The Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability begins construction

1    The construction of the new National Continuing Education and Training (CET) Campus West, also called the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability, officially commenced today. Five workers representing the five different groups of workers the Labour Movement serves, namely Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs), Low Wage Workers, Back to Work Women, Mature Workers and Youths, were the Guests-of-Honour at the event and participated in the symbolic sand shovelling ceremony.

2    As part of the Government’s commitment to CET and to enhance workers’ employability, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) are developing two CET campuses that will serve as the key focal points for skills upgrading of Singaporeans. The CET Campus East will be operated by WDA, while NTUC’s (National Trades Union Congress) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) will be appointed to manage the CET Campus West. When ready, both campuses shall be integrated and serve as gateways to the larger National CET system which currently comprise of 50 CET centres and 500 Approved Training Organisations (ATO) that have trained over 600,000 workers.

About the CET Campus West

3   The Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability is slated for opening by end 2013. The groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of an estimated 2 years of building works to develop a vibrant and conducive habitat for CET where our workforce upgrades their skills, employers fulfill their manpower needs and training providers synergise to deliver training. When completed, the seven-storey campus which is strategically located in the Jurong Lake District in the West and is easily accessible by public transport networks, can train up to 50,000 workers annually in areas such as:

i) Sectoral Skills: Digital Animation, Media, Early Childhood Care & Education, Healthcare, Human Resource, Landscape and Workplace Safety & Health.

ii) Generic Skills: Employability Skills, Service Excellence, Generic Manufacturing and Productivity. 

4    The campus will serve as a dedicated marketplace for workers, employers and training providers. It can accommodate at least 10 best-in-class CET providers and will be equipped with facilities and resources to support the learning and career development needs of our workforce. Workers can have easy access to training, career and employer services located within the convenient one-stop hub:

1. Training Services: Workers can attend quality vocational, generic skills and professional development training conducted by best-in-class training providers.
   
2. Career Services: Career consultants will advise adult learners on jobs and career pathways, as well as match them to employers who are hiring.
   
3. Employer Services: Employers can work with the Career Services Centre to identify relevant training for their employees and recruit job ready candidates.

5    “It is our honour to be able to name this new CET Campus West after the late Devan Nair. Every staff who is running the institute in the future, should uphold the same spirit and passion of Brother Nair in helping workers. This will be a very different institute with regards to the delivery of short programs, relevant programs, and packaging training with career services. It is a big step ahead for CET,” said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC and Chairman of e2i.

6    Mr Lim Swee Say, NTUC Secretary-General, together with 200 guests, comprising union leaders, workers, training providers, tripartite partners and staff, attended the ceremonial event today.

*****