For five years, 29-year-old Raihan Rahim had been doing odd-jobs to earn an income for his family.
He did whatever job he could get his hands on through his network of friends.
“I would ask around if there was anything I could help out with for pay. When there were jobs for me, such as helping with movers, I would earn some cash. But on days when nothing was available, I wouldn’t have any income,” he said.
Previously, Raihan used to work in a logistics company but left due to what he said were “complicated reasons”.
In those five years after he left the company, he kept searching for a full-time job.
“My highest qualification is Secondary 2. You know, I believe many employers still look at qualifications rather than experience when they hire. I kept applying for full-time jobs, and I kept getting rejected,” said Raihan.
But he never gave up on his search.
“I have a wife and three kids. I need to take care of them. I had to do something to give them more stability. Doing odd-jobs was really tiring. Looking for a daily paying job consumed too much of time. Even after spending the day reaching out to my network of friends, it was still uncertain that I would have anything,” he said.
In February this year, his friend told him about a job opportunity at Yakin Distribution, a local F&B distribution SME.
Fortunately for Raihan, the company is a member company of the NTUC Job Security Council (JSC).
The JSC is an initiative of NTUC that provides transition support to at-risk or displaced workers with career coaching, skills evaluation, access to training, job-search assistance and job-matching services to improve their employment prospects and match them into new jobs.
For Raihan, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and the company worked together to arrange a career trial for him to determine his suitability for an assistant supervisory role in the company.
In the end, they mapped out a training plan to equip Raihan with the necessary skills to excel at his new job in Yakin Distribution.
The on-the-job training proved useful and helped Raihan fit into the role of a versatile team leader with the company. He became a full-time staff in Yakin Distribution a month after embarking on the career trial, on 6 March 2020.
“The training took me quite some time to get used to. Some of the training was a refresher for me as I had a bit of experience in logistics. For the training that dealt with technology such as using computer systems, my mentors in the company patiently guided me,” he said.
Raihan has proven to be a good team leader.
As part of his job today, he manages a team and looks after their safety in operations. He also maintains a good relationship with the company’s customers and guides his colleagues on their delivery routes.
“Every day is a new challenge. Every challenge is different and needs a different approach. A full-time job was what I’ve always been looking for, and now I have the opportunity to prove myself,” said Raihan.
To those struggling to look for work, Raihan said: “Never give up. Do what you can to improve your skills and capabilities. You have to work hard to get what you want. There are opportunities out there, and help is there for you. But these opportunities don’t just fall on your lap. You have to go out and grab them for yourself,” he said.
