Attracting and retaining the necessary manpower to prepare meals for children is proving to be an ongoing challenge for pre-school operators.
In a first for the industry, some 33 preschools run by 28 operators have come together to tap on a centralised meal catering service to offer more than 1,800 children healthier and more nutritious meals while improving productivity at the workplace.
As a result, the participating pre-schools reported an average of 50 per cent in manpower savings and 10 per cent in cost savings.
More than 79 per cent of the participating pre-schools have extended the contract for catered meals after the three-month long pilot ended in December last year. This was shared in a learning journey to TwinkleKidz@Bendemeer with Minister of Manpower Lim Swee Say and Minister of State for Manpower Teo Ser Luck.
Initiated by the Association of Early Childhood and Training Services (ASSETS) in collaboration with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), the centralised meal catering project is supported by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and Workforce Singapore under the Lean Enterprise Development (LED) Scheme.
The LED scheme aims to help local small and medium-sized companies cope with manpower challenges through more efficient processes that improve productivity.
e2i had worked closely with ASSETS in the design of the centralised meal catering project, the selection of the catering vendor, and in redesigning of the job scope for the cooks.
“e2i has been working closely with the preschool industry for recruitment, training and productivity needs. One of the concerns was hiring and retaining of cooks which spurred us to partner with ASSETS to explore more efficient ways… This first-of-its-kind centralised meal catering project will pave the way for more industry-led solutions to help the growing childcare sector,” said e2i CEO Gilbert Tan.
Project Details
The meals served to children in the pre-schools will no longer be prepared on site. Instead, they will come from a central kitchen and delivered fresh daily to the schools.
Prepared by SATS, the meals comply with the nutritional standards set by the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy Meals in Childcare Centres Programme.
With the centralised meal catering, the roles of the cooks at the pre-schools have now been redesigned to enable them to assist the teachers in routine duties.
Other productivity projects in the pipeline include digital solutions to streamline administrative duties and zonal bus services for children.
Enjoying The Benefits
Sharing how the project has helped improve her job, Mdm Letchume Kunchi, a cook and cleaner at TwinkleKidz@Bendemeer said: “Marketing, preparing the food and cooking can be very tiring. It is not easy. We sometimes need to rush in order to prepare the food on time.”
While it used to take her more than two hours to prepare lunch for the children, having the food catered has reduced the time to a mere 15 minutes.
“This gives me time to take care of the kids after I serve out the food. I will also have time for cleaning,” added the 50-year-old.
The initiative not only helps save manpower but it also increases safety as there is no more the need for naked flames in the kitchens or even a full kitchen space.
“These are things that are not visible to the naked eye but this will help reduce the operating cost of the centres and make the work of the teachers and staff more focused on caring for the children rather than divide it between admin and operations.” - Education Services Union (ESU) Executive Secretary Ang Hin Kee
