About 4,500 workers will get an average pay raise of 5 percent over and above their annual increment under the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant program.
These workers are part of a group of 6,000 employees, which includes professionals, managers, executives, and rank-and-file staff, spread across about 260 companies that have CTC grants. Many of these employees are in need of a raise or some sort of structured career path which they can find through the Career Development Plan (CDP).
The CTC Grant, introduced by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in 2019, allows companies to transform to enhance productivity, redesign jobs, or improve staff prospects. This grant finances up to 70 percent of eligible expenses for training (in-house and external), consultancy services, or equipment-related training.
While visiting Raffles Hotel Singapore on Nov 6, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng stated that the establishment of over 2,700 CTCs has surpassed the target of 2,500 by 2025, with 3 in 4 workers expected to receive better wages alongside improved productivity. Firms receiving the grant pledge to give employees a recurring or lump sum skilling allowance to compensate for their skilling efforts.
The amount and frequency of the skills allowance will be determined on a case-by-case basis and aligned with the nature of the project. Previously, companies were required to commit to providing a wage increase or implementing a CDP for their employees, and those employees whose job positions change will pledge to provide a recurring training stipend. But ah, those requiring upgrading for the purpose of transition projects will get a single training pay.
One of the participants of the CTC Grant is the Raffles Hotel Singapore, which is making the switch from a years-old server-based purchasing system to a cloud-based one. This should make the purchasing and inventory tracking systems much more efficient, eliminating much of the manual workflow, and increasing productivity. After the system is up and running in 2025, the hotel will train nearly 100 of its employees to use the system.
Terence Lim, the purchasing manager at Raffles Hotel Singapore, mentioned that the new system allows real-time notifications from suppliers and facilitates paperless payment processes.
