Employee Rewards and Benefits News
Government picks up 70% of HR training bill for SMEs
SINGAPORE: The Singapore government is offering to pick up 70% of the tab for small firms reviewing their human resources processes with the help of specialist consultants.
Businesses must sign up between August 1 and January 31, 2010 for funding help and expert advice from management consultants.
Funded by Spring Singapore, the scheme will set up projects under the Human Resource Capability Programme.
Spring chief executive Png Cheong Boon said: 'Manpower recruitment continues to be rated among the top three hindrances to growth for most SMEs.”
He adds that the new programme should encourage SMEs to improve HR management capabilities; employee benefit technology as well as better attract and retain good employees.
Spring and the Workforce Development Agency put together the HR Capability Package last October.
The scheme looks to be popular with bosses, as a free online download about the offer has been accessed more than 10,000 times from the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) web site.
The package is an HR toolkit for small businesses, and includes templates, guidelines and tools on benefits administration and benefits communication.
SNEF also offers subsidised short courses to train firms how to get the best from the toolkit.
About 100 companies have already benefited from HR workers experiencing from the programme, but some firms have difficulties making best use of the new procedures that they learn.
To overcome this problem, the HR Capability Programme will send a consultant to help implement the policies and guidelines.
Companies have to put a proposal to SNEF explaining their HR needs and how a consultant could help meet them.
The company has to pick three out of six available HR modules to comprise a project.
Each module's consultancy costs is S$3,000, but firms taking all the modules have the price discounted to S$15,000.
Spring funds 70% of the price under the Business Upgrading Initiatives for Long-term Development (Build) scheme, which runs until January 31 next year.
For firms taking all six modules and requesting consultancy advice, the cost is S$15,000 plus 30% of the consultancy project cost.
Importance of HR
Kee Chia Choon, director of SMEHR at SNEF, said: "Businesses should consider spending on consultancy services as their overall turnover cost may be even higher if HR functions are not managed properly.
"As recruitment costs stacks up, the cost of people leaving stacks up and non-compliance of employment laws stacks up.'
Companies qualify by meeting HR Capability Programme criteria that includes:
§ Downloading the HR Capability Package
§ Attending the short SNEF courses
§ Meet conditions like at least 30% of the company shareholding must be local and total fixed assets should be below S$15 million.
If the scheme is a success, funding may be available for further HR consultancy grants in the next financial year.
