By Goh Chin Lian, Senior Political Correspondent

THE number of workers getting trained this year looks set to surge.

More than 43,000 have already signed up to a government-sponsored training scheme aimed at saving jobs in the first three months since its December launch.

And the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) - which anticipates a growth in demand for certified training courses - is doubling the number of training places available to 220,000 this year.

This was disclosed by the agency's new chief executive Chan Heng Kee yesterday when he presented its annual report card at the close of its financial year.

'Two-thirds are sent by companies and the rest are individuals, at-risk workers, unemployed, signing up on their own,' he said.

'We could see the momentum building up from the first month, second month, third month. The magnitude of increase has been accelerating.'

He was referring to the impact of the $650 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur), launched on Dec 1 last year.

The scheme was one of several government measures to help firms and workers cope with the deepest recession here since independence - a situation sparked by the worst global economic decline in 60 years.

Mr Chan also addressed concerns that have arisen since the introduction of Spur, under which the Government pays part of workers' wages while they are on training, and subsidises their training fees.

One concern is the adequacy of training infrastructure to meet the needs of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), in particular.

Mr Chan, who took over at the WDA on Dec 1, acknowledged that Spur's initial focus was on training courses for mid-level and rank-and-file employees.

But it became clear as the economic downturn unfolded that many PMETs were also among the retrenched.

This led to a roll-out of more professional conversion programmes to help affected PMETs move into growth sectors such as health care and logistics.

Mr Chan expects to have 40 to 50 such programmes up and running by the end of this year - an increase from 26 now.

Still, the take-up rate has not caught up with the fast pace at which programmes are being rolled out: Of the 3,500 training places now available to PMETs, only 500 have been taken up.

Explaining the reluctance among some PMETs was Mr Ronald Lim, 45, who was laid off three months ago from his regional marketing job.

'There's a growing group of PMETs trying to convert. But like some, I'm finding it more difficult to change my thinking. I've always been going regional, so it's a change to stay put in Singapore and sit behind the desk.'

Another issue is the proportionally low number of small and medium enterprises subscribing to courses under Spur.

Of the 700-plus companies that have tapped Spur for funding, 240 were small firms employing under 200 workers each.

This is even though SMEs, as a whole, employ over half of the Singapore workforce, noted Mr Chan.

Explaining the low take-up, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Lawrence Leow said one reason is that SMEs have too few workers to spare for training.

Another reason: SMEs may not find Spur programmes relevant to their training needs, said Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary-general Lim Sah Soon.The SCCCI will tackle this issue at a briefing with trade associations on April 22.

The higher demand for training has led to a boom in business for training providers. But National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob said there was a need for the WDA to develop enough quality training providers.

One training provider that has gained from the boom is Training Vision.

Managing director David Kwee knows of many companies which tap Spur just to save costs and which send workers for training to keep them occupied. Advising them to think long-term instead, he said: 'Smart companies would look at the kind of workforce they want to have when the upturn in the economy comes around, and strategically select courses.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.