GIVEN the current economic climate, the job market is expected to get worse before it gets better.
But employers should not take the easy way out and cut costs by laying off workers at the first sign of trouble, said Dr Ahmad Magad, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, yesterday.
'Employers should think twice before laying off their people, as recruitment and training costs can also be very high,' said Dr Ahmad, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower.
'They should take the longer-term view and take advantage of this period to help their staff hone their skills and improve themselves,' he added.
He said that in 'turbulent times like now...we should not cut back on training and investment in our human capital, in order to prepare for recovery'.
He was speaking at the launch of the Practising Management Consultant Certification Scheme yesterday, which aims to raise the standard and professionalism of the management consulting industry.
The scheme, first announced in October last year, requires candidates to meet a stringent set of criteria, including getting at least five years of experience, taking training courses and passing an exam to obtain accreditation.
The industry-led initiative was borne out of a rising number of complaints about the varying levels of management consultancy services in Singapore.
It is conducted by the Practising Management Consultant Certification Board, which operates independently to award the accreditation.
The chairman of the certification board, Mr George Huang, said it would take anything from a week to months for a practising management consultant to qualify, depending on his experience.
The certification will cost an initial $1,800 to $3,500 for the first two years, after which it can be renewed for $700.
A pioneer batch of 31 consultants was awarded this certification yesterday.
Mr Huang estimates that there are about 10,000 such consultants in Singapore, of whom 3,000 are active.
'We expect the number of accredited consultants to grow with this scheme...as it's a form of quality control that differentiates the good consultants from the bad,' he said.
Spring Singapore chief executive Png Cheong Boon said he believed the scheme would raise industry standards, and urged firms to choose accredited consultants.
Spring Singapore, IE Singapore and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency are supporters of the new scheme.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 06, 2008.
