By Shukry Rashid
A new agreement between the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) and Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) signed on 7 November 2016 will now allow UTES members to be eligible for up to 25 per cent discount for training workshops and seminars conducted by Management Development and Consultancy, the corporate training arm of MDIS.
MDIS will also provide scholarships and course rebates on qualifications ranging from professional certificates to Master’s degrees.
The benefits by MDIS also apply to UTES members’ spouses and children.
Following another memorandum of understanding with TCC Credit Co-operative (TCC), UTES will absorb the processing fees when its members apply for TCC’s general loans, of up to $2,000 loan.
The agreements with MDIS and TCC will last for two years.
Preparing for the Future
UTES General Secretary Thuvinder Singh said the idea of these agreements stem from the need to ensure that workers’ skills are not obsolete.
“We cannot wait for things to happen, we have to move with the change. This is why we came to MDIS, and they gave us an opportunity to get our members on board,” he added.
MDIS Secretary-General and TCC Chairman Dr R Theyvendran said the collaboration is a way to prepare workers for future job changes as they should not take job security for granted.
To continue offering relevant courses, MDIS has a seven-man product development team to scrutinise the programmes offered and tweak them when needed.
He explained: “This is a permanent team which we have invested a lot in. But we must be ready before we pass on the knowledge to others.”
On top of these new benefits, UTES members enjoy others that are already in place such as hospitalisation, medical assistance and bursaries.
Source: NTUC This Week
