CDCs see 54% jump in number of job seekers asking for help in 2009

More job seekers approached Singapore's Community Development Councils (CDCs) for help in 2009.

According to the latest figures released by the People's Association, 38,000 job seekers applied for employment assistance at the CDCs from January to December 2009. This was a 54 per cent jump compared to 2008.

The People's Association added that about half of the job seekers were mature workers aged 40 and above, and the bulk of the increase came in the first quarter of 2009, peaking at 5,000 job seekers in March.

The CDCs added that they were able to successfully place 20,000 job seekers in employment. This was a 56 per cent increase over 2008.

Among professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) job seekers, 2,800 were placed, more than double the 1,200 in 2008.

For this group, the CDCs also provided targeted assistance, including workshops on job search and resume writing skills, and one-to-one counselling services.

Teo Ser Luck, Mayor, North East District, explained: "Last year, while helping residents to look for jobs, North East CDC had encountered a 'twist' because the number of job seekers had peaked in the first half of the year, but at the third quarter, the situation improved. We saw more jobs available in the market.

"North East CDC had also worked closely with the three North East Local Job Placement Centres to provide job seekers with job opportunities. The CDC had stepped in to beef up these centres by setting aside S$1 million and with the additional resources, the centres were able to supplement the CDC's efforts in reaching out to the unemployed in the district."

The number of recruitment events organised by the CDCs in collaboration with various grassroots bodies and the Workforce Development Agency also went up in 2009. Four hundred and ninety recruitment events were held in 2009, up from about 320 in 2008.

Commenting on the trends in 2010, South West CDC Mayor, Dr Amy Khor, said: "In January 2010, for instance, even though the number of job seekers seen by the CDC has declined from the previous month, and is also 44 per cent below the number logged for January 2009, 55 per cent of the job seekers are aged 40 years and above and 58 per cent have secondary education and below.

"With this renewed focus on worker productivity spelt out by the ESC (Economic Strategies Committee), the older and less educated workers will become even more vulnerable, unless they go for skills training or retraining. We need therefore to build deeper resilience into this segment of the workforce.

"Hence one of the key foci of the South West CDC going forward is to help such workers remain employable. We will do so by making job preparatory and mindset change courses, and skills training and retraining, more easily accessible to them.

"At the CDC, our career consultants will play an even more active role in identifying workers' barrier to employment and make appropriate recommendations on training during their interview.

"On the recruitment aspect, besides stepping up on the number of mini recruitment events, we will continue with our efforts to organise more targeted thematic job fairs, which we have found to be more effective."

- Channel News Asia