ION Orchard to boost Job Opportunities in Retail Sector
MEDIA RELEASE
Singapore, 13 April 2009 – With less than four months to go before Singapore’s newest retail mall begins operations, ION Orchard today announced the beginning of a comprehensive recruitment exercise that will give jobseekers much cause for cheer.
Over three thousand positions across a wide range of functions will be created, as Orchard Turn Developments, which manages the iconic mall at the heart of Orchard Road, will be conducting interviews and screening candidates for mall management as well as on behalf of its portfolio of tenants.
In addition to frontline customer service and technical jobs, the recruitment exercise will fill a variety of retail positions offered by the mall’s committed tenants including Burberry, Club 21, Mango, Muji, Richemont Luxury, Sephora, Starbucks Coffee, Swatch and Zara, to name a few.
Designed in collaboration with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the recruitment exercise will include an extensive screening process to identify appropriate candidates to meet the diverse needs of the mall’s mix of tenants. As key strategic partners of ION Orchard, WDA and e2i will facilitate the employment of jobseekers with the right aptitude and equip selected candidates with relevant skills for specific job requirements.
“With more than 300 tenants at our mall requiring people with different skill sets, our partnership with WDA and e2i will be instrumental in our recruitment drive,” said Ms Soon Su Lin, Chief Executive Officer of Orchard Turn Developments Pte Ltd. “We are committed to finding people with the right skills and aptitude to ensure we deliver a high and consistent service quality across all aspects of the mall. WDA and e2i have the necessary experience and insights to help us achieve this and fulfil our goal to raise the bar in service standards for the retail industry.”
Mr Ang Hin Kee, CEO of e2i, said that while there are many vacancies to be filled, applicants must not assume that employers will compromise their standards just to fill a position. “We are confident that a premier mall like ION Orchard will help pave the way in setting new standards to reflect Singapore’s status as a retail destination. We urge jobseekers to adopt a positive attitude towards service, be willing to work shifts and weekends and access these new opportunities.”
Congruent to ION Orchard’s efforts to set new service standard benchmarks in Singapore, recruits can expect to undergo a specially customised training programme for the mall and its tenants. “We are supportive of ION Orchard’s initiative to focus on the training of their retail workforce through the Retail and Service Excellence Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ). ION Orchard is putting a timely emphasis on training that will help raise the overall service standards in the retail sector. We are also pleased to work together with e2i to assist ION Orchard and their tenants to recruit, prepare and train jobseekers ready to take up operations and executive retail positions created with the opening of the new mall. In doing so, we will help many Singaporeans take advantage of the job opportunities created." said Ms Hui Mei San, Director of Healthcare, Retail and Business Services Division of WDA.
Given that a large proportion of the jobs will require a high level of customer interaction, the training programme for ION Orchard and tenants’ staff will incorporate etiquette training, grooming and the finer points of interpersonal skills.
This initiative and collaboration have been well received by ION Orchard’s tenants: “We are truly pleased to be a part of this landmark, tripartite collaboration to create new job opportunities and enhance service standards in Singapore,” said Kesri Kapur, Group Chief Operating Officer of RSH Limited, who will be launching stores at ION Orchard, including Zara and Mango. “More than ever, during these critical times, service excellence holds the key to customer satisfaction and to sustained sales. ION Orchard’s concerted efforts with WDA and e2i reiterate RSH’s commitment to service excellence by identifying our country’s best available talent, providing our company with the opportunity to bring these talents on board, and putting them on a rewarding career path in retail.”
Jobseekers interested in learning more about various positions at ION Orchard may register online via www.e2i.com.sg/events_ION Orchard/ or call the e2i hotline at 6474 3777 from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays. Registration closes on 24 April.
