Help job seekers transit

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong has set Community Development Councils a new critical task: help job seekers transit into new industries.

He urged them to take on more and deliver assistance to where it is most needed and deserved.

CDCs can also help Singaporeans to be self-reliant, and to get back on their feet as quickly as possible, he said.

Speaking at a mayors' swearing-in ceremony held at the People's Association auditorium on Monday, Mr Lee said: 'Jobseekers often face difficulties, because they lack relevant experience or skills, and must overcome their own mental barriers, that is, they are not 'job ready'.

'So, CDCs must go beyond providing training support and job-matching.'

PM Lee singled out the North West CDC's 'Trial, Train and Transit' programme, which puts jobseekers on work trials to 'ease the transition', as an example of how the CDC can do more to aid workers.

'Such services are vital, because in this recession, some jobs will not come back and we need to train people for new jobs in growing industries,' he added.

He noted some CDCs have also developed programmes to help professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) who are more affected by the current crisis.

North East CDC's Headhunt Programme helps PMETs to network with companies and headhunters, and to get access to PMET vacancies.

In his address, PM Lee said the role of CDCs has evolved to better meet the needs of the community in the last 12 years, by taking over the delivery of social services in 2000 and then employment services in 2001.

'CDCs were progressively given more resources and authority to design and run their own programmes so they could respond quickly to ground needs without bureaucratic tie-downs,' he said.

'Financial assistance used to take up to three months to process. Today, CDCs can respond in as short as two to four weeks,' he noted.

Going forward, PM Lee urged CDCs to focus on three key areas:

- to encourage and enable self-help in the community by continuing to provide platforms for successful Singaporeans to give back to the community.

- to continue to build and exploit links with the community by linking up relevant parties and ensure that the community aid flows smoothly to the right areas.

- continue to strengthen social cohesion by working with grassroots and community partners to strengthen social fabric.

- The Straits Times