Taking A Bold Step Forward
Wider Outreach With New e2i And One-Stop Centres
By Joshua Joseph
The Labour Movement will take a bold step forward to better the working lives of Singaporean workers as it looks to set up two new centres in the next few months in support of low-wage workers as well as PMEs
(Professionals, Managers and Executives). The two centres will be located at the new Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability (e2i).
NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say shared this on 3 September 2013 at the Labour Leadership Lighthouse (L3) dialogue session that was attended by some 130 key union leaders. In response to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call for the Government and communities to do more to support individuals, the Labour Movement has charted out new directions to strengthen and deepen its support and assistance for different groups of workers.
For a start, the Labour Movement will set up a new U Care Centre. The centre will champion the well-being of low-wage workers and provide employment and workplace advisory.
In addition, to better serve PMEs in the areas of professional upgrading, job placement and career progression, a U PME Centre will be set up. With PMEs currently making up about one in three of the jobseekers that come to e2i for assistance, the Labour Movement sees the need to strengthen its outreach for this group of workers.
SG Lim said: 'One key objective of this U PME Centre is to do a more intensive outreach to
the employers to bring in as many of these better paying jobs that are more suitable for the PMEs;
in particular the mature PMEs who are affected by the restructuring in their
existing employment.'
Stemming from previous discussions on labour market testing, one of the outcomes that the Labour Movement hopes to see is an establishment of a National Job Bank where Singaporeans, in particular PMEs, will have better access to information on better job openings and will be better placed in these jobs with assistance from e2i and other job agencies.
'One outcome we hope to see is the establishment of a Job Bank where e2i and other employment agencies will have better access to information on job openings,' added SG Lim.
Moving forward, the Labour Movement will also intensify its engagement with SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) to help bridge the manpower gap. This includees efforts in facilitating SMEs to search for workers and where necessary assist them in making their jobs more attractive. It will also work towards helping these workers up-skill to increase their competencies with the ultimate aim of helping the SMEs grow their businesses.
