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03 Mar 2007 |
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NTUC celebrates International Women's Day "Better Life Skills, Greater Success" Seminar 1 The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Women’s Committee and the Singapore National Cooperatives Federation (SNCF) Women's Programme Committee jointly organised a seminar this morning on “Better Life Skills, Greater Success” to celebrate International Women's Day. As part of NTUC’s “Back To Work” Programme driven by the NTUC’s Women Committee, the seminar aimed to address the challenges and concerns faced by women today, particularly, on the issue of women returning to the labour force after having been out of it for a considerable period of time. 2 Representatives from the local and regional unions, SNCF, government bodies such as Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and self-help groups, including the Mendaki, Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), Eurasians Associations, Women’s Initiative for Ageing Successfully (WINGS) and the five Community Development Councils (CDCs) as well as 100 job seekers made up the more than 500 participants who attended the seminar this morning. They met to share and discuss the challenges faced by women planning to return to the labour force. Many brought back valuable tips on how to overcome these challenges, especially those faced by women who are older and less skilled. 3 In addressing the challenges faced by women seeking opportunities to rejoin the labour force, the NTUC Women’s Committee and its partners have, under the “Back To Work” Programme, leveraged on NTUC’s “Screen-Train-Place-Train (STPT)” Programme which is funded and supported by WDA. The STPT Programme has been rolled out last May with the objective of enhancing employability of job seekers at the pre-employment stage and bridging the employability gaps by providing training that has been customised based on industry requirements. Working with the NTUC’s Employability and Enhancement Department, the NTUC Women’s Committee has successfully helped about 200 women attend the STPT programme’s training, with about one-third of them secured jobs already. 4 At the seminar, three women also shared their personal experiences on the challenges that they faced in returning back to the labour force and how they overcame these challenges. These three women were Mdm Ng Teng Leng, Mdm Sabariah Bte Ahmad and Mdm Maria Bertilda Fenandes. 5 Mdm Ng Teng Leng, aged 43, has been a housewife for the last 13 years. She returned to work after her husband passed away in order to support her three school-going children. She started working as a coffee shop assistant last May, earning about $400 without CPF contribution. As the salary was not enough for her to make ends meet, she was then referred by the Family Service Centre to NTUC for job search assistance. NTUC helped to place her with a job under the 21-days STPT Programme which she completed last October. Now, she is working at the Kiddy Palace as a full-time sales associate, earning more than $1,000 per month. 6 Mdm Sabariah Bte Ahmad, aged 48, was retrenched in 2005 after working 18 years in Maxtor. Due to her age and health, she was not successful in finding a job for more than a year after her retrenchment. Eventually, she underwent the NTUC STPT programme last October and found a job as a Kopitiam cashier. 7 Mdm Maria Bertilda Fenandes, aged 60, went one step further. She prepares herself to work beyond retirement age! She signed up for the Surrogate Employer Programme (SEP) and attended a course on Early Childhood Care & Education. She plans to work in a childcare centre after retiring from Murata Electronics as an Admin Clerk. 8 The NTUC Women’s Website was also launched at the seminar this morning. The website aims to provide further information that are of relevance and interest to women. It is also a means of engaging more women to understand issues affecting women. More details can be found on www.ntucwomen.sg 9 At the seminar, participants also had the opportunity to hear from various industry experts on the challenges faced and the job opportunities available in the respective industries. Job seekers also registered themselves with the respective companies offering job opportunities at the seminar. 10 The “Back To Work” Programme efforts of the NTUC Women’s Committee to help more women return to the labour force is of significant importance. By helping women to rejoin the labour force more easily, they not only can achieve financial independence, they will also be able to save for their future retirement and achieve a better quality of life! ***** For media queries, please contact: Ms Julie Tai About National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national federation of trade unions of workers in the industrial, service and public sectors representing more than 470,000 workers in Singapore. It has nine cooperatives, 64 trade unions and six associations affiliated to it. A champion for workers, NTUC’s main objectives includes helping Singaporeans to stay competitive and employable for life; enhancing the social status and well-being of workers; and building a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. About Screen-Train-Place-Train (STPT) Programme NTUC’s “Screen-Train-Place-Train” (STPT) programme, which is funded and supported by WDA, was rolled out in May 2006 with the objective of enhancing the employability of job seekers at the pre-employment stage. The STPT aims to bridge employability gaps by providing training that has been customised based on industry requirements so that job seekers would be better equipped to take on potential jobs in the various industries. Job seekers would first be screened before they are sent for the first round of training, which would help to prepare them for their job interviews. During the first round of training, job seekers would also be referred to employers by NTUC for their job interviews. Upon passing the interviews, the employers would place successful job seekers to their jobs, and they would further receive in-house training from the employers. |
