By Aaron Low

LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say yesterday warned that Singapore could see a second wave of retrenchments. The first wave hit just after Chinese New Year in February, when companies began to lay off workers in large numbers.

Some 800 to 900 jobs were shed weekly for a month following the holiday period, he said. But it slowed significantly after the Government's Jobs Credit scheme and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) kicked in, he added.

The numbers fell to about 200 to 300 a week. 'Since then, it's stayed at that level,' he added.

The $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme pays for part of a local worker's salary, while the $650 million Spur sponsors workers' training.

But the slowdown in pace is just the calm before the storm, said Mr Lim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. 'We must not assume that retrenchments will now subside and stay low at this current level for the rest of the year. We must be prepared that there could be a second wave of retrenchment coming on board.'

It was anybody's guess what the retrenchment figures would be in the second wave but the Government and the labour movement were prepared, said Mr Lim, who was speaking to reporters after accompanying Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on a visit to NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), a training and job matching centre at Redhill Road.

He also agreed with Mr Lee that Singapore could have suffered an even bigger loss of jobs in the first three months of this year if not for such programmes as Spur and Jobs Credit.

Mr Lee had said that job losses in the first quarter would probably exceed 10,000.

Mr Lim also gave an update on the achievements of e2i, which equips and helps job seekers find work. Underlining the important role it plays, he said about 80 per cent of those who sought its help were not ready to start a new job immediately.

During his visit, Mr Lee was briefed by e2i chairman Ong Ye Kung on the centre's achievements.

Last year, it helped 20,000 people find jobs.

It now has about 18,600 immediate job vacancies and some 9,600 registered job seekers. In the first three months of this year, e2i trained 8,000 workers and placed 4,012 workers in jobs in sectors such as construction, tourism and childcare.

Mr Lee also visited several classes, spoke to job seekers and mingled with trainers during his 90-minute tour of the institute. At the end of his visit, he said he was happy to see the system running well and urged Singaporeans to take the crisis seriously and go for training and retraining as well as take advantage of the schemes available.

'We've taken some time to set it up and the people who are here are in good spirits, making the effort, willing to go out of their comfort zone and try something different and to find a job in this environment,' he said.

One of them is former bank executive Joe Tan. The 45-year-old is training for a job in the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

'Some have told me that old men like myself are not suited to serve customers but I say with training and the right attitude, anything is possible,' Mr Tan pointed out.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.