SINGAPORE - Malay-Muslim workers hoping to join new and emerging industries can look forward to receiving more support from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and self-help group Yayasan Mendaki.
In a joint statement, NTUC and Yayasan Mendaki said that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday (Feb 25) in order to enhance support and strengthen the workforce competencies of Malay-Muslim workers.
Under the MOU, Mendaki will act as the main bridge to encourage the community and workforce to take up national employment and employability programmes.
NTUC will spearhead activities relating to upskilling, training, career fairs, and partnering companies to provide job opportunities in emerging and growth sectors.
In addition, Mendaki will also partner and refer Malay-Muslims to NTUC's LearningHub and Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) for training and job placement programmes through last-mile service delivery provided by Mendaki Care.
The MOU is part of M³'s Focus Area 4's (FA4) key strategy to uplift the community.
M³ is an alliance of three key Malay-Muslim organisations created in 2018 to uplift the community. It comprises Mendaki, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council.
Mendaki chief executive Zuraidah Abdullah, who was present at the signing ceremony, said: "I am delighted with the formalisation of the partnership between NTUC and Mendaki through the MOU.
"Through this partnership, NTUC and Mendaki would be able to leverage on each other's strength and resources to provide targeted and holistic assistance to our workers. This will help to strengthen the competencies of the Malay-Muslim workforce and prepare them to join the emerging and growth sectors."
Also present at the ceremony was NTUC director of operations and mobilisation Mohd Fahmi Aliman, who said that the best approach to tackle the cost of living, a core concern among workers, was to enable these workers to access better jobs and earn better wages with better skills.
Other collaborations between the two organisations include NTUC leveraging Mendaki's satellite centres and youth spaces as possible venues for targeted outreach and training.
