By Sue Ann-Chia
MORE workers who receive training are changing jobs, a move the Government says shows a national training scheme is equipping them with relevant skills.
Almost three in 10 workers with Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) training had changed jobs, compared with two in 10 workers without such training, according to a government study of labour mobility between June 2007 and June 2009.
The study also says that WSQ training has improved the chances of low-skilled workers to move up the career ladder. It noted that among workers such as cleaners and labourers who underwent WSQ, more clinched new jobs in the services sector, clerical or craftsmen occupations.
These new-found opportunities highlighted in the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) study emerged from a poll of 36,000 workers who were asked whether they had changed jobs during the two-year period of study. These workers had originally taken part in last year's labour force survey.
'The findings have given WDA even greater impetus to expand and further develop the WSQ system to better meet the needs of our industries and workers,' said its chief executive Chan Heng Kee.
They also show the WSQ system is helping workers move to new jobs as the economy and industry evolve, he added. Since its launch in 2005, almost 400,000 workers have attended WSQ courses.