The job redesign co-creates a new future for the cleaning & environmental services sector, to attract 500 women returners, based on skills & confidence training and progressive career roadmaps

1. National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) U Women and Family (U WAF) and Chye Thiam Maintenance Pte Ltd (CTM) announced today the “C U Back at work” (CUB) Programme, a landmark training and flexible work programme designed to attract women back to the workforce. Through creative job redesign, the programme curates skills and confidence training together with a new progressive career pathway. The CUB Programme is expected to attract 500 returners by professionalising and uplifting the cleaning and environment services sector, with women returners being a part of a new elite cleaning workforce.

Better Wages and Training Incentives to Support Career Progression

2. Supported by the NTUC U WAF and Workforce Singapore, CTM through the CUB Programme, will carry out a 6-week career trial consisting of seven curated training modules and on-the-job-training for all suitable candidates. Eligible participants will receive training allowances during the career trial duration. The participants will also receive a retention bonus, and a one-time $100 incentive per module completed during the career trial. For every technical training module completed, the participant will also receive a $30 skills incentive to their salaries. Upon completion of the trial, participants will be deployed to Singapore worksites and projects, and can look forward to a starting salary of $3000¹ , which is inclusive of the skills incentives. The CUB Programme is also designed to be flexible in nature, and participants can choose flexible timings for their training and work schedules. Participants will be put on a career roadmap after they complete the training, where they can progress towards specialised and supervisory roles.

¹ According to the PWM for the cleaning sector developed by the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC), the monthly wage requirements for the period of 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 are S$2,010 and above for multi-skilled cleaners and machine operators; and S$2,210 and above for supervisors.

3. The CUB Programme builds on Workforce Singapore’s Career Trial initiative, which aims to encourage jobseekers and host companies who are exploring job fit to go through a short-term trial before considering formal employment.
4. CTM is a Singapore-based environment services company unionised under one of NTUC’s affiliated union – Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU).

First-in-Sector to Offer Both Flexible Work Arrangements and a Flexible Training for Individuals and Women Returning to Work

5. The CUB Programme also introduces to the Cleaning & Environmental Services sector, for the first time, flexible training and flexible working arrangements. This would go a long way in attracting women returners who have caregiving responsibilities back into the workplace. Participants can choose their working hours in blocks of 3 to 4 hours, and to be deployed at anytime of the day.
6. With the training modules, the participants will gain a valuable set of skills that provide greater opportunities for their career in this industry. On top of the standard six training modules for the industry, there would also be additional training on confidence building and mentorship, to ease the returners’ transition back to work.

More Support for Back-to-Work Women at e2i Career Fair

7. The announcement was made at the e2i Career Fair @ Oasis Terraces in Punggol today, organised by NTUC’s e2i and U WAF. The career fair features 11 progressive employers offering flexible-work arrangements and part-time roles for back-to-work women and individuals. These employers have adopted the Tripartite Standards under Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). Today also marks the launch of the jobs portal featuring progressive employers and jobs with flexible work arrangements, which offers over 2000 job opportunities from 44 employers. In 2022, 600 back-to-work women found jobs through e2i, in collaboration with NTUC U WAF and NTUC’s LearningHub. Job seekers who need help with job matching, career or training advisory may make an e-appointment with a career coach at https://eappt.e2i.com.sg/.
8. Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Director for NTUC U WAF shared, “At NTUC U Women and Family, we advocate for greater opportunities for women returning to work, especially through flexible work arrangements. There are 240,000 women of economic age outside of the workforce, due to caregiving responsibilities. Greater flexibility in working arrangements will go a long way in supporting women who juggle work with caregiving responsibilities. Chye Thiam Maintenance’s commitment towards creating a better work environment for women returners marks a first step for the industry, where previously flexible work arrangements were unheard of. It shows that this is possible even in an industry with very operational work and fixed hours. We hope this initiative will inspire other industries and companies towards creative ways of incorporating flexible work arrangements in various professions. Through this, we hope to create more opportunities for women returning to work.”
9. Chye Thiam Maintenance spokesperson Mr Edy Tan, PBM, Chief Executive Officer, said “At Chye Thiam Maintenance, we are the Drivers in Changing ToMorrow and are industry leaders in defining the future of the cleaning and environmental services sector. We envisage a workforce that is professional and respected, leveraging on technology and data, and armed with deep knowledge and skillsets. We believe that the CUB Programme will allow us to redesign our work processes and culture, creating more opportunities for women returnees and caregivers.
10. Ms Noor Irdawaty, General Secretary of BATU, said “The cleaning & environmental services sector is essential for keeping our communities safe and healthy, yet it has long been undervalued with the perception that cleaning is a menial job with limited opportunities for career advancement. We are pleased to see companies like Chye Thiam Maintenance leading the way in professionalising the cleaning sector. Our Union is glad to support CTM in opening more job opportunities for women, especially those who are seeking better work-family balance. This is an innovative step towards attracting a bigger pool of manpower to meet the needs of the cleaning industry. We look forward to see more companies adopting flexible work arrangements as it is a win-win solution for both employers and employees.”