Amid layoffs, contract work may see boom

SOME outplacement firms which help companies find jobs for their retrenched workers said all signs point to even more lay-offs in the first quarter of next year.

But on the bright side, contract work opportunities look set to rise.

Central Singapore CDC has tied up with companies to conduct five direct job placement exercises before the end of the year. They are sending out a survival guide with money-saving and job-search tips to 280,000 households in the district next month.

For the last five years, the CDC has also run support groups to help the retrenched. These will be expanded as demand grows.

Singapore Community Development Council general manager Agnes Kwek said: “Our numbers have been creeping up by about 10 per cent over the year. Nevertheless, we have made some contingency plans.”

“I think if we pass a certain critical number, we would look to ramp up manpower deployment at our job centres so that we can attend to more job seekers. We would look to lengthen our opening hours and maybe even opening full days onSaturdays should the situation require.”

The Chinese Development and Assistance Council is also considering deploying more manpower. It has seen a 30-per-cent rise in job seekers since August. The self-help group is also tapping on the Careerlink Plus Centre to help the unemployed. It is working with the Employment and Employability Institute to encourage job seekers to attend job preparation exercises.

Recruiters are seeing proactive job search efforts even by those who are still employed. International recruitment firm Robert Walters has so far seen placement rates dropping by up to 15 per cent.


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