NTUC Foodfare Co-operative Limited has reinforced its commitment to increase the employability of ex-offenders and help them re-integrate into the Singapore workforce.
It has pledged $100,000 to train inmates in basic culinary skills that are recognised in the food & beverage industry as well as offer advanced culinary courses to those with a flair for cooking.
This is a renewal of the Collaborative Agreement (CA) NTUC Foodfare inked in 2009 with the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE), with an earlier commitment of $100,000.
Speaking at the CA signing ceremony on 21 August 2012 at Changi Prison Centre, NTUC Foodfare Chairman Tan Kian Chew said: “Our partnership with SCORE is a shared passion and commitment that through our everyday business, we are able to make a difference in our community, which in this case provides inmates with a set of marketable skills in food planning and preparation.”
NTUC Foodfare, which has employed on average about 12 ex-offenders a year since 2009, will also be setting up a 7,500 square feet bakery workshop within Changi Prison Complex to enable 40 more inmates to pick up new skills. This is on top of the current 200 inmates they train a year under the culinary programme.
Current courses include the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), basic food hygiene, food & beverage service training, the nationally recognised ITE Industrial Skills Certificate in Food Preparation as well as intermediate and advanced culinary programmes such as the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) in F&B and culinary courses by professionals like Mendaki’s training arm, Sense and Oriton School.
