The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) is helping more needy families in the north, after moving its Woodlands centre to a location that is just five minutes' walk from Admiralty MRT station.

The new centre at Block 680, Woodlands Avenue 6, has registered 300 new members since it moved from its former premises in Woodlands Street 31 last November, the Chinese self-help group said at the centre's official opening yesterday.

The centre has also seen 70 per cent more student beneficiaries for the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year.

"The current site, with more new HDB flats and its close proximity to pre-schools, childcare centres, primary and secondary schools, will allow the centre to serve more of our targeted students and their parents," said a spokesman.

The centre conducts programmes and activities for students, workers and residents, with fee subsidies for the needy. More than 80 per cent of students at the Woodlands centre receive activity fee subsidies.

The new premises boast of improved facilities and more courses, such as a computer lab with laptops, and a learning programme for needy primary school pupils.

At the centre's opening, Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said that with more classrooms and courses, the centre will be able to maximise the potential of promising needy students, as well as embark on more programmes targeting families and low-skill and low-income workers.

The CDAC sponsors skills upgrading courses for workers who qualify for its skills training award scheme, and has assigned case officers to 30 workers and their families since February to offer more holistic support.

The Woodlands centre is one of 13 CDAC centres across the heartland.

Housewife Seah Ah Peng, 54, who attended a SkillsFuture information session yesterday, said she was happy about the centre's new location. "It is very convenient, only 15 minutes' walk from my house."