500 workers to benefit from e2i’s new initiative
1. The National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have jointly rolled out a slew of training programmes to sharpen the skills of 500 managers and workers in manufacturing sectors, to drive productivity improvement. The programmes are targeted at equipping workers with specific deep skills.
Preparing organisations and workforce for productivity boost
2. As the manufacturing industry shifts gear to remain competitive, a highly skilled, innovative and productive workforce is needed to meet the needs of established, emerging and future sectors. Apart from having a strong technical and manufacturing foundation, workers will need to be flexible and be able to acquire other new skills quickly.
3. Together with employers from three key manufacturing clusters, namely Electronics, Precision Engineering and MedTech, e2i will be rolling out programmes to respond to the increasing demand for workers to operate different product lines, trouble-shoot and maintain complex machineries. WDA, the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation (SMa) and training providers have also rolled out various programmes and quality management tools and techniques.
Programmes to meet such needs include the recently launched Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Certified Productivity and Innovation Manager (CPIM) programme, Lean Six Sigma, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, Statistical Process Control, Kaizen, Mistake Proofing etc.
4. The government will also be supporting the development of our local workforce through funding of these courses. The funding can be up to 90% of the total course fees for the CPIM programme and 50% for other tools and techniques.
5. The unions such as Metal Industries Workers' Union (MIWU), Singapore Industrial & Services Employees' Union (SISEU) and United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) will work with employers to support the programmes.
6. Gemalto Pte Ltd, one of the world's leading companies in digital security, develops software applications through the design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens. The company has been applying Lean and Six Sigma concepts in their business operations. Mr Ramon Padiernos, Plant Director of Gemalto commented, "Effective utilisation of
tatistical methods starting from identifying the root problem up to the actual implementation of the short term corrective actions as well the establishment of long term preventive actions has helped Gemalto improve the quality of our products and enhance the productivity of our staff, processes, machines and systems."
7. "Today, the stars are aligned. We have tools for workers to achieve higher productivity and growth. We have government support to fund the running of such deep skills. We have management who are keen to drive their organisations towards operational excellence. We have unions who are prepared to mobilise workers towards being up-skilled, re-skilled and multi-skilled." said Mr Ang Hin Kee, Chief Executive Officer of e2i. "To achieve higher productivity gains, more employers should take advantage of the funding to up-skill their workforce. At the
ame time, individuals are also encouraged to acquire new skills and deepen their expertise," added Mr Ang.
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About e2i (Employment and Employability Institute)
e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) is a one-stop, skills-based institute for job seekers, employers and training providers. It has a job vacancies bank of over 12,000, and has assisted over 60,000 job seekers through training and finding new and better jobs in 2009. To ensure that job seekers meet the hiring requirements of employers, e2i conducts employment coaching, career coaching and conducts employability and skills training. e2i serves all segments of workers, from rank and file to professionals, managers, executives and technicians. e2i an initiative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), supported by the
Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF).