Auto Inclusion, Application and Funding for Adapt and Grow Schemes

7 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider auto-inclusion, auto-application and auto-funding for the Adapt and Grow schemes, such as the career support programmes, instead of making employers and companies apply for the schemes.

Mr Lim Swee Say: A vast majority of jobseekers and employers are able to find suitable matches on their own through recruitment agencies, job advertisements, job portals or their own networks. Adapt and Grow schemes, such as the Professional Conversion Programme and the Career Support Programme, are intended to provide targeted help for jobseekers who need additional assistance to overcome skills requirements or wage expectation mismatches. These schemes provide substantial training and temporary wage support to help jobseekers (especially mature and/or long-term unemployed) and their prospective employers to bridge gaps in skills or wage expectations, so that they can better secure job matches.

Auto-inclusion, auto-application or auto-funding approaches would not only require significantly more public funding but also weaken our efforts in targeting support at those who truly need the extra assistance.