SINGAPORE: Parliament on Tuesday passed a law to deal with the abuse of SkillsFuture funding, including false or misleading advertisements about Government-funded courses.
They must also have entered the arrangement with the intention to dishonestly induce SSG to provide funding to them, or someone else. The Government’s continued investment in SkillsFuture is critical in preparing the workforce for the future economy, she added. An advertisement that includes fake information about the contents of the SSG-funded course or the skills acquired through the course would also be considered false or misleading.“For example, courses were advertised to be funded by SSG, accredited under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications credentials, or would lead to a government-issued diploma, when they are not,” she added.
Errant providers found guilty of this offence will be liable for a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or a maximum of six months in prison, said MOE and SSG in the press release. An additional fine of S$1,000 per day may be imposed if the offence continues after the errant provider is convicted. “At this juncture, I would like to make it clear that our intention is not to penalise administrative lapses or genuine mistakes of the training providers that could occur from time to time,” she added.
“Persons authorised by SSG may enter premises, take photos and videos, access documents, and ask for returns within a specified period. However, these powers are limited and are not sufficient for the investigation of offences,” she added. “The new offences and related provisions in the Bills seek to enable SSG to better deter and take appropriate action against abuse of funding given by SSG, and misrepresentation of SSG’s schemes,” she said.
Assistant secretary-general of NTUC Patrick Tay said there is a need for"robust safeguards in place to prevent abuses of power", and called for better communication between SSG and companies offering training. He also called for training providers to not be allowed to recruit commission-based agents for any SSG-funded courses.
Responding to the concerns of MPs in her closing speech, Ms Gan noted that about 660,000 individuals and 24,000 businesses have benefited from SSG-supported programmes.
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