The PAP regime’s ‘wayang’ to encourage employers to send their ‘foreign talents’ for a non-compulsory English test following widespread complaints by Singaporeans and tourists alike at their poor command of the English language appears to backfire dramatically as there are few takers.
The Service Literacy Test (SLT) was introduced last year to help boost the English standards of work permit holders working in the service industry and those who passes the test will have to pay $100 in foreign worker levy.
Despite the ‘carrot’, only 420 companies enrolled a total of 1,650 work permit holders for the test, according to figures from the Manpower Ministry (MOM), a fraction of some 422,000 work permit holders employed in the manufacturing, process and service industries as of December last year.
When contacted by the state media, MOM refused to divulge the passing rate of those foreigners who took the test.
Unlike other countries, Singapore does not impose any mandatory English tests for foreigners seeking employment in Singapore.
For example, Singaporeans who wish to work in Australia, New Zealand and Canada must first pass an English proficiency test known as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
With the PAP having won the ‘mandate’ to govern Singapore for another five years, Singaporeans can expect more substandard foreign service staff who cannot speak a single word of English.
After all, as PAP supreme leader Lee Kuan Yew said a few weeks ago:
The Service Literacy Test (SLT) was introduced last year to help boost the English standards of work permit holders working in the service industry and those who passes the test will have to pay $100 in foreign worker levy.
Despite the ‘carrot’, only 420 companies enrolled a total of 1,650 work permit holders for the test, according to figures from the Manpower Ministry (MOM), a fraction of some 422,000 work permit holders employed in the manufacturing, process and service industries as of December last year.
When contacted by the state media, MOM refused to divulge the passing rate of those foreigners who took the test.
For example, Singaporeans who wish to work in Australia, New Zealand and Canada must first pass an English proficiency test known as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
With the PAP having won the ‘mandate’ to govern Singapore for another five years, Singaporeans can expect more substandard foreign service staff who cannot speak a single word of English.
After all, as PAP supreme leader Lee Kuan Yew said a few weeks ago:
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