By Fawwaz Baktee
“I felt that the job was a waste of time. Even after 16 years, my pay was stagnant, and there were not enough benefits. The only reason I stayed that long was because I loved working with the people there,” said Ms Hamidah Ali in a mix of English and Malay.
There came a time when the 52-year-old felt the need to look for better prospects elsewhere.
New Job
In 2014, Ms Hamidah applied to be a kitchen helper at The Little Skool-House International through a job fair at the International Women’s Day celebrations organised by NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat (WD.... Having been on the job for almost a year, Ms Hamidah now earns twice the amount compared to her previous employment.
“Apart from the pay difference and benefits, I wanted to work here because I like children, and I like to cook. But I was kind of hesitant to leave my previous job actually. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else,” she said.
“I also thought people wouldn’t be as nice to me as my ex-colleagues. But everyone here is really friendly and I get along very well with them.”
Fast Learner
The Little Skool-House International Cluster Manager Pamela Ng said: “Hamidah was quite anxious when she started because she hadn’t done work like this before. We assured her by telling her that it’s all right and she could take her time to learn. But I was quite amazed that she could adapt quite quickly.”
For skills upgrading, Ms Hamidah was sent on a Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) course on food and hygiene.
Caring Employer
Ms Hamidah also said that her current employer is caring and supportive. When feedback was given to them on how it was extremely warm to work in the kitchen on certain days, the employer installed fans in the kitchen to ensure that she and her two other colleagues felt more comfortable when working.
“I made the right decision. I used to dread going to work. But now I even forget that I’m at work sometimes,” she said.
Source: NTUC This Week
