Published March 4, 2009

Over 12,000 jobs up for grabs

Retrenchments don't mean unemployment rate has to go up, says Swee Say

By LEE U-WEN

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MORE than 12,000 jobs are available through the labour movement's employment and employability institute (e2i). And 7,500 workers are already undergoing e2i training so they can take up a job as soon as they are ready.

Mr Lim: Contrary to popular belief, many jobs are being created and the demand for workers is healthy

The heartening news comes as labour chief Lim Swee Say suggested yesterday that as many as 10,000 people could lose their jobs in the first three months of this year.

Close to 5,000 unionised workers will be laid off, plus a similar number from non-unionised companies, he said at the opening of a two-day organisational learning conference at Suntec Convention Centre, organised by the Civil Service College.

A rise in retrenchments is unavoidable amid the global slowdown, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Singapore's unemployment rate has to go up.

The key is to give people the skills they need to start a new job as soon as possible, said Mr Lim, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

'On the one hand, we are seeing an increase in retrenchments, but at the same time we are determined that this does not mean unemployment,' he said. 'We want to help them go back for retraining under Spur, and with the help of job-matching services by e2i and the Community Development Councils, get back into employment as soon as possible.'

Spur - the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience - is a two-year government-funded financial support scheme that companies can tap to upgrade employee skills.

Giving an update on the progress of e2i, Mr Lim said that by last week, employers had come forward to offer 12,668 jobs - 42 per cent of them paying more than $2,000 a month.

The positions are in a range of industries - from pharmaceuticals, services, healthcare and education to retail, public transport and shipbuilding.

A major hurdle that needs to be overcome is the 'mismatch' between available jobs and job seekers, Mr Lim said. 'How can we bring the two groups together? It is by narrowing the job and skills gap, as well as the mindset and expectations gap of the workers.'

He said that, contrary to popular belief, many jobs are being created and the demand for workers remains healthy.

He also praised the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme announced in this year's Budget to reduce wage costs so that companies can stay viable and keep workers in jobs.

'The feedback I've received so far is that many companies have deferred retrenchments because of the scheme,' Mr Lim said. 'Jobs Credit is a strategic move. It creates the effect of a CPF cut and furthers trust between the tripartite partners.'

At yesterday's conference - the third put together by the Civil Service College - more than 800 people from the public sector met to discuss the latest trends and practices on how organisational learning principles and tools can help government bodies build capacity for change.