Take-up Rate of Capability Transfer Programme and Its Effectiveness in Helping Singaporean Workers Acquire New Capabilities

17 Mr Abdul Samad asked the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide an update on (i) the number of companies that successfully applied for the Capability Transfer Programme since it was first introduced and (ii) its assessment of the programme's effectiveness in terms of helping companies, associations and professional bodies to develop and acquire new capabilities for their Singaporean workforce.

18 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what studies have been done on the take-up rate of the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP) by the different sectors; (b) how does the Government measure the CTP's success in achieving foreign-to-local skills transfer; and (c) whether the Government has considered imposing conditions on the funding of CTP, such as requiring the applicant company to meet targets for the reduction of foreign labour after a specified period of time.

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng): Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will respond to both Question Nos 17 and 18 on the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP) together, so that I can provide a more holistic reply.

Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Dr Tan See Leng: Thank you. Since the CTP was introduced in October 2017, more than 140 companies and over 990 locals across more than 20 sectors have benefited or are expected to benefit from the programme. The top three sectors in terms of the number of local trainees are Precision Engineering, Air Transport and Logistics.

Under the CTP, funding support is provided to companies to acquire global capabilities that are not available in Singapore. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as by: one, bringing foreign specialists into Singapore to train locals in new capabilities; two, sending locals for overseas training attachments; three, facilitating remote capability transfer from foreign specialists; and four, supporting follow-on training in Singapore by local specialists who were trained by foreign specialists or had trained overseas.

To qualify for funding, companies are required to submit a training plan on the new capabilities to be acquired and the number of local employees who will be trained. This way, we ensure that each CTP project leads to genuine upskilling. For example, the CTP project by SP Services Limited sent 12 local employees to the US to learn about advanced network design and optimisation. Upon their return to Singapore, these employees, in turn, trained 13 other local colleagues. As a result of this project, the local team is now able to take on an expanded job role, performing more advanced tasks, such as fault isolation and data analysis. These were previously jobs that could only be undertaken by contractors.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat also asked about conditions that are imposed on the CTP. CTP companies are required to commit to training a specific number of locals. As to the suggestion to require that the company reduces its foreign workforce after completing a CTP project, I think it is too blunt an approach. Such conditions would penalise companies that are transferring expertise to locals but, at the same time, still need to grow their overall workforce, both locals and foreigners, to meet growing demand.

Due to travel restrictions arising from COVID-19, take-up of the CTP has been minimal over the past two years. With the gradual resumption of international travel, we expect more enquiries and applications for the CTP, which has been extended to September 2024.

CTP is not the only way in which the Government supports firms in capability transfer. Enterprise Singapore’s Global Ready Talent Programme supports Singapore companies in building a young talent pipeline through internships and overseas work opportunities. MOM is also piloting the Global Rotation Scheme, which facilitates the entry of high-potential employees from abroad, on the condition that these same companies post Singaporeans abroad on the same leadership development programme.

Beyond Government schemes, skills transfer takes place through structured company training programmes, as well as learning from a variety of people, including peers, superiors, customers and suppliers. Workers may also acquire valuable skills through a range of assignments, including overseas postings and even job changes, to gain exposure to different industries or markets.

We can see that this is reflected in the macro employment data. Resident employment has grown strongly over the past 10 years, driven by PMET jobs which now make up 62.1% of resident workers, compared to 52.7% in 2011. Resident unemployment rates have remained low – they rose during the pandemic but have since recovered to 3.1% as at January 2022. Real median income of full-time resident workers grew an average of 2.6% per year from 2011 to 2021.

Mr Speaker: Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): I am glad to know from the Minister that there are more sectors now that are benefiting from the CTP – 20 sectors – and, hopefully, we will have more sectors, going forward.

My question is in regard to my Adjournment Motion which I raised in 2019 on this matter and I am raising it in the Parliamentary Question as well. With regard to the funding support for CTP, I had suggested before whether we can consider expanding CTP to support the transfer of capabilities from foreign employees currently already employed in Singapore to local employees, with the eventual aim of localising jobs, working in tandem with the localisation targets I mentioned back in the Adjournment Motion. This is because the current funding support of CTP only applies to incoming foreign specialists. So, I hope the Minister can answer my question here, whether we can consider expanding CTP to support transfer of capabilities from foreign employees currently already employed in Singapore to local workers.

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank the Member for his suggestion. It is something that we, certainly, will look into closely. I think the appreciation of the fact that this has to be a very tightly-scoped funding support structure is important in making sure that capability transfers are effected and also effective, so that our local employees can gain the maximum amount of expertise and skillsets from this particular programme. I think this is of paramount importance to us.

So, perhaps, a broad summary of how we think in terms of the extension of funding support. Support levels will be determined by WSG in consultation with the relevant sector agencies. Today, CTP projects can receive up to 90% funding and the co-funding ratio will depend on the impact of the CTP project, and whether, of course, the entity that is applying is an SME or non-SME, or organising the programme on an industry-wide level.

Today, the funding rates, the different levels of support, serve and exist to differentiate the level of support based on the assessed impact of each project. We also have to ensure that there is some degree of co-funding from the participating company or the industry.

Mr Speaker: Mr Abdul Samad.

Mr Abdul Samad (Nominated Member): Thank you, Sir. I just have one supplementary question. Can MOM consider a higher funding for companies intending to embark on CTP and may also engage the unions through our Company Training Committee for a more balanced assessment, to ensure that there is a structured plan for a transfer of capabilities?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank the Member for his suggestion. We are not closed to anything. But I think let me set the perspective. Thus far, since the programme began till now, WSG has not received any feedback from interested companies that the existing support rates or the project funding cap of S$300,000 is restrictive. So, we will continue to monitor the take-up of the scheme.

It is something that we have started for quite a number of years. Certainly, companies have benefited and, like I said, 990 locals, close to about 1,000, have also benefited or will be benefiting from the programme. In the absence of additional feedback, unless Mr Abdul Samad is suggesting that there are instances where he finds that the funding cap of S$300,000 is restrictive, it is something that we can look to review.

Mr Speaker: Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Minister. I think this is a subject I spoke about in my Budget speech last year as well, seeking details on the number of individual Singaporeans who have benefited from CTP.

In view of the revision or the review of the ITMs towards ITM 2025, does CTP feature very prominently in the review? Because as I mentioned last year, my view is it can be an important conduit through which locals upskill effectively with new skills that have a direct knock-on effect on their companies and, of course, on enterprise, in general.

My second question is specifically on the 990 locals and the 140 companies that the Minister spoke of earlier. How many of them received the highest cap of funding at 90%?

Dr Tan See Leng: The CTP is one of the multitude of programmes that we have available in ensuring that we are able to nuance the JTM to match what we have actually set out to achieve under our ITMs. I believe that the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Gan Kim Yong, will provide an update in terms of the effectiveness of the programmes at a later stage.

Suffice to say, we have got a whole host of other programmes like the Company Training Committee (CTC) programme administered by NTUC. Then, WSG works on the Career Conversion Programme (CCP) in helping many of our mid-career job-seekers who want to switch careers. So, it is one of the many programmes that we have available.

As far as the numbers in terms of the 140 companies and the 990 locals are concerned, how much of the funding of up to 90% we have been able to accord, at this particular point in time, I do not have the numbers, but I am happy to provide the details subsequently.

One other point, and I hope that the Leader of the Opposition may want to take note, is that in the last two years during COVID-19, because of border restrictions, the number of companies applying for this particular programme to allow either their employees to go overseas for training or to bring foreign expertise here, has been significantly curtailed. Hence, that speaks for the very low take-up rate over the last two years.

But as border controls ease, as we start opening up, I would expect that the numbers would start to go up again, all the way until the end of the programme in 2024.