Career switch made possible with WSG programme
Retrenched IT manager took on courses, attended WSG events during job hunt
Mr Tey Chee Kiat had to restart his career after he was retrenched as an assistant manager at an IT company in 2015. He was 44 then.
His job hunt lasted almost two years.
Mr Tey, who was in the IT company for 17 years and is now 48, said: "It gets a little depressing after a while, so I decided to sign up for courses while keeping a lookout for job opportunities."
He took on contract work and enrolled in a specialist diploma course in cyber-security management at Singapore Polytechnic. Mr Tey also attended Workforce Singapore (WSG) career events, where he found out about the Career Support Programme (CSP).
The CSP is a salary support programme offered by WSG to encourage small and medium-size enterprises to hire eligible professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Through it, Mr Tey found a job in March last year as an IT manager at local baking supplies company Phoon Huat.
Mr Tey said: "The CSP gave Phoon Huat the confidence to hire me, a more experienced candidate with a higher expected salary, over other candidates with more relevant experience."
Mr Tey, who admitted that the start was tough, said: "Fortunately, my boss is very understanding. Thanks to his support, I was able to apply core skills gained from my previous employment and put to practice the new knowledge I learnt from courses."
The CSP, a programme under WSG's Adapt and Grow initiative, defrays up to $42,000 of the hiring company's manpower cost for a maximum of 18 months.
Ms Lynn Ng, group director of the Careers Connect Group in WSG, said: "Mature PMETs bring with them a wealth of experience and a range of skills and knowledge that companies can tap on. The CSP helps employers to hire this pool of... PMETs by contributing towards a portion of their salary costs, resulting in win-win outcomes for both job seekers and employers."
WSG is also a first-time sponsor for The New Paper Big Walk, at the Singapore Sports Hub on Sunday.
TNP Big Walk
WHEN Sunday, Nov 18, from 7am
WHERE Singapore Sports Hub
GOODIES A limited-edition Big Walk 2018 tote bag, Compressport Big Walk T-shirt worth $49 and other goodies
LATE WALK PACK COLLECTION
Walkers who have yet to collect your walk packs can do so from the information counter located at the TNP Big Walk Carnival at OCBC Square from 6.30am
STAND TO WIN
A total of 30 prizes, with an Osim uLove massage chair (worth $5,999) as the grand prize.
Other prizes include six Osim uCozy 3D (worth $199), three Korin anti-theft bags (worth $189), 10 six-can mini fridges (worth $99), and 10 $50 Hard Rock Cafe vouchers.
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