Proposal for Course for Security Guards To Be Made Available in Mandarin and Malay

Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Education whether the Recognition of Security Threat course for security guards can be made available in Mandarin and Malay besides English, especially for those in the industry not conversant in English, but still having to undergo the compulsory course and testing in English.

The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) course in "Threat Observation (Recognise Terrorist Threats)" is designed to equip learners with knowledge on international and local terrorism trends, and to identify threats, whether person-borne, vehicle-borne, or object-based.

It is conducted in English because security officers need to be able to communicate effectively in English, which is the working language in Singapore, in the course of their duty. For example, there will be situations where security officers have to use English to perform security checks, report potential terrorist threats to the authorities, and relay evacuation instructions to the general public.

Learners who are less proficient in English can consider undergoing Workplace Literacy training offered by SSG-funded training providers to upgrade their proficiency in the language.