Under the new Employment Agency (EA) regulatory framework, effective from 1 April 2011, all EA personnel need to be certified and registered by 31 March 2012 in order to perform EA work.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported that as of 14 February 2012, over 85% of Key Appointment Holders (KAHs) have received certification. However, there are still 542 KAHs who have yet to undergo the Certificate of Employment Intermediaries (CEI).

KAHs who fail to be certified by 31 March 2012 will be de-registered. Their activities will be restricted as follows:

• They will not be able to perform EA work from 1 April 2012.
• Their account access to the Work Permit On-Line and Employment Pass On-Line will be suspended.
• Those who continue to perform EA work will be committing an offence.

What is the CEI?

The Certificate of Employment Intermediaries (CEI) equips employment agency personnel with the necessary knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations. The course also gives them an understanding of their obligations and rights under the law.

KAHs are persons in EAs who have general control and management of EA-related work. They are required to attend either a 40-hour or 28-hour CEI course, depending on whether they are involved in placing foreign employees. The 40-hour course covers:

• company law
• contract law
• key employment laws such as the amended Employment Agencies Act (EAA), the Employment Act (EA) and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), while the 28-hour course omits the EFMA portion

The other EA personnel, or non-KAHs, are required to attend either a 32-hour or 20-hour CEI course, depending on whether they are involved in placing foreign employees.

All CEI courses are conducted by Absolute Kinetics Consultancy Pte Ltd, Grace Management & Consultancy Services Pte Ltd and Singapore Polytechnic.

Read more about CEI on the MOM website.