Some 27 percent of Singaporeans aged between 15 and 64 received job-related training or education in the 12 months ending June 2005, up from the 25 percent recorded in the previous year, Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced in a report Monday.

The MOM's "Adult Training 2005" report found that the unemployed registered a lower training incidence but more training time than those who work, while the older and less educated continued to fall behind those younger and higher educated in both training participation and intensity.

The average training duration for each trainee was 15 days in 2005.

The insurance industry registered the highest training incidence of 59 percent, which was followed by public administration and education, health and social work, as well as financial institutions.

Training was least practiced in the restaurant industry and the wholesale and retail trade industry where 8.8 precent and 14 percent of the workers were trained respectively in the 12-month period.

Employers' suggestion, self initiation and legal or professional requirements were the top three reasons for trainees, while those who did not participate in training last year said that factors like career prospect improvement, employer or government funding, more spare time and suitable courses, would motivate them to take up training.

"Workers who underwent training generally reported positive outcomes," the report said, adding that 83 percent of them believed that the training they received enabled them to refresh their knowledge and skills while 69 percent of them said that the training helped them perform better on their current jobs.

Source: Xinhua