond required will be stated clearly in the programme factsheet or highlighted in the application form,” the spokesperson said. More information on the Earn and Learn programme will be released next month, including how to apply for the programme and details of the training contract.
At the end of the apprenticeship, trainees will receive industry-recognised certificates, including qualifications issued by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), ITE or the polytechnics.
The Earn and Learn programme is expected to benefit one in three polytechnic and ITE graduates by 2025, or more than 10,000 each year.
Applicants will be evaluated based on a sector’s minimum entry requirements before interviews are arranged with the prospective employers.
The secretariat said the selection process will be similar to the usual process where employers hire candidates deemed suitable after a job interview. Nevertheless, to help students make a more informed choice, the polytechnics and ITE will be intensifying their efforts to provide applicants with career counselling and industry knowledge.
The secretariat is in the process of identifying companies to join the programme. To date, firms such as BreadTalk and the Robinsons & RSH Group of Companies have come on board. The final list will include a mix of big and small organisations, it said.
As part of the SkillsFuture initiatives, 200 industry experts are being groomed as mentors to help smaller firms. Their role includes helping these firms identify key job roles for business growth and improve workers’ skills. The mentors will also develop supervisors’ coaching competencies, among other things. SPRING Singapore will appoint industry partners to recruit these mentors in the third quarter of this year and mentors will be matched to interested firms.
The wide-ranging SkillsFuture initiatives, which will cost S$1 billion yearly from now to 2020, will mark a new phase of investment in Singaporeans, beginning from their time in school. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Monday that the initiatives are critical moves that will take Singapore’s economy to the next level.
