Mr Cheah Weng Wong, Chief Operating Officer
Polar Puffs & Cakes
As Chief Operating Officer of a three-generation family business established since 1926, Weng Wong understands that a company’s ability to adapt to change makes all the difference. To keep up with ever-changing customer preferences, Polar Puffs & Cakes has always kept staff training on the agenda.
While some employers think sending staff for training means losses in manpower and operation, Weng Wong believes, once properly planned, training will provide obvious improvements in productivity and service quality. “Better skills equate to productivity. After returning from the courses, employees also possess greater confidence, which in turn translates into better service,” he said.
Polar Puffs & Cakes also provides bite-size on-the-job training to improve employees’ skills and productivity.
To date, Polar Puffs & Cakes has already sent more than 200 employees for courses. Weng Wong says, “If there is no training, the company’s productivity may dip and even regress. Workfare Training Support (WTS) helps defray the cost of training but the company must first embrace the scheme in order to enjoy the benefits.”
What is the Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme?
WTS provides higher training course fee funding, cash awards for continuous training and a structured programme to upgrade the skills of Singaporean workers. This will aid in better job performance as well as improve workers’ ability to take on better jobs.
This is through course fee funding & absentee payroll, training commitment award, and Workfare-skill Up
What’s new with Workfare
Workfare will be enhanced in 2013 to provide better support to eligible Singaporeans.
During Budget Speech 2013, enhancements relating to the Workfare Income Supplement scheme (WIS) were announced. About 480,000 Singaporeans are expected to receive $650m in WIS for work done in 2013. The changes will apply to work done from 1 January 2013 onwards. This means that the first WIS payment under the enhanced scheme will be made to employees on 1 June 2013 for work done from January to March 2013. More details on the changes can be found here.
More details on enhancements to the Workfare Training Support scheme will be announced during the Ministry of Manpower’s Committee of Supply speech in March 2013.