<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Making the switch from computer chips to french fries
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MS NOORAINI Mohamed Nor broke down when she was retrenched last May, her second layoff in just six months.
It drove her to 'quit' the manufacturing industry - weakened by the global downturn - and look for a job elsewhere.
After 27 years producing integrated circuit chips, she now handles french fries, hash browns and burgers at McDonald's.
Her journey from factory to fast food began when she was first laid off in November 2007.
Having spent nine years as a production operator, and eight more as an assistant trainer, she could not bear to leave.
'The company was like my family,' says Ms Nooraini, 45, who counted two younger colleagues as her confidantes.
Her company paid her $40,000 in retrenchment benefits. It also linked her to an electronics company that made integrated circuit chips and had job openings.
She was hired as an assistant trainer in January last year but could not adapt to her new colleagues and job scope.
'They thought that since I'd worked many years as a trainer, I must be an expert. They dumped the work on me to do on my own,' she said.
She struggled as her experience was in assembling chips while her new job had to do with testing the product.
'I had never been trained in testing. I couldn't cope,' says Ms Nooraini, who has only a primary school education.
'I talked to my supervisor and I cried. The next day, my leader introduced me to a buddy and then cabut (left in a hurry).
'My buddy taught me a bit and then also left me alone. I know they have a lot of work, but I didn't know what to do.'
Two weeks into her new job, she felt so helpless and cried as she confided in her husband, Mr Suleiman Sinwan, 45.
'He said, 'Dear, don't think about it, just resign',' she recalled. She quit in February, just over a month into the job.
Like many retrenched workers, she continued to search for a job that would be like the one she held previously.
'I wanted to work in electronics because of the 12-hour shift, with three days' work and four days' rest, or four days' work and three days' rest,' she said.
So when her sister-in-law took her to a job fair in Jurong East that had vacancies in sectors like security as well as food and beverage - including McDonald's - she did not apply for any of them.
And when North West Community Development Council (CDC) found her a job in health care, with a 3pm to 11pm shift, she also rejected it.
She was holding out for an electronics job as she reckoned her experienceand her ability to speak English, Malay and Mandarin were assets that would land her a job quickly.
Her family was also able to get by on her husband's monthly pay of $1,800 as a forklift driver, along with her retrenchment benefits.
She continued to give $250 a month to her 65-year-old mother, who lives with them in a four-room flat in Bukit Panjang and helps take care of her four-year-old son.
In May last year, Ms Nooraini got a job in an electronics company as a production operator. But six months later, in November, she was laid off again.
'I cried,' she says. 'I was very disappointed. I no longer wanted to work in an electronics company again.'
She went to another CDC job fair in Woodlands. Encouraged by a friend who wanted to work in McDonald's, she signed up.
She took the 7am to 3pm shift, with a day off on Sunday and the option to work on Saturdays.
Initially, she was apprehensive about handling money as a cashier.
Now, four months later, she relishes the work at the counter.
'I have to say 'hello' and be cheerful. I'm the friendly type so it's easy for me to talk to the customers,' she says.
Nodding, her restaurant manager, Ms Cindy Tan, says it is a good job fit.
'Nooraini is a keen learner and has adapted very well. She is well-liked by her customers and colleagues, and her friendly nature and positive attitude add energy to the team.
'She's always cheerful and smiling, and customers have complimented her on the great, friendly service she provides.'
Ms Nooraini advises those laid off to widen their options.
'Don't be fussy. Don't just go for the same kind of job,' she says. 'There are a lot of jobs in customer service.'
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MS NOORAINI Mohamed Nor broke down when she was retrenched last May, her second layoff in just six months.
It drove her to 'quit' the manufacturing industry - weakened by the global downturn - and look for a job elsewhere.
After 27 years producing integrated circuit chips, she now handles french fries, hash browns and burgers at McDonald's.
Her journey from factory to fast food began when she was first laid off in November 2007.
Having spent nine years as a production operator, and eight more as an assistant trainer, she could not bear to leave.
'The company was like my family,' says Ms Nooraini, 45, who counted two younger colleagues as her confidantes.
Her company paid her $40,000 in retrenchment benefits. It also linked her to an electronics company that made integrated circuit chips and had job openings.
She was hired as an assistant trainer in January last year but could not adapt to her new colleagues and job scope.
'They thought that since I'd worked many years as a trainer, I must be an expert. They dumped the work on me to do on my own,' she said.
She struggled as her experience was in assembling chips while her new job had to do with testing the product.
'I had never been trained in testing. I couldn't cope,' says Ms Nooraini, who has only a primary school education.
'I talked to my supervisor and I cried. The next day, my leader introduced me to a buddy and then cabut (left in a hurry).
'My buddy taught me a bit and then also left me alone. I know they have a lot of work, but I didn't know what to do.'
Two weeks into her new job, she felt so helpless and cried as she confided in her husband, Mr Suleiman Sinwan, 45.
'He said, 'Dear, don't think about it, just resign',' she recalled. She quit in February, just over a month into the job.
Like many retrenched workers, she continued to search for a job that would be like the one she held previously.
'I wanted to work in electronics because of the 12-hour shift, with three days' work and four days' rest, or four days' work and three days' rest,' she said.
So when her sister-in-law took her to a job fair in Jurong East that had vacancies in sectors like security as well as food and beverage - including McDonald's - she did not apply for any of them.
And when North West Community Development Council (CDC) found her a job in health care, with a 3pm to 11pm shift, she also rejected it.
She was holding out for an electronics job as she reckoned her experienceand her ability to speak English, Malay and Mandarin were assets that would land her a job quickly.
Her family was also able to get by on her husband's monthly pay of $1,800 as a forklift driver, along with her retrenchment benefits.
She continued to give $250 a month to her 65-year-old mother, who lives with them in a four-room flat in Bukit Panjang and helps take care of her four-year-old son.
In May last year, Ms Nooraini got a job in an electronics company as a production operator. But six months later, in November, she was laid off again.
'I cried,' she says. 'I was very disappointed. I no longer wanted to work in an electronics company again.'
She went to another CDC job fair in Woodlands. Encouraged by a friend who wanted to work in McDonald's, she signed up.
She took the 7am to 3pm shift, with a day off on Sunday and the option to work on Saturdays.
Initially, she was apprehensive about handling money as a cashier.
Now, four months later, she relishes the work at the counter.
'I have to say 'hello' and be cheerful. I'm the friendly type so it's easy for me to talk to the customers,' she says.
Nodding, her restaurant manager, Ms Cindy Tan, says it is a good job fit.
'Nooraini is a keen learner and has adapted very well. She is well-liked by her customers and colleagues, and her friendly nature and positive attitude add energy to the team.
'She's always cheerful and smiling, and customers have complimented her on the great, friendly service she provides.'
Ms Nooraini advises those laid off to widen their options.
'Don't be fussy. Don't just go for the same kind of job,' she says. 'There are a lot of jobs in customer service.'
