Seniors who dedicated their Sunday on 22 July 2012 at the U Live Symposium had a peek into the 1,300 job openings specially offered for them. As an effort by NTUC Industrial Relations Department Re- Employment Group, Council for the Third Age (C3A) and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), these jobs were available at the symposium which was organised by U Live, the Labour Movement’s community for active agers who are 55 years old and above.
NTUC’s Social Enterprises such as NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited, NTUC Link Private Limited, NTUC LearningHub Private Limited, NTUC Club and NTUC Unity Healthcare also contributed to these job openings. This occasion also saw the first time a wider range of job opportunities were up for grabs for middle management positions.
There were 15 PME (Professionals, Managers and Executives) job positions with minimal gross starting salaries at $2,000. The rank-and-file full time positions offered gross starting salaries of $1,000 and above. Both full-time and flexi as well as part-time options made an attempt to attract these seniors back to the workforce.
From accounts executives, customer services officers, product executives, retail supervisors and technicians, there was a buffet of positions for the 3,000 seniors who participated at the symposium held for the third consecutive year.
Besides this highlight, there was also a spectrum of more than 35 workshops, talks and activities that were planned for the seniors at the event. Conference rooms were fully packed as these sessions were fully registered within two weeks, and many seniors also took some time to access their heath at free health check booths.
Said NTUC President Diana Chia, who was Guest-of-Honour at the event: “It is about getting the aged more engaged and giving them a variety of events so that they know that there are so many things available for them as they can continue to enjoy active living and find purpose, health and happiness as we age in Singapore.”
Mr Xe Ze Yon, 65, a general worker in the healthcare industry who was reemployed yearly shared that the talks were inspiring and was pleasantly surprised at the job openings offered. He shared: “While I am not looking for a job at the moment, the tips from the workshops on preparing for job interviews will always be useful.”
NTUC’s e2i conducted a short session during the talks with inputs from its Employability Camps’ modules, which included how to prepare a resume and the do’s and don’ts at an interview.
Valuing The Seniors
“We are happy to see many companies and social enterprises stepping forward proactively to employ and re-employ older workers. Many have also adapted their human resource and operations to take full advantage of the skills, experience and reliability of workers as they serve longer with companies. This includes more enlightened practices in flexiwork and work-life balance.”
NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How
