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The SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme for the food manufacturing sector was launched yesterday, the first of eight sectoral programmes to be rolled out by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA).
Twenty polytechnic graduates have been placed with 12 food manufacturers for the programme, which will culminate in the trainees earning an Advanced Diploma in Applied Food Science awarded by Singapore Polytechnic (SP), the programme manager. Employers involved include The Soup Spoon, Faesol and Nestle R&D. The trainees can expect a starting salary of at least S$1,900. Upon completion of the programme, they may receive a 10 per cent wage increment subject to their performance, and progress to become Senior Food Technologists, Senior Food Process Engineers or Senior Food Quality Assurance Officers. The Earn and Learn Programme, announced in this year’s Budget Statement, places fresh polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education graduates on paid apprenticeships, where they will also earn industry-recognised qualifications. Apart from food manufacturing, it will be rolled out in seven other sectors: Food services, games development, logistics, infocomm technology, marine and offshore engineering, retail, and precision engineering. The food manufacturing programme will focus on developing skills in food product innovation, food safety and quality management, and food processing, which involves using sustainable processing methods, innovative packaging materials and technologies to reduce food waste and extend product shelf-life. There will be classroom training at SP, and training at the workplace using in-house structured training plans developed by SP, Nanyang Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic. The graduates will also work on a company-specific project. Employers who join the programme get incentives of up to S$15,000, and Singapore citizen trainees will get a sign-on incentive of S$5,000. The course fees, which are paid by the companies, are S$10,620. After Ministry of Education subsidies, they amount to S$1,600 for Singaporeans and S$4,250 for permanent residents. Ms Anna Lim, general manager of The Soup Spoon, said the programme would benefit the industry by bringing in new blood. “It will close the gap between the industry and the IHLs (institutes of higher learning), and ensure what IHLs are teaching remains relevant to our fast-changing industry,” she said. “This will benefit our company as being an SME, we may never ever think of hiring a food technologist on the presumption it is expensive . But in today’s fast-changing world, it is necessary to keep ourselves abreast and innovate all the time.” Over-the-counter sales of tiger parts might have gone down, but online trade involving such items has become a concern, said the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), as it revealed findings from a recent undercover investigation of tiger parts trade here.
During the society’s undercover investigation, which took place between March and April this year, only four of the 153 jewellery and antique shops visited were found to be selling alleged tiger parts. A similar ACRES investigation in 2010 found 59 out of 134 shops here offering alleged tiger parts for sale. Tiger parts, such as teeth and claws, are sought after as they are thought to bring good luck to the bearer and serve as protection against evil. At a media conference yesterday, ACRES chief executive Louis Ng said the findings indicated that there was greater awareness of the issue among shop owners now. “The people that were selling tiger parts five years ago were fined, they were prosecuted and the awareness that was generated through the enforcement, and the investigation (in 2010) have resulted in this significant decline now,” he said. However, ACRES expressed concerns over the “brazen attitude” of the four shops alleged to have sold tiger parts, despite being aware of the situation. Three of the shops openly displayed tiger parts, while one produced the items upon request. The findings were submitted to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), resulting in three of the errant shops being investigated and eight pieces of animal parts seized for forensic analysis to determine their authenticity, it said. The AVA was unable to track down the fourth shop, a makeshift stall, despite visiting the site located in front of People’s Park Complex in Chinatown twice. Meanwhile, ACRES hopes to eventually bring the number of shops selling tiger parts to zero through community engagement, such as school talks and road shows. It will also continue its undercover operations to identify and nab errant traders, especially online dealers. Mr Ng said: “I think one of our biggest worries now is that, while we wipe out the trades in shops to a very small percentage, this trade has moved to the online sphere, which makes it slightly difficult to enforce.” A brief online survey conducted by ACRES on Tuesday found over 14 online advertisements promoting tiger parts on that day itself, which the society described as troubling. In response to TODAY’s queries, an AVA spokesperson said the authority has been regularly monitoring traders’ premises, retail outlets islandwide and online sources for sale of illegal wildlife, as well as their parts and products. Anyone found possessing, selling, offering, advertising or displaying for sale any endangered species without a permit could be fined up to S$50,000 per species and/or receive a two-year jail term. The penalties also apply to netizens caught engaging in any of these acts, the spokesperson said. Singaporeans and permanent residents with “less severe” pre-existing health conditions may not have to pay an additional 30 per cent in premiums when MediShield Life kicks in later this year.
Speaking on the sidelines of a media preview of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said his ministry and the Central Provident Fund Board will take a “more flexible approach” in assessing individuals’ health status to determine if they will need to fork out more. “We’ll try as much as possible … even if (individuals have) pre-existing conditions, so long as they are not very severe, we try to not impose this additional premium on them,” said Mr Gan, who added that the health checks will be based on existing medical records, and will likely take place around end June or early July, towards the end of the current phase of household checks that started yesterday. MediShield Life, which is expected to kick in at the end of this year, will provide universal health insurance coverage for all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents. Those with pre-existing conditions will have to pay a flat rate of 30 per cent more in premiums for the first 10 years. The Ministry of Health will share more on the pre-existing conditions that require the additional premium by July. Mr Gan added that individuals subject to the additional premiums will be informed “in due course” and will be able to appeal against the decision. “We will consider the appeals on a case-by-case basis,” he said. KELLY NG The new Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) will begin operations on June 30, which will also mark Jurong Health Services' (JurongHealth) move out of Alexandra Hospital (AH).
The hospital – which integrates a clinic tower, ward tower and Jurong Community Hospital – will open its facilities progressively over a year. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong visited the hospital at Jurong East today (April 29) for a tour of completed facilities including its inpatient wards, specialist outpatient clinics and emergency department. On June 30, the hospital will open with 365 of its 700 beds and 80 out of 120 clinics, with a ramp up over the next 12 months. It will also house 76 community hospital beds which will subsequently be transferred to the Jurong Community Hospital. For the first month, NTFGH's emergency department will receive only walk-in cases to allow operations to stabilise. It will start to receive resuscitation and critically-ill patients from August 1. The Jurong Community Hospital will officially open later this year. AH will be closed from June 30 for renovation and a new team from Sengkang Health will take over its management by third quarter this year. AH will scale down its operations as NTFGH's opening day approaches. From May 30, patients picked up in the vicinity of AH will be brought to the emergency departments of the nearest public hospitals, mainly the Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital. From June 23, patients at AH's emergency department who need to be warded will be admitted to SGH or NUH. JurongHealth will cease operations at the AH site by 5.30am on June 29. After bad weather and heavy air traffic foiled plans to evacuate them from quake-hit Kathmandu on Monday, 89 Singaporeans and permanent residents finally returned home safely from 12.30am today (April 29).
Worry-stricken since the 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal last Saturday, family members who were waiting for hours at Paya Lebar Airbase embraced the evacuees shortly after they disembarked from the two Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130 planes that flew them back. One of them, Mr Chan Siong Cheong, 63, heaved a sigh of relief when he finally saw his 28-year-old son Jack, who had been trekking in Nepal, safe and sound. Recounting his communications with his son after the earthquake, he said: “On his way out of the city, he said the place started shaking. After that, I couldn’t get in touch with him because there was no connection.” Ms Murni Mastan, 38, who managed to get onto the plane only because her friends informed her about the flights on social media, said the experience has left its mark. “I don’t know how to come back to normal after the longest four days of my life.” Another Singaporean tourist in Nepal, Mr Wong C C, said the ordeal has taught him “not to take things for granted ... We saw a lot of things we haven’t seen before — houses crumbling everywhere, in villages especially.” The three C-130s sent by Singapore, carrying medical supplies and aid personnel, touched down in Kathmandu at 4pm yesterday. Two hours later, two of the planes set off for Singapore with the evacuees. As his ministry continues to contact Singaporeans in Nepal and help those wishing to return home do so, Second Foreign Affairs Minister Masagos Zulkifli, who was at the airbase this morning, said the Government is committing an additional S$150,000 for relief efforts in Nepal. “Given the scale of this disaster, as they call for more help, the Singapore Government is putting in another S$150,000 ... to help our friends in Nepal,” he said. The funds will be disbursed through the Singapore Red Cross, which has already received S$100,000 from the Government as seed money. Meanwhile, fundraising in Singapore for relief efforts continue. The Singapore Red Cross yesterday said it would quadruple its contributions to S$200,000 worth of relief items, including household kits, for those who have lost their homes in Nepal. By the end of its second day of collection, a total of more than S$200,000 in walk-in donations and cheques had been amassed. Singapore-based Mercy Relief also said it had collected more than S$195,000 in public donations. Households are set to receive letters informing them of their eligibility for premium and transitional subsidies starting tomorrow, as the roll-out of MediShield Life gets under way.
Of the 1.2 million households receiving these letters, six in 10 will be asked to update or confirm their household information, and the letter will provide instructions on how to do so. The remaining households will not be required to take any action, as these would include those who recently applied for other household-based healthcare schemes, such as the Community Health Assist Scheme whose information was recently updated, and Pioneer Generation members. Their letters would inform them of the types of subsidies they are set to get. The information verified or updated, which must be done by June 19, will determine the amount in subsidies one receives. Once the scheme takes effect, such information will be updated once every two years. Medishield Life, which is expected to kick in at the end of this year, will provide universal health insurance coverage for all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, including those with pre-existing conditions. To ensure premiums remain affordable, permanent premium subsidies will also be available to the bottom two-thirds of households. In addition, a four-year transitional subsidy will be given to all Singaporean citizens whose net premiums increase after the scheme kicks in. To be eligible for premium subsidies, households must meet three criteria: Live in a property with Annual Value (AV) of S$21,000 and below, have a household monthly income per person of S$2,600 and below, and own only one property. At a media briefing on Monday, Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor said this is the first time the Government is relying on existing records and databases. “This is so there is no need to apply for the subsidies and it is to provide convenience to residents, as well as to ensure that as many residents as possible eligible for the subsidies will receive it without the application,” she said. Dr Khor also reiterated that MediShield Life is expected to kick in later this year, but did not give a more specific date. Other issues to be worked out before implementation include finalising the list of pre-existing conditions, with which individuals would pay 30 per cent more in premiums. Residents who wish to update their information can do so online through the E-Service link, which they log in with their letter’s reference number or SingPass. Updates can also be done over the phone through the Medishield Life hotline, or at over 100 physical counters at SingPost, selected community centres and IRAS service centre. Each household will receive one letter and only needs to complete the check once. Those who made changes to their household information as well as those who opt out of the exercise will receive letters acknowledging their changes. For those who do not respond to the household check exercise, premium subsidies will be calculated based on existing information in the Government’s databases. The letter will not reveal the amount in subsidies an eligible household is likely to get, but the Ministry of Health is working on an online subsidy and premium checker. The ministry will be publicising the exercise on media platforms and working with community partners such as the People’s Association, which will be putting up posters at public housing blocks at the end of this week. It has also been briefing grassroots leaders, social service officers and welfare organisations, and engaging the non-English speaking groups. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has launched investigations after a video clip started being circulating yesterday (April 27) of some of its personnel behaving rowdily in a dormitory.
The one-minute clip showed several toppled over double-deck beds cabinets, as well as mattresses and litter strewn around. A couple of the personnel, who sported shortly cropped hair, were also seen smoking in the dormitory, which is an offence. One of them also lifted an ironing board and flung it across the room, drawing laughters. The person filming the clip said: “It’s the last day man, look at the dorm. It’s a ruckus, it’s a ruckus, the dorm is in a ruckus man.” In the background, shouts of “POP lo” could be heard. The acronym purportedly refers to “Passing-out Parade”, which is the graduation ceremony from training. In a post on its Facebook page, the SCDF said it “takes a serious view on the matter and has already commenced investigation”. “Disciplinary action will be taken against those who are involved,” it added. More land parcels, each with a lease period of 30 years, could be made available for the setting up of international schools.
A closed-door briefing will be held next month for a Request-For-Interest (RFI) exercise for foreign schools — the fourth since 2008 — said the inter-agency committee chaired by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) yesterday. Details of these sites and their specifications will be announced at the briefing, but the Government will only decide whether to proceed with awarding the sites at the end of the RFI exercise. In a press release issued yesterday, the EDB said the exercise will ensure that there is a range of high-quality schools and curricula available to meet the diverse educational needs of children of international executives here. “Availability of quality schools for children of international executives is a key consideration when they decide on a posting location. Foreign system schools play a part in strengthening Singapore’s position as an attractive global city and home for business,” said Mr Alvin Tan, EDB’s assistant managing director and chair of the inter-agency RFI committee. “The long tenure of the RFI land sites will encourage schools to invest in the necessary infrastructure and resources to deliver high-quality education options.” The first RFI was started in 2008, when demand for international schools peaked and many of these schools were either full or had waiting lists. To relieve pressure on these schools, the Government released more land in the first and second RFI exercises in 2008 and 2010, respectively. The previous exercise in 2012 saw four sites in Depot Road, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Bedok being made available. So far, 16 sites have been offered — some sites have been offered for more than one exercise. International schools that were successfully awarded land sites in previous exercises included prestigious British independent school Dulwich College, Stamford American International School, as well as the Overseas Family School’s newest campus in Pasir Ris that will be ready by August this year. Out of eight international schools TODAY contacted yesterday, only GEMS World Academy Singapore said it was interested in the latest exercise. “GEMS Education will attend the RFI closed-door session to learn more and review whether another model of GEMS school could be appropriate for Singapore,” said the school’s head of education David Edwards. The other schools could not respond by press time or did not indicate interest in the exercise. The EDB said applications submitted by schools will be based on the quality of the proposal, the track record of the school, its ability to meet market demand, as well as the financial ability of the foreign school operator. More details on the evaluation criteria and RFI sites will be provided at the closed-door briefing. Consumers here are finding it harder to keep up with their bills, budget effectively and manage unsecured loans, leading the Republic to record the largest decline in financial literacy in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a survey.
The latest MasterCard Financial Literacy Index, released today (April 27), saw Singapore dropping from second to sixth place. The Republic scored 68 points out of 100, a drop of four points from the previous survey conducted in 2013. The decline was the largest recorded among the 16 Asia-Pacific markets surveyed in the study, said MasterCard today. Taiwan came in first with 73 points, followed by New Zealand at 71 and Hong Kong, 70. Countries which saw a drop in their scores were New Zealand, by three points, while Australia and Japan each fell by two points. The survey, conducted between July and August last year, involved over 8,000 respondents, aged 18 to 64, in 16 economies in the region. A total of 500 respondents took part in the Singapore survey. According to MasterCard, the decline in financial literacy among consumers in Singapore was largely due to a lack of understanding in basic money management — a component in the survey which examines respondents’ skills when it comes to budgeting, savings and responsibility of credit usage. Respondents here scored particularly low in the areas of managing unsecured loans and saving for big purchases. This component, which has the heaviest weightage of 50 per cent in the entire survey, saw a drop of about six points from the 2013 survey. The remaining components include financial planning, which assesses respondents’ knowledge about financial products, and investment, which evaluates their basic understanding of investment risks, among other things. Responding to the findings, MasterCard Singapore group head and general manager Deborah Heng said one way to improve financial literacy is to start financial education from young. “A practical understanding of how to manage money, including saving and borrowing, should be provided by parents and taught at school,” she said. The goal is to eventually develop financial know-how so that people can effectively manage money matters, such as household cash-flows and loans, Ms Heng added. To help students become more financially savvy, MasterCard has been working with Junior Achievement, an organisation which teaches students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through hands-on programmes, for more than three years now. Credit counsellors TODAY spoke to, however, felt that there is a limit to how much education can help improve the situation since there are other factors influencing one’s financial management. “Just because you have the knowledge, it doesn’t mean you won’t get into trouble,” said Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) general manager Tan Huey Min. For example, there are people who are prepared to take loans in pursuit of their material wants, such as branded bags or gadgets. Some of these people only consider the minimum sum they have to pay for their credit card bills at the end of the month, ignoring the total amount they have spent, Ms Tan said. Counsellor Deborah Queck, from Blessed Grace Social Services, noted that people with loan problems are usually those who fail to give enough thought on repaying the borrowed sum, since they are more concerned with getting the money first. And with credit cards offering them easy and fast plastic money, these people do not understand the gravity of the issue until they are unable to repay even the minimum sum owed, said Ms Queck, who has been helping those with money issues for the past seven years. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday is a disaster of the “highest category” of severity, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday, as he joined several Cabinet ministers in expressing his condolences to the nation.
The assessment, said Dr Ng, was made by the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (RHCC). “So far, more than 30 aftershocks have occurred, some of them measuring as high as 6.6 on the Richter Scale. With a population of 1 million people in Kathmandu within a land area of 50.67 sq km (roughly the size of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC), Changi RHCC assesses this disaster to be in the highest category,” he said in a Facebook post. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said in a Facebook post that he visited Gurkha officers yesterday morning, some of whom hail from the affected regions. “Our thoughts are with our officers and families. We thank the many generations of Gurkhas for your service to Singapore.” Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who was in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN Summit, said he was deeply saddened and has conveyed his condolences to Nepal’s Foreign Minister. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit, he said: “Other ASEAN countries expressed their condolences. I am sure that they will be doing what they can, each one within their capabilities.” |
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