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SINGAPORE: The Employment and Employability Institute (E2i) is tripling its staff strength to meet the challenges of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR).
It is one of 42 Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres to benefit from the S$600 million set aside for the two-year programme.
Job seekers, like 68-year-old Ronnie Wong, are now setting their sights on the hospitality industry, especially with the integrated resorts coming up.
"What I chose is actually security, which I am good at because I have martial (arts) experience and I also possess a powerboat driving licence which I think will be beneficial for the industry. If the industry happens to be near the sea, if they need my service for rescue, I can drive a boat around," Wong, a former logistics officer, said.
E2i plans to boost its staff strength from the current 30 to 100 soon, in order to cater to the targeted 50,000 workers whom the labour movement wants to retrain.
Zee Yoong Kang, CEO of E2i, said: "As people move from one industry to another, what they really lack is the basic technical skills needed in those industries, things like literacy, computer skills, etc. What we want to do is to give them those employability skills."
The Community Development Councils (CDCs) also have an important role to play to ensure that employees benefit from SPUR. They could refer those who go to them for job assistance to the relevant CET centres for retraining.
While workers can benefit from increased funding and absentee payroll, there is a concern as to how long the economic downturn will last.
Ahmad Magad, chairman, Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said: "Hopefully, it is not too long because if your business is 30, 40 or 50 per cent off, it will be very difficult to expect employers to hold their employees for six to eight quarters. It is very challenging to justify that because you have to watch bottomlines."
However, Dr Magad is confident that employers will take advantage of SPUR and reposition themselves for the upturn.
- CNA/so
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