19 SEPTEMBER 2002

PRESS RELEASE

JOBS TASK FORCE STATUS REPORT

As part of the government’s initiative to ease the unemployment problem, the Jobs Task Force (JTF) was formed in Jan 2002 to oversee all the national efforts to help workers respond to the economic downturn and deteriorating job market. Chaired by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister of State (Education and Manpower), with Mr Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC and Mayor (Central Singapore District), as Deputy Chairman, the task force members include Mr Raymond Lim, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry), Mayors and senior management representatives from the unions, employers and the government. Please see Annex A for a complete composition of the JTF.

Over the past 8 months, the JTF has suggested various enhancements to the existing measures and initiated new initiatives. With these initiatives and recommendations, some 64,000 training places have been filled and almost 18,000 unemployed workers have been placed in jobs. The following highlights some of the key recommendations and results by the four focus groups.

Focus Group 1: Saving Existing Jobs and Facilitating Job Opportunities

The JTF identified manufacturing sector as one sector with significant potential of providing jobs for Singaporeans. Based on a survey on 80 manufacturing companies, some 7,500 jobs will be created from the period July 2002 to Jan 2003. There is a need, therefore, to promote the take-up of jobs in the manufacturing sector by Singaporeans. This is done through many means: changing mindsets towards new jobs; identifying possible jobs in new or growing sectors; providing training for these jobs; and, in many cases, raising the image and professionalism of these jobs. EDB, MOM and NTUC will be working on these initiatives to encourage locals to take up jobs in the sector.

The JTF identified Work Redesign as a vital means to enhance the productivity and professionalism of lower end jobs, as this would enable companies to increase the wages that these jobs command, making them attractive to locals. The JTF is initiating work redesign initiative in the hotel sector. Other areas with scope for improvement from work redesign include elderly/childcare and environmental services.

Focus Group 2: Enhancing Job Matching Services

(Co-chairs: Mrs. Yu-Foo Yee Shoon and Mr. Heng Chee How)

The Distributed CareerLink Network (DCN) was set up to ensure adequate penetration of employment services into the community heartland and to provide a responsive infrastructure to better implement JTF’s recommendations. This DCN network is made up of 13 organisations, comprising the 5 Community Development Councils, 5 self-help groups, NTUC, SNEF and the Singapore Professionals and Executives Co-operative (SPEC). One of its main initiatives was to introduce more personalised services to job seekers visiting these centres such as helping them to make job interview appointments with prospective employers. The DCN recruited and deployed a total of 77 placement officers (56 full time staff, and 21 part-timers) at the job centres to help job seekers in their job search and advise them on training opportunities. For electronic savvy users, MOM and some of the CDCs have developed SMS and email alert services to alert job registrants when new jobs suited to their preferences were posted.

As a result of these changes, the DCN has been more effective in their job matching services. The 5 CDCs had collectively attended to some 29,500 job seekers, provided job referrals to 3 out of 5 job seekers, and placed a total of about 3,750 job seekers in employment in the period Dec 2001 to Aug 2002.

The JTF recognised the effectiveness of thematic and more focused events in matching appropriate job seekers to potential employers. Hence, pre-employment orientation programmes were held to give job seekers a first hand experience of the working environment in specific industries. MOM launched two such initiatives, namely the Marine Industry Work Orientation Programme and the "Hotel Orientate-Place Programme", in May 2002. Some 500 job seekers attended the two programmes.

Focus Group 3: Stepping Up Training

(Co-chairs: Dr. Ng Eng Hen and Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed)

The Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP) was enhanced to make it more affordable and attractive for companies to send workers for training. Since the enhancements, the take up rate for the SRP has increased significantly. In the first 8 months this year, a total of 29,637 SRP training places were attained. This is equivalent to a monthly average of about 3,700 training places, which is about twice the monthly average of 1,900 in 2001. As of August 2002, 91,590 training places have been achieved since inception. Cabinet has recently approved JTF’s proposal to extend the SRP enhancements for another year starting November 2002. The JTF recommended a study on the effectiveness and possible enhancements to the SRP. This study is scheduled for completion by December 2002.

To improve uptake of jobs by linking employment opportunities with training places, the JTF initiated sector specific "Place-and-Train" programmes for the aerospace and call centre. The JTF also initiated new childcare, domestic cleaning, elderly care and confinement nanny programmes for the informal sectors. Thus far, about 300 trainees have been trained and placed in these sectors. The JTF will continue to introduce similar programme in other sectors with employment opportunities.

Under the recommendation of the JTF, the Cabinet has approved the extension of the People for Jobs Traineeship Programme (PJTP) for another year till end Oct 2003. In order to generate more awareness of the PJTP, the JTF has recommended that more intensive publicity and marketing efforts be made to improve the take-up rates of the programme. Since these publicity efforts have been increased, the number of placements for trainees has increased more than 2-fold from 1,931 in April 2002 to 4,699 in August 2002. The number of companies registering vacancies under the PJTP has hit a new record. There were 428 companies registered in August 2002, bringing the total number to 2,160.

Good job opportunities in the logistics and the social services industries were identified and a Strategic Manpower Conversion Programme (SMCP) was started to help train local graduates to work in these two industries. The SMCP (Logistics) has been well subscribed by the public, with almost 100 trainees since its introduction in April 2002. About 1,000 people have registered interest in the corresponding SMCP (Social and Community Services).

Focus Group 4: Improving Dissemination of Information and Changing Mindsets

(Co-chairs: Mr. Othman Haron Eusofe and Dr. Teo Ho Pin)

Apart from providing all the various manpower training and assistance programmes under the Manpower Action Plan (MAP), MOM has also sought to improve communication about employment services and other initiatives under the MAP to the employers, employees and the unemployed. With the endorsements of JTF, MOM has placed advertisements in 4 languages; in the local press and over radio on the available programmes under the MAP. A Jobs Assistance Helpline has also been set up to answer public queries on the MAP.

The JTF recognised the need to embark on a public education campaign to address some of the mindset issues such as the need for training and flexibility for workers and the employment of older workers for employers. The campaign would motivate and help workers develop the confidence to make the necessary changes. The nine-month public education drive would start in October 2002.

The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate stood at 4.1% as of June 2002, an improvement over the unemployment rate of 4.4% recorded in December 2001. This also marked the first improvement of the unemployment situation over a year-long underlying increase of unemployment rate in Singapore since March 2001.

However, according to MOM’s estimates, the unemployment situation is expected to rise in the second half of 2002 with the year’s cohort of new entrants into the labour force. The JTF would continue to monitor the implementation of current initiatives as well as explore new initiatives to help our workers respond to the labour market situation. Some of the key areas include enhancing the "Place-and-Train’ programmes emphasizing job placements and job retention, professionalising some sectors with job vacancies to improve the image and perception of the sectors identified, and correcting the mindsets of the public towards changes in the labour market.

________________________________________________________________

For media query, please contact:

Helen Lim (Ms)

Manager, Corporate Communications Department

Ministry of Manpower

Tel: 2321458/5395658

Email: helen_lim@mom.gov.sg

Annex A

Jobs Task Force Member List

Dr. Ng Eng Hen (Chairman)

Minister of State (Education and Manpower)

Mr. Heng Chee How (Deputy Chairman)

Mayor, Central Singapore District &

Deputy Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress

Mr. Raymond Lim

Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry)

Mr. Othman Haron Eusofe

Mayor, South East Community Development Council

Mrs. Yu-Foo Yee Shoon

Mayor, South West Community Development Council

Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed

Mayor, North East Community Development Council

Dr. Teo Ho Pin

Mayor, North West Community Development Council

Ms. Yong Ying-I

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower

Mr. Lee Suan Hiang

Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore

Mr. Benedict Cheong

Chief Executive Officer, National Council of Social Services

Mr. Sam Haggag

General Manager, Manpower Inc.

Mr. Heng Chiang Gnee

Managing Director, Sembawang Shipyard

Mdm. Ho Geok Choo,

President, Singapore Human Resources Institute

Mr. Stephen Lee

President, Singapore National Employers Federation

Mr. Max Lim

General Secretary, Singapore Bank Employees Union

Mr. Cyrille Tan

General Secretary, United Workers of Electronic & Electrical Industries

Mr. Tan Kian Chew

Chief Executive Officer, NTUC FairPrice

Mr. Tan Tee How

Chief Executive Officer, National Health Group

Mr. Peter Tay

President and Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Food Industries

Mr. Yashiro Uetani

General Manager, Pan Pacific Singapore

Dr. Robert Yap

Chief Executive Officer, YCH Global Logistics

JOBS TASK FORCE STATUS REPORT

Background

During the first half of 2001, the Singapore economy was in a severe slowdown. On 25 Jul 2001, the government announced a off-budget package of measures worth $2.2 billion to help Singaporeans and businesses cope with the downturn. After the interim package, economic conditions worsened. In Sep 2001, the Employment Task Force (ETF) chaired by Mr Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC, was formed to enhance co-ordination in job matching and retraining efforts to help displaced workers find employment. The ETF made several good recommendations in the areas of employment assistance and training.

In Oct 2001, the Government announced a $11.3 billion off-budget package to further help Singaporeans tide over the downturn. At the same time, MOM formulated a Manpower Action Plan (MAP) to address the corresponding labour market challenges faced by the Ministry. The MAP comprised measures in the redeployment of displaced workers, renewal of the workforce through skills upgrading, realignment of employment practices and revitalisation of employment creation. Most of the measures in the MAP were included as part of the off-budget package introduced in Oct 2001. With the seasonally adjusted resident unemployment rate hitting a high of 5.2% by the end of 4^th quarter 2001, the ETF was elevated to a Ministerial-level committee, the Jobs Task Force (JTF). This was significant because it signalled the increasing emphasis that the government was giving to manage the unemployment problem. The JTF was formed in Jan 2002 to oversee all the national efforts in helping our workers respond to the economic downturn and deteriorating job market.

Chaired by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister-of-State (Education and Manpower), with Mr Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC and Mayor (Central Singapore District) as Deputy Chairman, the task force members includes Mr Raymond Lim, Minister-of-State (Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry), Mayors, and senior management representatives from the unions, employers and the government. Please refer to Annex A for the full list of JTF members.

The terms of reference for JTF was to monitor the implementation of existing measures, suggest enhancements and recommend appropriate new measures in the following areas:

Saving existing jobs and facilitating job opportunities,

Enhancing job matching assistance services,

Stepping up the training of workers and the unemployed, and

Improving the dissemination of information on jobs, training and assistance schemes for the unemployed and changing the mindsets of employers and workers.

Over the past 8 months, the JTF has suggested various enhancements to the existing measures and initiated new initiatives. With these initiatives and recommendations, some 64,000 training places have been taken up and almost 18,000 unemployed workers have been successfully placed in jobs. The following sections highlight these recommendations and results.

Identify current and emerging job opportunities and facilitate movement people to fill jobs

Despite the recent negative outlook of the manufacturing sector in Singapore, the manufacturing sector has been projected to grow by as much as 9.3% and 9.6% in 2002 and 2003 respectively. There is also a substantial proportion of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector. This implies that the sector possessed significant potential of providing jobs for Singaporeans, with some 7,500 jobs to be created for the period July 2002 to Jan 2003 based on a sample of 80 manufacturing companies. There is a need, therefore, to promote the take-up of jobs in the manufacturing sector by Singaporeans. This is done through many means: changing mindsets towards new jobs; identifying possible jobs in new or growing sectors; providing training for these jobs; and, in many cases, raising the image and professionalism of these jobs. EDB, SNEF, MOM and NTUC would be working on promoting the employment opportunities as well as the necessary training required by specific growth industries within the manufacturing sector.

JTF also identified work redesign as a vital means to enhance the productivity and professionalism of lower end jobs, as this would enable companies to increase the wages that these jobs command, making them more attractive to locals. The Work Redesign programme, managed by SPRING Singapore, is targeted at improving productivity and quality of work experiences. The JTF has recommended that the Work Redesign programme look into improving the local employment share in certain targeted industries. With improvement in the job nature and equipped with the necessary training, more locals would be attracted to these positions. The JTF is initiating job redesign initiative in the hotel sector. Other areas with scope for improvement from work redesign include elderly/childcare and environmental services.

At a sectoral level, the social services sector is one sector that has been identified with job opportunities for locals by the JTF. Despite the economic slowdown, the sector has continued to offer many job openings for displaced workers from other sectors. The Strategic Manpower Conversion Programme (SMCP) was introduced in July 2002 to provide the necessary training for locals to embark new careers in the social services sector.

The JTF recommended that the provision of advisory services on alternative management of excess manpower be expanded and intensified. The provision of free advisory services has been essential to help companies explore feasible and sustainable alternatives to retrenchment. For instance, companies seeking to reduce their wage expenses could be advised to implement an across-the-board wage cut as opposed to reduction of headcount. The MOM’s Retrenchment Advisory Unit would have an important role to play and should be enhanced. For cases whereby retrenchments were inevitable, the JTF initiated efforts to link up job opportunities for the retrenched workers in other sectors through collaborations with employee unions. Examples would include collaborations with the United Workers of Electronic & Electrical Union (UWEEI) and Singapore Bank Employees Union (SBEU) through the JTF platform to register retrenched workers to the job banks.

Finally, the current harmonious industrial relations climate should not be taken for granted. There needs to be continuing efforts to cultivate and strengthen harmonious labour-management relationship at the company level and close tripartite partnership at the national level. This would help minimise the incidence and impact of retrenchments. A climate of harmonious industrial relationship would also be a critical factor contributing to an attractive and conducive investment climate for job creation in the longer term.

Focus Group 2: Enhancing Job Matching Assistance Services

The CDCs have proven to be effective in their job matching services. The 5 CDCs had collectively attended to some 29,500 job seekers, provided job referrals to 3 out of 5 job seekers, and placed a total of about 3,750 job seekers in employment in the period Dec 2001 to Aug 2002.

Expanding the pool of job openings was a priority with the increasing demand from job seekers for more job leads and opportunities. Employment services to hiring companies must therefore be made as hassle free, advantageous and efficient as possible. Convenient services such as express submission facilities for employers to post their job openings, free use of job centre premises to conduct walk-in interviews, and pre-screening of job candidates were introduced to assist employers in their recruitment process. Such efforts saw a substantial increase in the number of job vacancies posted in the MOM job bank, from a monthly average of 2,500 in 2001 to about 5,500 a month for the first 8 months of 2002. Similarly, there was a rise in the number of employers who posted vacancies at the job bank, from about 650 employers a month in 2001 to 1400 in 2002.

A job aggregating function to pool job vacancies from partnering job sites was developed and introduced in the MOM job bank to facilitate the job search process of users. Users would need to only visit one portal instead of several, thereby cutting down unnecessary time and effort utilised to venture into different job sites, to hunt for the ideal job.

Since the demand for better process of career guidance is increasing, technology should be leveraged on to make this service more easily accessible and convenient to users. This would also help job seekers who may not have the opportunity or inclination to call at a job centre for career coaching with a counsellor face to face. An on-line tool has been developed to complement the work of face to face career guidance. Named the Singapore CareersMatch, this is a self-assessment tool that can help the user find his career option based on interests and personal preferences. It is targeted to be operational in September 2002.

MOM and CDCs have continued to co-organise community job fairs, on a monthly basis at different regions of the island. In the first 8 months of this year, 7 Community Job Fairs were organised, reaching out to job seekers at different geographical locations. Each fair, on an average, featured about 20 hiring companies offering some 1,000 vacancies in total. It attracted 3,000-4,000 visitors each time, with more than 200 job offers being made to successful applicants and about 60% of them would finally accept the offers and be placed in employment.

In addition, several thematic and more focused events have also been organised to facilitate the right parties to meet each other. An example is the pre-employment orientation programmes which allow job seekers to have a first hand experience of the working environment and get a better understanding of the jobs available in companies with employment potential. These programmes also serve as a good platform for employers and job seekers to better assess each other for a longer-term employment relationship. MOM launched two such initiatives, namely the Marine Industry Work Orientation Programme and the Hotel Induction Programme, in May 2002. The Marine Industry Work Orientation Programme was held from May to August 2002 with the participation of 5 shipyards. Altogether 8 runs of the Programme were conducted with over 400 job seekers attending the programme. Based on this programme, there were 96 job offers and 68 job seekers had since accepted the job offers. On the other hand, the Hotel Orientate-Place Programme had attracted 100 participants from 3 runs of the programme with 32 job offers made and 24 job seekers accepting the job offers. At the community level, the CDCs have also collaborated individually with industries located in their precincts to organise similar events, such as the semi-conductor industry orientation programme carried out by the North East CDC.

The JTF felt that more efforts could be directed to assist Singaporeans to explore alternative career arrangements that were considered less conventional. One such recommendation was to explore ways to encourage and nurture home-based service providers at the community level. For example, some housewives whose home-cooked specialties are first-rate but have not ventured to profit from their culinary expertise because they lack the ability to promote and market their services. The CDCs could maintain a register of such service providers and make the listing available to interested potential customers in the community. Another way of nurturing these ‘home-based specialists’ would be to assist them in the certification of their skills and increase their credibility within the community.

At the community level, the CDCs have sponsored a number of programmes for residents keen to pursue alternative job options. These include training programmes such as domestic home cleaning services, basic childcare, elderly care, and also confinement nanny programme. North East CDC has also tried to lend a helping hand to would-be entrepreneurs by starting a community fund in the like of venture capitalists in a small way. A grant was provided to interested individuals, usually a retrenched worker to start a small business for example mobile car grooming and in return, he was asked to choose to serve in any of the committees in the CDC.

The WorkSkills Training Programme (WSTP) was jointly launched by MOM, NTUC and SPEC on 18 Dec 2001. It targets to provide 5,000 training places to professionals, executives as well as rank-and-file workers, to acquire the necessary labour market skills to cope with job changes. The programme is to run for one year from 1 Dec 2001 to 30 Nov 2002. The programme has been well received by both individuals as well as companies. As at end Aug 2002, the programme had achieved 9,811 and 5,490 training places respectively for workers and professionals/executives. MOM is currently conducting an effectiveness study of WSTP jointly with NTUC and SPEC as well as a review of the programme to be completed by October 2002.

Focus Group 3: Stepping Up Training

The SRP is a 2-component funding programme that provides course fees through the Skills Development Fund and absentee payroll by the government. The objective of the SRP is to enhance the employability of especially lower-educated workers through certifiable training.

The SRP was enhanced twice in year 2001 to make it more affordable and attractive for companies to send workers for training. The number of SRP courses has increased from 300 to 900. Since the enhancements, the take up rate for the SRP has increased significantly. In the first eight months this year, a total of 29,637 SRP training places were attained. This is equivalent to a monthly average of about 3,700 training places, which is about twice the monthly average of 1,900 in 2001. As of August 2002, 91,590 training places have been achieved since inception.

Cabinet has recently approved JTF’s proposal to extend the enhancements introduced last year for another year starting November 2002. The JTF recommended that a study on the effectiveness and possible enhancements to the SRP be conducted. A study is currently being conducted and is scheduled to be completed by end of the year. The JTF will examine how to enhance the effectiveness of SRP, emphasizing job placement and job retention instead of training.

The JTF recognised the need to tie up actual employment opportunities with training places and has thus initiated some sector specific "Place-and-Train and Train-and-Place" Programmes" as follows:

The AeRO programme, aimed at providing training as well as employment opportunities in the Aerospace industry, was launched in February 2002. As of August 2002, 107 trainees have completed training and all of them have been placed in jobs in the aerospace industry.

The CaRE programme, a joint place-and-train programme by MOM, EDB, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) and Call Centre Council of Singapore (CCCS) was launched in March 2002. The programme was meant to provide training for retrenched workers and eventually place them as call centre operators. As of August 2002, 128 trainees have completed training and were eventually placed in the call centre industry.

The train-and-place programmes for both the child care and domestic cleaning sectors were introduced by MOM, Southeast and Southwest CDCs in April 2002. As of August 2002, 108 and 98 trainees have completed training in areas of domestic cleaning and child care respectively, of which 29 has been placed in domestic cleaning industry and 26 in the child care sector. Aside from the domestic cleaning and childcare sectors, the JTF would be looking into new areas within domestic services that can provide additional employment and training opportunities.

The PJTP was first introduced by MOM in June 2001 as a pilot programme to help mature (40 and above) unemployed workers in making career transitions across sectors or job functions. The JTF recommended that more intensive publicity and marketing efforts be made to increase the awareness of the public about the programme and eventually improve the take-up rates of the programme. This would include more intensive advertising in leading newspapers, TV and radio. Since these publicity efforts have been increased, the number of placements for trainees has increased more than 2-fold from 1,931 in April 2002 to 4,699 in August 2002. The number of companies registering vacancies under the PJTP has hit a new record. There were 428 companies registered in August 2002, bringing the total number to 2,160. Under the recommendation of the JTF, the Cabinet has recently approved the extension of PJTP for another year till end Oct 2003. Cabinet has also approved JTF’s proposal to increase the wage support period of those aged 50 and above from 6 months to 9 months. For the extra 3 months, the wage support is at 25% of monthly wages, capped at $1,000 per month.

Focus Group 4: Improving Dissemination of Information and Changing Mindsets

Apart from providing all the various manpower training and assistance programmes under the MAP, MOM has also sought to improve communication about employment services and other initiatives under the MAP to the public. The Jobs Assistance Helpline, set up in December 2001, has also helped to answer public queries on the MAP. JTF has recognised the significance of effective marketing of these initiatives to increase the awareness among employers, employees and the unemployed. With the endorsements of JTF, MOM has placed advertisements in 4 languages in the local press and over radio on the available programmes under the MAP from Jan 2002.

The experiences of MOM, NTUC, CDCs and other agencies in providing employment assistance services has shown that even when there were a job match, attempts at placements were often unsuccessful due to the mindsets of unemployed workers and employers. Thus, the JTF recognised the need to embark on a public education campaign to correct the mindset of those who either fear change, deny the need to change or simply do not know how to change. The campaign would be motivational and would celebrate the resilience of Singapore's job seekers as well as motivate the unemployed still seeking a job to "never give up". The nine-month public education drive would start in October 2002.

Overall Results and Future Directions of JTF

The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate stood at 4.1% as of June 2002, an improvement over the unemployment rate of 4.4% recorded in December 2001 before the taskforce was formed in Dec 2001. This also marked the first improvement of the unemployment situation over a year-long underlying increase of unemployment rate in Singapore since March 2001.

The improvement in the resident unemployment rate registered in the 2^nd quarter 2002 is attributed to the economic recovery as it is job creation arising from economic growth that ultimately leads to improvements in the employment situation. The JTF, however, has played an important role in facilitating the training and recruitment of workers into industries/companies that are still hiring workers. In addition, the JTF has focussed its efforts to facilitate the re-employment of workers who have greater difficulties finding jobs, such the older and/or less skilled workers. Thus, as new job opportunities emerge, these groups would also able to benefit.

However, according to MOM’s estimates, the unemployment rate would be expected to rise in the 2^nd half of 2002 when the year’s cohort of fresh graduates enter the labour force. Even with the economy picking up, as the job market typically lags behind in terms of job creation, the new entrants into the labour force would encounter difficulties in finding jobs. As such, the JTF would continue to monitor the implementation of current initiatives as well as explore new initiatives to help all our different levels of workers respond to the labour market situation. Some of the key areas include enhancing the "Place-and-Train" programmes emphasizing job placements and job retention, professionalising sectors with job vacancies to improve the image and perception of the sectors identified, and correcting the mindsets of the public towards changes in the labour market.

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Prepared by: JTF Main Secretariat

With inputs from: Focus Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4

17 September 2002

Annex A

Jobs Task Force Member List

Dr. Ng Eng Hen (Chairman)

Minister of State (Education and Manpower)

Mr. Heng Chee How (Deputy Chairman)

Mayor, Central Singapore District &

Deputy Secretary General, National Trade Union Congress

Mr. Raymond Lim

Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry)

Mr. Othman Haron Eusofe

Mayor, South East Community Development Council

Mrs. Yu-Foo Yee Shoon

Mayor, South West Community Development Council

Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed

Mayor, North East Community Development Council

Dr. Teo Ho Pin

Mayor, North West Community Development Council

Ms. Yong Ying-I

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower

Mr. Lee Suan Hiang

Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore

Mr. Benedict Cheong

Chief Executive Officer, National Council of Social Services

Mr. Sam Haggag

General Manager, Manpower Inc.

Mr. Heng Chiang Gnee

Managing Director, Sembawang Shipyard

Mdm. Ho Geok Choo,

President, Singapore Human Resources Institute

Mr. Stephen Lee

President, Singapore National Employers Federation

Mr. Max Lim

General Secretary, Singapore Bank Employees Union

Mr. Cyrille Tan

General Secretary, United Workers of Electronic & Electrical Industries

Mr. Tan Kian Chew

Chief Executive Officer, NTUC FairPrice

Mr. Tan Tee How

Chief Executive Officer, National Health Group

Mr. Peter Tay

President and Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Food Industries

Mr. Yashiro Uetani

General Manager, Pan Pacific Singapore

Dr. Robert Yap

Chief Executive Officer, YCH Global Logistics