<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>WDA chief to join labour movement
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A SENIOR civil servant is to join the labour movement's top leadership, a move that will strengthen its focus on jobs and skills training for workers.
He is Mr Ong Ye Kung, 39, chief executive (CEO) of the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), a five-year-old organisation spearheading the national drive to upgrade workers' skills and help them find jobs.
His move, to take place on Dec 1, was announced by the Government yesterday. It comes as workers gird themselves for the threat of a rise in layoffs, following last week's announcement that Singapore is experiencing a technical recession, its first in six years.
Acknowledging the anxiety, Mr Ong said: 'In these nervous times, skills training and upgrading for workers are even more important and the tripartite partners have some very exciting and challenging work ahead. I look forward to continuing my work in this area - on the labour movement side.'
He will oversee the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) employment and employability programmes, now under the purview of labour chief Lim Swee Say, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Mr Lim, in welcoming the appointment, highlighted Mr Ong's familiarity with the labour movement in his role as co-chairman of NTUC's programme to recreate jobs and for championing its Employment and Employability Institute in Bukit Merah.
Mr Ong was also instrumental in strengthening collaboration between the Government and the labour movement, Mr Lim said.
Mr Ong will join a team of five MPs at the top echelon of the NTUC. Apart from Mr Lim, they are deputy secretaries-general Heng Chee How and Halimah Yacob, and assistant secretaries-general Seng Han Thong and Josephine Teo.
The duration of Mr Ong's secondment was not specified. His previous posts included director for trade and principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was also deputy chief negotiator for the 2003 free trade agreement between America and Singapore.
At the WDA, Mr Ong strengthened significantly Singapore's continuing education and training infrastructure.
He also led the roll-out of the Workforce Skills Qualification system, which has certified about 200,000 workers, and the setting up of more than a dozen continuing education and training centres. His WDA job goes to Mr Chan Heng Kee, 39, the CEO of the Civil Service College and deputy secretary (development) at the Public Service Division in the PMO. When Mr Chan moves, his deputy at the college, Mr Lionel Yeo, 35, will hold both positions.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A SENIOR civil servant is to join the labour movement's top leadership, a move that will strengthen its focus on jobs and skills training for workers.
He is Mr Ong Ye Kung, 39, chief executive (CEO) of the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), a five-year-old organisation spearheading the national drive to upgrade workers' skills and help them find jobs.
His move, to take place on Dec 1, was announced by the Government yesterday. It comes as workers gird themselves for the threat of a rise in layoffs, following last week's announcement that Singapore is experiencing a technical recession, its first in six years.
Acknowledging the anxiety, Mr Ong said: 'In these nervous times, skills training and upgrading for workers are even more important and the tripartite partners have some very exciting and challenging work ahead. I look forward to continuing my work in this area - on the labour movement side.'
He will oversee the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) employment and employability programmes, now under the purview of labour chief Lim Swee Say, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Mr Lim, in welcoming the appointment, highlighted Mr Ong's familiarity with the labour movement in his role as co-chairman of NTUC's programme to recreate jobs and for championing its Employment and Employability Institute in Bukit Merah.
Mr Ong was also instrumental in strengthening collaboration between the Government and the labour movement, Mr Lim said.
Mr Ong will join a team of five MPs at the top echelon of the NTUC. Apart from Mr Lim, they are deputy secretaries-general Heng Chee How and Halimah Yacob, and assistant secretaries-general Seng Han Thong and Josephine Teo.
The duration of Mr Ong's secondment was not specified. His previous posts included director for trade and principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was also deputy chief negotiator for the 2003 free trade agreement between America and Singapore.
At the WDA, Mr Ong strengthened significantly Singapore's continuing education and training infrastructure.
He also led the roll-out of the Workforce Skills Qualification system, which has certified about 200,000 workers, and the setting up of more than a dozen continuing education and training centres. His WDA job goes to Mr Chan Heng Kee, 39, the CEO of the Civil Service College and deputy secretary (development) at the Public Service Division in the PMO. When Mr Chan moves, his deputy at the college, Mr Lionel Yeo, 35, will hold both positions.
