I REFER to Sunday's front-page report, 'Executive retraining boost: Govt plans to launch more programmes to train professionals for a mid-career switch'.

As more middle managers and mid-career professionals are retrenched, some of them may opt to undergo retraining to obtain a different job. While many may be willing to accept a salary re-adjustment and lower their expectations, employers must also change their mindsets and hire such people.

Campaigns persuading more older workers to be trained in precision engineering industry or nursing may not always work because many employers still prefer to hire plug-and-play talent such as fresh graduates or skilled personnel or foreign talent with relevant working experience accumulated over the years.

Fresh graduates are younger with fewer family commitments while skilled personnel have work experience to back them up.

While the Workforce Development Agency or community development councils can encourage employers to hire older workers, there are limited choices because employers ultimately make the final decision.

Some mid-career professionals are quite well off and have significant savings. However, they may have problems finding jobs because of their age or health.

Instead of asking them to pay for intensive and expensive educational courses without a guarantee of finding employment, why not offer professionals the option of paying firms to gain on-the-job experience?

The WDA could encourage companies to register with the agency. In return for a fee, these companies can provide mid-career enlistees on-the-job experience which the latter can cite in their testimonials when they apply for jobs elsewhere in future.

Edmund Lin

This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 13, 2009.