IT IS 3pm on a Tuesday at a tool-manufacturing factory in a sleepy Woodlands industrial estate.
Huddled in a small room are 15 workers of Okamoto (Singapore) who are learning how to set up an alarm circuit.
Quietly attentive, they listen intently to every word uttered by Madam Joyce Lim, their trainer.
Each question she poses the class is met with a swift reply.
When she asks, 'Can somebody point out to me the spot on the printed circuit board to insert the variable resistor?', a female trainee immediately points out the correct spot, earning a word of praise from Madam Lim.
And when she asks the workers, who are mostly machine and electrical assemblers, to practise with the printed circuit boards on their tables, all heads dip immediately to focus on the task at hand.
The workers' attentive looks and quick responses reflect a prevalent, underlying worry among them: How to stay employed and employable.
Attending a course during working hours is a break from the usual for these workers, many of whom have been with the company for more than 20 years.
At this time last year, they would have been hard at work somewhere else in the factory, assembling machines to meet production orders.
But now, fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. Orders for the company, which produces machines and tools for global customers, have plunged steeply.
As a result, the 15 trainees - and many of their colleagues - have become excess manpower.
But Okamoto, headquartered in Japan, is loath to shed its workers, even in a downturn. The Singapore plant has not laid off a single worker since it was set up in 1973.
To save jobs, the company turned to a key government initiative: the $650 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
It was launched on Dec 1 last year to help employers better manage their excess manpower during the downturn, save on manpower costs and upgrade their workforce for the future.
Companies that enrol local workers - both Singaporeans and permanent residents - in any of the 800 Spur courses will benefit from lower course fees and higher absentee payroll subsidies.
Around 700 companies have tapped the scheme for funding and have signed up 43,000 workers for Spur courses in the four months since its December launch.
Okamoto is one of them, putting its first batch of 30 workers on a course last month.
These workers, who earn around $1,600 to $2,000 a month, have completed three-quarters of an 88-hour course in generic manufacturing skills, which is conducted by NTUC LearningHub.
The workers are split into two groups, each with 15 workers.
Daily, one group works for the first half of the day while the other is in class. They switch places in the second half of the work day.
One of the trainees who was in Tuesday afternoon's class is Mr Yeo Beng Hua, 51, who has spent 31 years with Okamoto. He says he is relieved that his job is still intact, thanks to his company and Spur.
He says: 'Now the economy is so bad, not just in Singapore but all over the world. It's good to upgrade yourself if possible.'
Okamoto is committed to sending all its local workers - 60 per cent of its 235-strong workforce here - for Spur courses till September. These courses include workplace literacy and numeracy, and interpersonal skills.
Its managing director Ishikawa Kiyokazu says that although orders are at least 50 per cent below the levels at this time last year, Okamoto is not going to resort to retrenchment.
Why? Because the company sees the value in holding on to its skilled workers.
Says Mr Kiyokazu, 52: 'To train a machinist takes us at least six years. So even in this recession, like the others that we've gone through, we need to take good care of our workers.'
Mr David Tay, 54, Okamoto's director, credits Spur as a key factor in helping the company hang on to its 'no retrenchment' policy.
He says Okamoto is saving $30,000 monthly through Spur's enhanced absentee payroll subsidy, which refers to the subsidy given by the Government to employers to defray related manpower costs or to reduce the opportunity cost of training their employees.
Mr Tay adds that Okamoto is also saving another $30,000 monthly in payroll from the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, which defrays part of the wages of local workers by giving out cash grants to companies.
These two measures are crucial in the light of the dire situation that has confronted Okamoto since this January, says Mr Kiyokazu, who was posted here five years ago.
He says: 'The Singapore Government has responded quickly in helping workers and companies through the downturn.'
Still, the company has had to take some cost-cutting measures.
Overtime work, which used to account for about 30 per cent of workers' pay, was stopped in January, and measures were put in place to cut down on utilities and other office expenses.
Last month, the unionised company switched from a five-day work week to a four-day work week.
It also co-shared the pay cut - meaning the workers took only a half day's pay cut though they worked one day fewer per week. The other half was borne by the company.
Starting next week, Okamoto will implement a three-day work week. Workers will turn up for work only on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, again co-sharing the pay cut.
The latest measure will effectively lead to a 20 per cent pay cut for the workers.
No wonder Mr Abdul Rahim Abdul Ghani, 47, a machine assembler, has a look of worry on his face when asked about the impact this will have on him.
Says the father of three children aged between 13 and 21: 'I'm worried, but what can we do? I can only hope for the best. Hopefully learning new skills here will help me somehow in the future.'
Madam Lim Lee Hong, 51, an electrical assembler who has worked with Okamoto for about 20 years, also expresses concern about her job, though she is aware that Okamoto has never laid off a worker.
She says: 'I know the company has been very good to us, but this time round, the recession looks really bad.
'I'm trying to learn as much as possible from the course and get a certificate. Hopefully, it will be useful in the future.'
