SINGAPORE - More than 100 mid-career workers have been successfully placed in company attachments as at end-October, with around a quarter of them being mature workers, said Workforce Singapore (WSG) on Friday (Nov 6).
More than 2,100 host organisations have also stepped up to offer mid-career workers about 10,600 company attachment opportunities, as of the end of last month.
Roles are across diverse sectors, and include investment banking analyst, graphic designer, acoustic engineer, relationship consultant, customer service experience officer, learning experience executive, content creator and finance analyst.
The attachments come under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, which was launched in August to help mid-career workers build useful skills as a step towards permanent jobs.
The programme is run by Workforce Singapore (WSG), together with its programme manager, the Singapore Business Federation.
WSG said: "Taking that first step into unfamiliar territory, especially for mature mid-career individuals is not easy, and we would like to encourage more mid-career individuals to come on board the programme."
Mr Chan Kien Teck, chief executive of electronic distributor MEDs Technologies, one of the firms under the programme, said mid-career workers bring with them diverse experience, different backgrounds and exposure to various industries.
"They have some of the best practices from their previous work organisations, and by injecting them into ours, they help enrich us all."
He called it a win-win situation for employers and job seekers looking for a change.
"It allows us to tap on WSG's resources to reach out to experienced job seekers, and with some training internally, help them understand our business. They will in turn be able to help us elevate further.
"We are giving them and also ourselves a chance to upskill in terms of competencies."
Semiconductor firm GlobalFoundries also joined the programme to find additional sources of talent to drive company growth.
"The company needed more resources to meet the increasing operational demand and to build our local workforce as a core human capital," said Ms Janice Lee, the firm's vice-president and human resource lead for international fab operations.
"Many mid-career trainees may not possess the specific skill sets that we require, however, there are transferable skills and knowledge which they have gained through their past professional employments. These experienced workers may also bring diverse and fresh perspectives into the way things could be done differently."
Even younger industry switchers benefit from the programme.
Mr Marcus Lim, 28, who is a sales operations trainee at MEDs Technologies, said the programme is an opportunity for him to switch out of his previous role doing sales in the finance industry.
"It is a bit of a challenge, but I feel that during this period of crisis, I have to develop a strong ability to adapt to the situation," he said.
"(This programme) is an opportunity for us to prepare ourselves for the future and to build as much experience as we can for now. When the economy recovers, we will be ready. I see this as a chance to gain more experience and learn new skills."
