Officially opened as recently as 1 February 2008 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) hit the ground running and quickly lived up to its name by assisting workers to acquire better skills, better jobs and better lives.
In his Statement For Work Completed in FY2010/2011, e2i Chairman and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Ong Ye Kung said that with the improved economy and tighter labour market in 2010 following the global economic crisis, e2i embarked on a `3P’ approach to help Singaporean workers: placements into better jobs; professional development through skills upgrading; and productivity improvements with gains sharing.
“Throughout 2010, e2i assisted close to 40,500 workers. Of these, 14,700 were placed into better jobs, 23,100 enhanced their value and capability through professional development, and 2,600 realised the gain sharing arising from productivity initiatives implemented by their employers and supported by e2i.
“As at December 2010, e2i has close partnerships with 244 companies and 65 training providers on initiatives to improve employment, job worth and productivity.”
Placement Into Better Jobs - Helped 14,700 Workers Find Jobs
In a tight labour market with employers chasing after workers, e2i responded by focusing on providing more career options and offering better paying jobs with `Bigger Better Job Fairs’ and bringing jobs to the community.
In 2010, 60 per cent of job seekers who approached e2i were successfully placed into new or better jobs out of which more than 5,700 (39 per cent) are aged 50 and above, and 1,750 or 12 per cent are aged 60 and above. “At e2i, we refuse to accept that it is impossible for older workers to find jobs. There are many enlightened employers who welcome older workers. But workers must do their part too.”
Professional Development - Upgrading Skills Of 23,100 Workers
DSG Ong said that to keep up with a competitive economic environment, e2i helps Singaporean workers stay competitive by identifying their training needs and working with training providers to fulfill these needs. Companies are encouraged to train their workers and support skills accreditation.
In 2010, an additional 38 upgrading programmes were introduced for workers: “We call these `Professional Development Programmes’, because we want to emphasise that the need for training should not be too generic, instead it must be specific and enhance the professional capability of a worker. These programmes either help develop niche expertise in a specific sector, or important skills commonly needed across industries.”
Of the 23,100 workers helped, 70 per cent are rank-and-file workers and 30 per cent are PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technical people). At the end of the two-year Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR ), e2i helped 70,000 workers from 188 companies upgrade their skills through employability and in-house training programmes.
Under NTUC’s Surrogate Employers' Program (SEP), 2,500 union members who were unable to secure their employer's commitment for training were supported for skills upgrading programmes.
Productivity Improvement - A Growing Movement
DSG Ong said: “Endorsed by the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) to drive the $40 million Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP), e2i had made good progress since the launch of IGP in August 2010. With $16.6 million committed as of March 2011, 265 projects had been approved to help companies raise productivity and share gains with more than 20,000 low-wage workers.
“Many of these are not fanciful projects. We supported companies to install IT software, upgrade their machines, put in bar code scanners, coin counting machines, etc. As a result, and because of a rebounding economy with plentiful orders, productivity of workers took a quantum leap.
“We then commit the companies to share the extra revenues or profits with workers. As a result, 80 per cent of the workers who are employed by these companies will get annual wage increase of 10 per cent or more.
Through working with unions, associations and companies, we have broadened productivity improvements to manufacturing and services sectors such as Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Retail, Logistics, and Aerospace.”
He added: “The Best Sourcing Initiatives (BSI) incentivises companies to award tenders based on quality. Through BSI, workers can get better skills and pay because service providers are more willing and able to invest in their workers' training, as well as in proper tools and equipment to enable their workers to work more productively.
“As at end 2010, BSI has been implemented over 85 contracts worth over $200 million and benefited over 1,800 workers. Our survey shows that workers contracted under BSI typically earn approximately 4-15 per cent higher as compared to the average market rate.”
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Looking Ahead
In 2011, e2i aims to help 50,000 workers through providing employability and vocational skills for all collars, all ages, employed and unemployed, and rank-and-file workers and PMETs.
e2i will work with training providers to establish rigorous and professional training programmes and pathways; and with employers (big and small companies, existing, new and emerging industries) to source for more and better-paying vacancies, upgrade their workers’ capabilities and boost productivity.
e2i will also ramp up efforts to develop the new 'Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability’ CET campus by end 2013 to better serve workers.
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"To help the Singapore workforce become future-ready and sustain long-term growth, it is crucial that productivity is improved in every industry and in every company. Industry re-development is the way to help workers achieve better skills, better jobs and better pay. Through concerted efforts with our partners, e2i will continue to strive for inclusive growth and better life for Singaporean workers.”
e2i Chairman and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Ong Ye Kung
