First stop and one stop U PME Centres cater to
Singapore's evolving workforce demographic
The second U PME Centre was officially opened today, 9 April 2014, at One Marina Boulevard (OMB), in the heart of the Central Business District to better cater to Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) through the Labour Movement's 4Ps - Protection, Placement, Progression and Privileges. The first U PME Centre started its operations in January this year at the new Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability in Jurong East.
Singapore’s workforce has evolved with more PMEs in the workforce. In 2013, there were over 638,500 PMEs comprising 31.1 per cent of the resident workforce, up from 27.4 per cent in 2003.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has also seen similar growth in PMEs in its membership base. Out of the current over 780,000 members currently, about 33 per cent are PME members with diploma and above educational qualifications.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay, who is also the Director for the PME Unit, said, "In recent years, the Labour Movement has geared itself to remain relevant to outreach to the changing workforce profile. With these centres in place, we are building capacity to position ourselves to be the first stop and one stop for PMEs. We will synergise our efforts within the Labour Movement so that our PMEs can be offered a single point of contact from workplace advisory services to career and employment-related advice to professional development services.
"While we take a proactive approach and not wait for things to happen, we are also learning along the way as our PMEs in the workforce are a diverse group with different needs and aspirations."
To celebrate the new opening, the NTUC PME Unit is also embarking on a marketing campaign from April 2014 to increase awareness of the centres through the use of print, radio, roadshows and new media.
Serving PMEs through the 4Ps
In terms of Protection, the PME Unit is gearing up to serve PMEs in light of recent changes to the Employment Act as well as the upcoming introduction of the Protection from Harassment Act and Fair Consideration Framework, and soon to be launched National Jobs Bank. With changes to the Industrial Relations Act expected to take place soon, the Unit will work very closely with our affiliated unions to outreach to as many PMEs at the workplace.
In order to remain the voice for PMEs in Singapore, the NTUC PME Unit will continue to pursue partnerships with Labour Movement communities and the unions as well as tripartite partnerships with relevant agencies and organisations.
PMEs can visit the centres for general queries and placement services. For our PME union members, they can have further access to the suite of PME resources online, legal primers at no charge, legal clinics, workplace advisory services as well as a whole host of other membership privileges.
For PMEs who want to access information on the 4Ps and the services offered through the U PME Centre, they can now visit the new online portal at www.ntuc.org.sg/pme anytime, anywhere. This new PME portal is launched together with the new PME centre.
The new U PME Centre at OMB resides within the newly renovated NTUC Members' Hub. The members’ services centre serves as a customer touch point for NTUC members on a range of enquiries and services.
# # #
