Budget is a key challenge in upskilling staff of SMEs, according to survey
Seven in ten SME organizations in Singapore have expressed that they want support in terms of training resources, according to a new study from the National Trades Union Congress LearningHub (NTUC LHUB). NTUC's recent Workplace Learning in Workplace Transformation (WLWT) report revealed that 68% of SMEs want more support in the form of training resources to upskill their staff. Another pressing area where they require assistance include "getting support from employees" with 65% and "more government training support" at 55%.
According to 50% of the SMEs in the study, the "lack of budget" is a key challenge in upskilling the workforce. Another 48% said that making workers attend upskilling training can be "disruptive to daily operations," while 43% cited other challenges when it comes to implementing workforce training programmes.
Anthony Chew, NTUC LHUB director of Infocomm Technology, said that they are hoping to "enable more businesses to tap on training resources, government funding, and support schemes" as the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore. He added that this is make a business transformation that "human-centric."
"Being the key pillar of our economy, SMEs must also be proactive in the employability of their existing workforce to survive and thrive in a new world order. We stand ready to work with SME leaders to provide their workforce with outcome-focused training so that their workers are well-equipped with job-ready skills," he said in a statement.
The report further revealed that SMEs are the slowest in coming up with plans to improve training for their employees. This is compared to their larger counterparts. SMEs are also the least likely to use post-training feedback and make improvements to training methods.
The WLTW report surveyed 150 business leaders and 300 employees across various industries in Singapore. It also interviewed human resource experts.
