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Singapore: Lack of upskilling may drive workers to leave food services industry: NTUC report
SINGAPORE – More than six in 10 workers in the food service sector here are considering exiting the industry “in the foreseeable future”, driven primarily by a lack of skills development and training, a report by NTUC LearningHub found.
Of these, 26 per cent are considering leaving their jobs in the next six months while another 16 per cent plan to do so in the next year, according to the report released on March 30 which covered 200 food service employees such as waiters and cooks in Singapore.
Nearly three in four employees surveyed cited a lack of skills development and training as a key factor in driving them to call it quits.
Most of the respondents said they have not been enrolled in industry-relevant training programmes in the past two years.
The Industry Insights Report 2023 on Food Services also identified the top challenges that food service workers face.
They are low wages, long working hours and having to deal with unreasonable customers.
To address the issue of low-wage workers in Singapore, the Government has been rolling out a suite of Progressive Wage Models (PWM) over the past decade, with the PWM for food services as the most recent addition.
The PWM sets out mandatory training requirements and outlines a career progression model to help food service workers upskill and move up the wage ladder.
The report found that nearly a third of employees surveyed are unaware of the available career pathways in the food service industry.
Forty-two per cent said that their employers have not taken any active steps to support them in career planning.
For example, nearly half of employees in the industry said that they have not been enrolled in food safety training programmes.
Mr Tay Ee Learn, chief sector skills officer at NTUC LearningHub, said: “The introduction of the Progressive Wage Model for the food services industry will indeed act as an anchor in the continual development of the workforce by facilitating wage and career progression.”
NTUC LearningHub works with corporate and individual clients to provide learning solutions in areas such as infocommunications, healthcare, employability, literacy and business excellence.
The report found that employees who do receive support from employers on career planning say that the most common steps taken are providing opportunities for career progression.
Examples include promotions and expanded roles, opportunities for learning and development, and mentoring and career advice.
Mr Daniel Schneider, category manager of Hot Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa at Electrolux Professional, said: “Training the workforce is fundamental to ensuring business viability. Without continuous skills development, we risk our workers being left behind.”
A sizable portion of the respondents expressed interest in enhancing their knowledge and skills in the field of business management and personal development, said the report.
Many employees expressed an interest to take on training programmes in critical core skills such as problem-solving, communication and adaptability.
Mr Tay said: “With the introduction of the PWM, skills development is an area that employers are more attuned to. This can be a conversation starter for workers who wish to progress even further in their careers through more learning opportunities.”