Mr Wan (far right) with his coursemates, his Taiwanese waitress colleague Sophia Lu, 23 and Chinese national Zhou De Jun, a houseman at the Ritz-Carlton. — ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
Dec 3, 2009
Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test
SINGAPOREANS know too well the frustrations of not being understood by service staff from foreign lands when out for a meal or shopping in Orchard Road.
New rules, however, are going to be introduced to help resolve the problem.
From the third quarter of next year, new foreign workers have to clear an English proficiency test before they can get a work permit as a skilled worker.
This will also lower their foreign worker levy, saving an employer $90 a month for each hire.
The new requirement is part of a government move to raise standards in three industries where speaking English is key to delivering good service: retail, food and beverage (F&B), and hotels.
Employers are delighted with the change, which was announced yesterday by the Minister of State for Manpower as well as Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan.
Said Mr Lee: ‘English is the working language in Singapore. This is particularly important in industries such as hotels, retail and F&B, where workers interact regularly with customers.’
He made the point at the graduation ceremony of a basic conversational English course for foreign workers. It was held at the NTUC LearningHub’s campus in Mountbatten.
The course was initiated by the NTUC LearningHub and the Migrant Workers Centre, a non-profit organisation that offers aid to foreign workers here.
It came about after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said recently that the Government was looking into ways to address the problem of foreigners in service jobs who cannot understand basic English.
PM Lee gave the assurance after Singaporeans had complained long and loud about foreigners who do not understand even simple phrases like ‘chilli’ or ‘no chilli’.
To encourage the learning of English, Mr Lee Yi Shyan said employers who hire foreigners proficient in the language will pay $150 a month for the skilled worker, who must also possess relevant skills certification.
Otherwise, the employer will pay $240, the levy for an unskilled worker.
More details on the proficiency test, and how the rule will affect existing foreign workers, will be released next month.
The three sectors hire a total of 320,000 workers. Of these, up to half could be foreigners.
Minister of State Lee said the new rule is propelled by the need to boost productivity in the service sector, which has been on the decline.
Last year, productivity among hotels and restaurants fell by 9 per cent, and continues to drop further this year.
He said: ‘There is a lot of room for productivity improvement in the service sector. And if you want to improve the productivity of service workers, apart from functional skills, the ability to communicate is also very important.’
He also urged employers to view the cost of training staff to meet the language requirement as an investment towards staying competitive.
Employers in the three sectors hailed the language rule.
Said managing director Hensley Teh of womenswear retailer M)phosis: ‘There is a need for both locals and foreigners in the service line to have a command of English, but the requirement may be more essential for foreign workers.’
Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei suggests that the tests focus on service-related communication skills, rather than generic English proficiency.
She said: ‘The kind of communication required of someone working in a fashion store would be quite different from that required of someone working in an electronics store, and this must be reflected in the assessment process.’
The human resource director of Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel, Ms Eileen Ang, however, is worried that the shortage of English-speaking workers will worsen with the opening of the integrated resorts.
But Mr Raj Giri, training and operations manager for cinema operator Golden Village, believes it is a matter of looking in the right places.
‘In China, a lot of people are progressing, upgrading and I’m sure if we knock on the right doors, we will be able to find workers who can speak English.’
Related posts:
[...] Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test (ST 3 Dec) [...]
[...] original here: Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test (ST 3 Dec) By admin | category: retail, retail service | tags: are-delighted, change, [...]