Comrades
Ladies and GentlemenÂ
Since the early 1990s, the NTUC has pointed to emerging shifts in the employment structure of our economy. These changes are not unique to us. They have been happening for some time in the advanced economies. As an open economy plugged into the global system of trade and investment, Singapore must confront the new reality.
The changes signaled the erosion of lifelong employment. They will fuel a frantic struggle by companies for value-creation, flexibility and cost-savings. Consequently, more workers at all levels will be displaced each year as the companies they work for restructure to stay fit for business.
Our predictions have been borne out by reality. In the strong growth years before the Asian financial crisis, annual retrenchments rose to about 10,000 workers a year. Over the last 5 years, workers in Singapore have experienced unprecedented restructuring in the wake of the recessions. In 1998, more than 29,000 workers were retrenched. Last year, close to 26,000 workers lost their jobs.
Clearly, displaced workers must successfully cross from their old jobs to new ones in order to continue to make a living. Otherwise, they risk becoming permanently dislocated, or structurally unemployed. As we often say in the NTUC, "The best welfare for a worker is a job." Many would have found work in their own way, through friends and looking through the newspaper advertisements. But a certain fraction, perhaps 10% to 20%, would want additional help.
It was against this backdrop that we started an Employment Assistance service during the last recession. We offered the assistance on a part-time basis, drawing upon the resources of our Industrial Relations and Skills Development Departments, and our network with employers.
As Singapore encountered the second recession in 5 years and the pace of restructuring raced ahead, we decided to enhance the service into a modest, full-time one. Hence, on 14 February this year, NTUC JobLink was born. For me personally, it is 5 years later than I wanted. I had seen the need in 1997, but most of my colleagues were not persuaded that it was a responsibility that the NTUC should undertake. The name JobLink was proposed then. Now, after seeing the plight of workers in the two downturns, everyone agrees it is something we must do.
I am happy to note that in its first 9 weeks of operation, NTUC JobLink has successfully helped 157 retrenched workers found new jobs. The average daily rate of placement has also been climbing steadily, showing the benefit of growing experience in this work. At this rate, I am confident that NTUC JobLink will more than meet its target of placing 500 jobs this year.
The principles that guide NTUC JobLink are realism, relevance through retraining and responsibility.
When a worker registers his interest with JobLink, a good effort is put into detailing his profile, and ascertaining his strengths and skill sets. Wherever possible, such as when he physically visits the JobLink Centre, staff will explain the reality of the ongoing situation to the applicant. This is to help gear expectations to facts, and to realistically inform the applicant what kinds of jobs may be available given his profile.
NTUC JobLink is also deeply aware of the importance of generating a strong pool of realistic job-offers. To do this, it is working hard to strengthen its multiple approaches. These include tapping vacancies through the network of unionised companies, launching special search efforts for selected partner companies, assisted computerized searches through the AsiaOne Careers and CareerLink databases, and working the Train-and-Place method with certain industries through the STEER program.
The STEER program, in particular, has shown good promise. So far, NTUC JobLink has mounted such train-and-place efforts with 2 industries, namely, the Aviation industry for aircraft technicians, and the Call Centre industry for call centre operators. It expects these 2 efforts to yield jobs for some 350 to 400 persons in the coming 12 months. The high rate of successful matching for STEER stems from the commitment of workers to be retrained for the new jobs, and the commitment of the participating companies to employ the trained workers.
I hope that we will be successful in a third industry - the shipbuilding and shiprepair industry, where many good skilled jobs go a-begging. The employers are more than willing to work with us. We will need to establish why Singaporeans shun such good jobs, and then work out a programme to sell those jobs.
While NTUC JobLink will do its best to help as many workers as possible clinch good jobs, workers must also play their part to maximize their own chances of success. For some, it may even mean being responsible enough to attend interviews that they have agreed to earlier. In 2 recent special efforts mounted with a manufacturing company and a service company, some 20% of the applicants who, having been informed by JobLink or the Human Resource Departments of the companies and had agreed to specific interview arrangements, did not turn up. They also did not contact JobLink or the companies after that. In the present weak economic situation, a worker who is not earnest will only make himself unemployable.
On the other hand, the success in placing many workers arose from the resilience and tenacity of these job applicants. By being realistic, flexible and willing to be trained to do new things, these workers have beaten many contenders to clinch the hard-to-get job offers. By their spirit and actions, they have shown all of us how we can ride the change and forge new paths forward.
Will NTUC JobLink be a temporary measure for the downturn? No. It will be permanent. The future job market is likely to be more volatile. We will need JobLink to help workers in the downturns. We cannot re-learn how to help workers each time. Rather, we should retain and build on our knowledge. Then we will serve workers better.
It is possible that NTUC JobLink will be called upon to serve workers in another area. It is likely that part time work will rise, as is the case in most developed countries. NTUC JobLink can be an agency for part time workers, and help them make adequate social security provisions.
On this note, I am happy to declare NTUC JobLink officially open.
Thank you.
