Over the past year, the Labour Movement has been focusing its efforts on helping working professionals upskill and move into future jobs. While there are existing initiatives focusing on skills training and upgrading, the Labour Movement has launched a new initiative – the PIVOT Programme (PIVOT) to complement these efforts and provide greater emotional support to working professionals facing transitions.
At the launch event for PIVOT, NTUC’s U Associate signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with seven new U Associates. They are Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Start-Ups Singapore, Institute of Parks and Recreation Singapore, Internet Society, Nanyang Technological University School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Alumni Association, Singapore FinTech Association, Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers and TechSociety Group, extending the U Associates’ reach to across 23 professions.
By expanding the U Associate ecosystem, the Labour Movement wants to help even more working people through the various professional associations with skills upgrading and career progression, enabling them to become future-ready. During the launch, seven organisations signed agreements with U Associate, bringing the total number of groups in the network to 58.
PIVOT is a one-stop service for those in transition. Displaced professionals, or professionals that might potentially be displaced in the future and even those who wish to move into a new industry will receive a holistic range of targeted industry-based assistance.
Spearheaded by the National Trades Union Congress’s (NTUC) U Associate and with support from 24 U Associates across 16 industries, NTUC’s U PME Centre and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), PIVOT is anchored on a strong peer-to-peer support network. Participants for this programme will receive help in areas of career coaching, industry talks and insights, training and even job placement opportunities.
To establish a strong peer-to-peer support network, each participating U Associate will have a group of volunteers from the professional guilds or associations to provide emotional support and share industry experiences with PIVOT participants who are keen to enter their respective industries.
These volunteers have undergone training by the Singapore Psychological Society, one of the U Associates, to acquire skills to better interact and communicate empathetically with PIVOT participants. Coupled with their industry knowledge and experience, the volunteers will be able to better support and assist the PIVOT participants throughout the programme.
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With their deep domain knowledge and strong industry connections, participating U Associates will provide support in areas including hosting industry talks, providing training and creating networking platforms to connect PIVOT participants with the professional community.
“As the economy restructures, a targeted approach is required to effectively help our workers move into future areas of growth and into future jobs. Inspired by the success of U PME’s Career Activation Programme, PIVOT harnesses the power of the U Associate ecosystem and leverages the extensive network of the Labour Movement to provide industry-based support to working professionals through a structured framework.” said Mr Vivek Kumar, Assistant Director-General of NTUC, Director of U Associate and Director of U PME.
While some of the technical training offered by participating U Associates are payable, NTUC members can enjoy UTAP (Union Training Assistance Programme) funding for courses supported under UTAP.
The other services such as peer-to-peer support network and the industry talks are extended to PIVOT participants at no cost, to enable more working people transitioning in their careers to benefit from PIVOT.
“PIVOT is unique in providing emotional and peer support beyond job referrals. Supported by professionals who have successfully switched careers or have overcome tough situations, they are able to lend support to Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) who are facing transition, with more tact and empathy,” said Mr Paul Lim, Founder and President of Supply Chain Asia, one of U Associates onboard PIVOT.
“In Supply Chain Asia, we believe in giving back and paying it forward to foster an ecosystem of support, especially to those in need. With our ready pool of industry volunteers, strong networking platforms and suite of training programmes, we will be able to better support PMEs in their career transition under PIVOT,” Mr. Lim added.
NTUC’s U PME Centre and e2i will provide career coaching and preparatory workshops such as resume writing and interview techniques to equip participants with the necessary soft skills and improve their job readiness. The above services will also be made available to participants at no cost.
“We are excited to have professionals support the U Career Network by getting involved in PIVOT. We believe that our network of professionals can come together to provide peer support useful to prepare our workforce to be ready for the jobs of tomorrow. As a Labour Movement, we will continue to expand reach and support PIVOT by growing many partners and career network in the various segments and community. This will inspire more working people to continuously hone their skills and enhance their employability,” said Mr Gilbert Tan, CEO of e2i.
Through PIVOT’s targeted support system, participants can identify career options, expand their skills inventory and gain the confidence needed to leap into a new career or a new industry. Those interested in Pivot can visit http://ntuc.co/findmypivot for more details.
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