4,500 workers to get about 5% more above annual increment
Around 4,500 workers will receive an average wage increase of 5 per cent above their annual increment as part of the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant scheme.
The workers are among 6,000 employees, including professionals, managers, executives and rank-and-file staff, across about 260 companies with CTC grants who could benefit from a wage increase or structured career pathways through the Career Development Plan (CDP).
The CTC Grant allows companies undergoing transformation to raise their productivity, redesign jobs or improve staff prospects by co-funding up to 70 per cent of the qualifying costs, said the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on Nov 6.
Companies can opt to use funding from the grant to cover in-house and external training, consultancy services or equipment-related training.
The labour union has established more than 2,700 CTCs since the scheme’s inception in 2019, surpassing its target of 2,500 by 2025.
“Three in four will have better wages with improved productivity and the others can look forward to better work prospects,” said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng during a visit to Raffles Hotel Singapore on Nov 6.
Companies can qualify for the grant by committing to providing workers with a recurrent – or a one-time – skills allowance to recognise their upskilling efforts.
NTUC did not state a quantum for the allowance but said the amount and frequency will be on a case-by-case basis and in fitting with the type of project.
Companies were previously required to commit to providing a wage increase or implementing a CDP for their employees.
Firms with workers whose job roles will be transformed can commit to providing staff with a recurrent skills allowance.
Take a customer service associate who needs to learn new technology to improve his productivity. As this requires training to upskill himself to the redesigned role that is part of the company’s transformation project, he could receive a recurrent skills allowance.
Workers whose job roles are not transformed but need to undergo upskilling to support the implementation of the transformation project can be given a one-time skills allowance.
Raffles Hotel Singapore, which has applied for the CTC Grant, is replacing its decade-old server-based procurement system to a cloud-based, paperless one.
The new system, which is designed to streamline work processes such as purchasing and inventory management, will reduce manual workflow and improve productivity.
For instance, it will be used to procure food and beverage ingredients for the hotel’s restaurants Long Bar and Butcher’s Block. This means suppliers can receive orders and upload invoices onto the digital procurement system.
Nearly 100 of its workers will be trained – some undergoing job redesign and training – to use the new system after its implementation in 2025.
“In the hotel, we can receive real-time notifications from suppliers and make payment without using physical documents,” said Raffles Hotel Singapore purchasing manager Terence Lim.
The hotel will have more time to train employees and improve their work ability and other skills, he added.
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