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3 training providers suspended from all WDA funding

SINGAPORE — Just a little over half a year since the SkillsFuture Credit scheme was launched, three training providers have been suspended from receiving grants and assistance from the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), in relation to the scheme.

SINGAPORE — Just a little over half a year since the SkillsFuture Credit scheme was launched, three training providers have been suspended from receiving grants and assistance from the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), in relation to the scheme.

The WDA said on Friday (July 29) that it has acted against Biz HR Solutionz, A.I. Industries and Alliance Continens after recent audits were conducted on them. 

The three training providers had offered courses eligible for claims under the scheme but their courses have since been delisted from the  SkillsFuture Credit’s course directory. 

Unable to share further details, the WDA added that it had referred the matter to the Commercial Affairs Department. 

According to the WDA, most of the grants and subsidies are in the form of course fee assistance, for example where individuals or employers pay part of the course fee and training providers claim the remaining amount from the WDA. 

There are over 12,000 courses offered by over 530 accredited training providers, which are subjected to regular audits. 

In total, 36 training providers have been suspended from WDA funding for various schemes since 2006.

Several labour Members of Parliament (MP) and human resource experts noted the difficulty in ensuring the quality of courses offered, adding that there are various ways in which companies can exploit loopholes when making claims for grants and subsidies. As such, there is a need for closer scrutiny by the WDA, they said. 

Singapore Human Resource Institute president Erman Tan said one  common infringement by training providers is to over-declare course fees for higher funding. 

However, he added, policing suspicious training providers cannot be done only by the WDA, since members of the public will usually be more aware of “fishy schemes”, such as those which encourage people to sign up for courses without having to attend them. 

“The public also has a duty to ensure this funding is not being abused,” said Mr Tan.

Other breaches include training providers claiming for funding when substandard or no training is conducted, and falsifying documentation such as attendance and results, said MP Patrick Tay, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower.

“This is sometimes done in collusion with, or without knowledge of the trainee … It is therefore important for regular audits and spot checks, including data analytics of the claims submitted by training providers, to surface any unusual patterns,” said Mr Tay, a National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general.

Fellow MP Zainal Sapari, who is also an NTUC assistant secretary-general, added that weeding out suspicious training providers might require more micromanaging on the WDA’s part and more stringent criteria for training providers.

However, the tightening of criteria to prevent potential abuses also should not deter companies from coming forward to run training programmes as having more providers makes training more accessible to workers, Mr Zainal noted. 

He also expressed concerns about the “grey area” of what is considered appropriate courses under SkillsFuture, citing cooking courses offered by the People’s Association as an example. “There are certain courses which are really interest-based which may not directly help workers equip themselves with future-ready skills. And I think we need to have clearer guidelines with regards to some of these courses,” he added.

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