By Kor Kian Beng

ONE training provider ran courses at midnight for factory workers on the graveyard shift while another - already at full capacity - rented temporary space so it could train more workers.

Workforce Development Agency (WDA) chief executive Chan Heng Kee cited these examples yesterday to show how a government-sponsored scheme has led to an increase in demand for training since it was launched on Dec 1 last year.

Figures he gave showed how the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) - which provides subsidised training to companies and workers - accelerated growth in the rapidly expanding training industry.

The number of training providers accredited by the WDA to run Workforce Skills Qualification programmes has jumped from 241 in March last year to 386 now.

This includes 43 training providers and four new Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres that were added after Spur's launch.

CET centres equip adult workers with skills to stay employed, and Mr Chan said the network of centres was key to the quick implementation of training programmes.

Training providers told The Straits Times that Spur triggered the jump in demand for courses and training providers.

Mr Lee Tong Nge, director of the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies, said demand for its courses has climbed 50 per cent since January.

At this rate, he said, the institute - which runs courses in retail operations, supervision and management - will train up to 15,000 people this year, surpassing last year's figure of 10,000.

He gave two reasons: Individuals concerned about job security are upgrading themselves. Also, companies are sending workers for training amid a reduced workload, and to draw on the training subsidies and absentee payroll provided by Spur.

Mr Lee said the institute, which has 11 training rooms at its HDB Hub premises in Toa Payoh, may lease four more rooms from a private school in the same building to meet the demand.

Another training provider, the Electronics Industries Training Centre (Elitc), is training more than 400 workers daily - up from 100-plus previously, said executive director Chan Weng Nu.

Elitc is running almost on a 24/7 basis as companies that operate 12-hour rotating shifts but face reduced factory orders are sending night-shift workers for training instead.

'Since the end of Chinese New Year, we've practically not switched off the lights at our centre,' he said.

There have been five occasions since January when Elitc - situated at the industrial estate in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 - sent trainers, as well as equipment, to factories to hold classes for night-shift workers.

Ms Rexanna Kok, executive director of Kaplan Professionals, which provides training in areas such as workplace literacy, time management and decision making, has seen the number of trainees increase by five times this year.

Kaplan has set up a dedicated team, hired more trainers and rented more classrooms to meet the demand, she said.

The increased demand has added pressure on training providers to respond quicker, she said.

As for whether the rapid expansion in the training industry could lead to a dip in standards, WDA's Mr Chan said he was aware of such concerns.

But he said the agency has not de-registered any training providers for failing to meet industry standards.

On how the WDA could help the industry deal with the increase in demand for training, he said the agency and the labour movement's Employment and Employability Institute in Bukit Merah could make classrooms available to training providers who were operating at full capacity.

He added that the WDA had, in some cases, disbursed funds in advance to training providers to ease their cash flow, should they need to expand facilities.

The key to ensuring quality control is to have a stringent accreditation procedure, he added.

This is in place at the WDA. Training providers must go through two rounds of checks and achieve a minimum standard before they can be accredited to run courses. The agency also makes regular checks on training providers to ensure that the effectiveness and standards of courses are maintained, he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.