I SHARE the concerns Mr Gilbert Goh Keow Wah expressed in his letter, 'Retraining might not be best option' (my paper, Dec 10).

I wish to offer some suggestions.

Firstly, retraining is still important, especially for middle- aged workers who have left school sometime ago and have been in their industry for quite a while.

They can first upgrade their education level and language and IT proficiency, which would help in their job search.

Secondly, they should be aware of future prospects and the various industries which are actively recruiting.

These include health care, education, retail, hospitality, food and beverage, and security. Also, the integrated resorts will open soon and there are jobs there which are already up for grabs.

Thus, the unemployed should prioritise their retraining needs to match those needed in industries where jobs are available, or better still, attend additional courses which could place them ahead of other job seekers.

For instance, they could go for third language courses.

Secondly, they should only attend retraining programmes or courses from recognised institutes.

If in doubt, organisations such as the Workforce Development Agency and community development councils (CDCs) are on hand to provide advice.

CDCs also hold job-matching services, counselling sessions and extend temporary financial aid to eligible parties.

Last but most importantly, the unemployed should make adjustments to their lifestyle.

There are still various contract, temporary and part-time job opportunities, and I urge them to take on such jobs while they attend retraining programmes.

Job seekers should also have realistic expectations when they go for interviews, and should not be seen as being demanding.

To put it simply, attend the right retraining programmes, have the right attitude, get support from the relevant agencies if necessary, and remember that not giving up is the way to go.

Mr Muhammad Dzul Azhan Haji Sahban

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