Mr Ng Chee Meng 黄志明
Secretary-General,
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
For 51-year-old Sharon Ong, finding the “right job” was not an easy process. She battled with serious alcohol addiction for many years and her last full-time job was 17 years ago.
…finding the “right job” was not an easy process
But the former lawyer has emerged from the experience as a stronger person. She credits her e2i career coach Ms Aishah for helping her discover a new passion in nannying.
Sharon’s career, like many others, started conventionally. She began working as a lawyer in 1994, shortly after her grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. As such, her parents decided to take care of her grandmother without any help from their children.
However, in 1995, her father died suddenly, effectively leaving her mother alone in the role of caregiver. As a junior lawyer, Sharon’s working hours were long; she struggled with guilty feelings leaving her mother to care for both grandparents.
In 1997, Sharon switched to a job with more manageable hours. After her grandmother passed away in 1999, Sharon and her mother continued caring for her grandfather. It was then that a bitter legal dispute broke out in her family. The case was finally resolved in 2002.
At this point, Sharon also realized that her job had reached the end of its “life cycle”. So, she began her next chapter of freelancing in photography, copywriting and copyediting. However, her one-year break to plan for her next steps turned out to be a long break from full-time employment.
It was around this point that Sharon developed a serious drinking problem. Lacking the stability of a proper job, together with the family legal dispute, Sharon lost confidence and became clinically depressed.
“I started drinking socially when I was very young. My family had a history of alcohol abuse. I also have relatives who died due to alcoholism,” Sharon revealed.
Sharon began drinking excessively as a result of the problems she was facing.
“At my worst, I was drinking as much as 500ml of whisky daily, equivalent to 21 standard drinks,” Sharon described. This is 20 times the recommended daily quota for a woman, according to Health Hub.
…no one knew about her problems
Yet despite the excessive amounts of alcohol that Sharon was consuming, no one knew about her problems.
According to Sharon, this pattern of high-functioning alcoholism is surprisingly common amongst women who are caregivers; they tend to drink alone and in secret.
In Sharon’s case, she was still able to live day-to-day and handle family responsibilities despite her severe alcohol abuse. However, despite appearing normal, Sharon’s health was suffering.
Sharon finally decided to seek professional help after many years.
Things came to a head in 2011 when a medical condition that Sharon was neglecting became so serious that she was forced to stop being in denial.
I would have been dead, by 45…
“I was 43 and had delayed going to my gynaecologist because I was too embarrassed to come clean to her about the drinking. Today, I’m glad I spoke up because my gynaecologist helped me to get the alcoholism treated. If I hadn’t stopped drinking when I did, it is likely that I would have been dead, by 45, of alcohol-related causes,” Sharon explained.
Deciding to face her problems head-on, Sharon admitted herself for a 10-day inpatient addiction management programme at the Institute of Mental Health. Thereafter she continued with a regular counselling programme for a whole year to avoid a possible relapse.
Since 2011, Sharon has been in her own words “comfortably and durably sober-ised”. Along the way, she also picked up healthy new activities such as weightlifting.
For the first time in many years, she dared to think about the future.
By 2019, Sharon had been stable in her alcohol recovery for eight years. She is healthy and clear-headed. For the first time in many years, she dared to think about the future.
But it was not easy for her. Having been out of touch from the full-time workforce for 17 years, Sharon could not return to law because jobs in that sector required relevant and recent experience.
The job search journey for Sharon had been a stressful one. She started responding to “job calls” at the beginning of 2019 but she did not receive any replies at all from employers. Did she have any skills that anybody wanted, she wondered.
After leaving full-time employment for 17 years, Sharon kickstarted her job search journey with an e2i career coach.
Eventually, Sharon found e2i’s career services online and made an appointment to see an e2i career coach. Still, her doubts about the job market and her chances of finding a job plagued her.
“I wanted to give up after making the appointment as I was out of the workforce for a very long time. I also wasn’t sure if I could be placed back into the workforce,” Sharon said.
It was at Sharon’s first career guidance session in August 2019 with coach Aishah, where she received a much-needed boost of confidence.
“My first impression of Sharon was that she was strong, brave. But I also saw that she was lost in her career journey. She had been freelancing for 17 years and she did not know where to begin to re-enter the workforce,” shared Aishah.
…her life priorities had changed
“After all that she had been through, her life priorities had changed. Having come from a corporate working life with high earnings and high stress, she was now looking for simpler jobs with more work-life balance. She came to e2i looking for a part-time job, as she had decided to make it a priority to finish the novels she was writing; and she did not have the bandwidth to pursue freelance work concurrently,” she added.
Aishah also shared useful resources such as job listings that Sharon could apply to and guided her on resume writing. She signed Sharon up for e2i’s Executive Workshop in September of 2019 to address other gaps.
True enough, the workshop was a great help to Sharon as it also exposed her to people from different walks of life, who were in similar situations as her. Additionally, Sharon also picked up on interview skills, how to improve her confidence, and practical job search tips.
I was not alone in my job search journey.
“The workshop showed me that I was not alone in my job search journey. It allowed me to network with fellow participants. We supported each other and bounced ideas on potential jobs with each other,” Sharon shared.
She had also picked up skills from the freelancing and volunteering she had done in the years since she stopped drinking; by then she was a seasoned volunteer with NLB’s KidsRead programme and visiting hospital wards regularly as a Therapy Dogs of Singapore volunteer. Given her hands-on practice with caring for her grandparents and even her nephew, her part-time job options expanded beyond just data entry, to jobs in elderly caregiving, working at a vet clinic, or babysitting.
During career coaching, Aishah suggested nannying to Sharon, and recommended NannyPro, a social enterprise seeking to empower women with life skills to be an asset to the community. Sharon jumped on the idea and interviewed with NannyPro.
we did not know if this was the right job fit.
Initially, NannyPro had some concerns about Sharon as a candidate.
“Our first impression is that Sharon is highly knowledgeable. However, we did not know if this was the right job fit. She was also not a mother and the job nature requires someone who is a mother or has experience caring for children.”
“We believe that she will be able to do the job well given her caregiving experience. We also tried to prepare her if she were questioned by parents since they are the ones selecting the profiles of the nannies.”
…it is not about what they were before, but what they are capable of now
Regarding Sharon’s past with alcoholism, NannyPro shared, “The mental well-being of our hired Nannies is important to us. If they overcame their past, we give them a chance because it is not about what they were before, but what they are capable of now.”
NannyPro has since recognized Sharon’s copywriting experience and plans to expand her job opportunities to contribute to the company’s blog.
To Sharon, Nannypro’s position was a dream job as the flexible working hours gave her sufficient time to pursue her dream of finishing her novels and even writing a book about her struggle with alcoholism. She also enjoys caring for the young children of her clients. Nannying has also taught her many things.
Sharon is looking forward to her book being published.
Today, Sharon is looking forward to her publishing first non-fiction book about overcoming alcoholism. She is attending courses on eldercare and hopes to extend her nanny work to caring for children with special needs or medical conditions.
“I am immensely thankful for the strategic advice, the resources and leads from Aishah and Robert (trainer of e2i’s Executive Workshop) who has helped me along the way, and my employer for giving me this opportunity” shares Sharon.
In response to readers who might be facing or have faced similar social struggles, Sharon’s advice is:
“Do things one step at a time and don’t let
the fear of the unknown hinder you.”
We thank Sharon for sharing her story with us and NannyPro (a partner in e2i’s employer network), for being an empowering employer!
Make an e-Appointment to see an e2i career coach!
By Elena Owyong
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Secretary-General,
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
Mr Ng Chee Meng was elected as the Secretary-General of NTUC on 22 May 2018. He was first appointed as the NTUC Deputy Secretary-General on 23 April 2018.
As the Secretary-General of NTUC, Mr Ng advocates and pushes for initiatives that will lead to better wages, welfare and work prospects for workers. He championed the formation of Company Training Committees, whereby unions and management work hand in hand to identify disrupted jobs and new roles, as well as curate training for workers to keep up with industry transformation. Protecting workers’ livelihoods is close to his heart. To help displaced workers get a new job faster, he drove the setting up of the NTUC Job Security Council to provide pre-emptive assistance for at-risk workers by
training them when required and matching them from releasing companies to receiving companies. To provide greater protection for our local professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) and strengthen their collective voice, he also led the formation of the PME Taskforce, co-chair with the President of Singapore National Employers Federation.
Mr Ng was formerly the Minister in Prime Minister’s Office from 1 May 2018 to 31 July 2020. Prior to this, he was the Minister for Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport. As the Minister for Education (Schools), he strengthened efforts to develop well-rounded individuals anchored on strong values, with a focus on applied learning to prepare our students for the future. When Mr Ng was with the Ministry of Transport, he pushed for transformation of the aviation sector and led efforts to help both the taxi and private hire car industries cope with technological disruptions.
Prior to his Cabinet appointment, Mr Ng served as the Singapore’s Chief of Defence Force (CDF). During his tenure as CDF, he ensured that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) maintained its high level of operational effectiveness in safeguarding the nation’s security. Mr Ng joined the SAF in December 1986 and held various key command and staff appointments during his 29 years of service, including Commander of Changi Air Base, Director of Joint Operations and Chief of Air Force.
He also held several directorship appointments in public and private organisations, including the Boards of Singapore Technologies Engineering, Defence Science and Technology Agency, and Jurong Town Corporation.
Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1991, Mr Ng obtained a Master of Arts (International Relations) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, USA in 2003.
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Deputy Secretary-General,
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
Group Director,
NTUC Training & Transformation
Executive Secretary,
United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries
Mr Chee Hong Tat is the Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC since 15 May 2021.
As Group Director of NTUC Training & Transformation, Mr Chee Hong Tat drives workers’ training in tandem with companies’ transformation, via the formation of Company Training Committees and the adoption of the Operation & Technology Roadmap process.
Mr Chee Hong Tat also champions for the interests of lower-wage workers. In particular, working closely with tripartite partners to drive efforts to expand the Progressive Wage Model to more workers, providing a clear career progression pathway for lower-wage workers to earn better wages accompanied with skills upgrading and productivity improvements.
Mr Chee Hong Tat is the Chairman of the NTUC Education and Training Fund (NETF) Board of Trustees. He is a member of both the NTUC Training Council and the NTUC Industrial Relations Council. He holds the position of Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries. He is also both a Cadre Member and Union Advisor of the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union and Union of Power and Gas Employees.
Mr Chee Hong Tat is concurrently appointed as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Transport. He is also a Member of Parliament for the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency.
He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science (Highest Honours) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Bachelor of Arts (Highest Honours) in Economics. He obtained his Masters of Business Administration from Adelaide University in 2006.
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Deputy Exec Dir,
Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF)
Mr Stephen Yee is the Deputy Executive Director, Corporate Learning Centre and Workforce Transformation. Stephen has developed the SNEF Corporate Learning Centre to meet the current and the future needs of its members and also working very closely with the tripartite partners for their support.
Stephen Yee is one of the pioneers working with SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore (previously known as Workforce Development Agency under Ministry of Manpower in 2005) . SNEF is the first invited training provider garnering employers to embrace a workforce qualification system (WSQ) as part of the continual education for school leavers who have yet to get a formal qualification. For decades, SNEF has been working with employers to be in the industry sectors steering committee for more than 18 sectors ensuring that employers needs are always incorporated as demand instead of looking at purely supply predictions.
For last 7 years, Stephen also works with Workforce Singapore helping employers to identify hires into small and medium sized companies and come out with a toolkit for employers to use for the 1 st 6 months for their new hires. Also, the professional conversion programmes (now known as career conversion programme) incorporating training to see how manpower can be deployed from different sectors into growth sectors.
He is an active member of the Future of Work under International of Employers (IOE) and also involved in providing feedback and information on the ASEAN future of work published in 2015 and also the recent IOE publication of future of employers organisation.
His first degree was in Bsc in Management Studies (Hons) with University of London. He was also awarded a Double Distinctions in Master of Project Management with University of Adelaide in 2006. He is also a certified trainer and assessor in ACTA since 2010. He is a true believer of lifelong learning and as a estemeed speaker/moderator at most conferences in the regions.
Recently, he also demonstrated the spirit of lifelong learning where he completed his executive certification leadership in disrupted world in Lee Kuan Yew school of Public Policy, National Universitry of Singapore as a virtual learner in the year 2020 doing part-time.
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Chief Executive Officer,
NTUC LearningHub
Holding over 25 years of working experience with a deep appreciation for technology, operations and innovation, Jeremy has had extensive experience heading senior executive roles at various technology firms like BCS Information Systems. Most recently, he served as the Chief Customer & Operations Officer at AXA Singapore, a role he took on since October 2019, where he transformed the company through anchoring simplification initiatives and digitalisation to ensure customer-first objectives were met by providing simple products, easy policy servicing, fast claims processing and various other offerings.
Jeremey is also well-versed in the realm of technological advancements and customer experience, having spearheaded various technological advancements such as IT strategies to digitally transform the Insurance Business, IT Architecture roadmaps to modernise core legacy systems using Cloud solutions, and even a nationwide FAST Payment System that enabled PayNow usage for users. Having also managed large cross-functional teams in streamlining global IT operations and applications support, while also leading company-wide initiatives to simplify various business processes and systems to strengthen customer propositions, Jeremy remains well-placed to guide NTUC LHUB’s transformational direction in time to come.
Previously, Jeremy had also served as the Senior Vice President at NTUC Enterprise Group CEO’s Office from August 2018 to September 2019, focusing on the areas of group level transformation, ecosystem development, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnerships. Having started his career with NTUC Group back in January 2014 where he joined NTUC Income as the Chief Technology Officer and the Head of Customer Operations until July 2018, while also holding the position of a member on the Board of NTUC Link from 2016 to 2018, his wide exposure with NTUC Group uniquely positions him well to understand NTUC LHUB’s social mission to help workers upskill, upgrade and uplift in this fast-paced era of technological change, in a bid to eventually transform the entire industry to attain better and more equitable wages for all.
Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical Engineering) from the National University of Singapore, and is a graduate of the Asian Financial Leaders Programme from Tsinghua University, University of Pennyslvania, and IMD Business School.
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MD,
Certact Engineering Pte Ltd
Director,
J.Dragon Tech (Suzhou,China)
Ms Ellis Eng joined Certact Engineering pte ltd in 2004 as a sales executive once graduated from SIM UOL( BSC Management) After working few years, she was been offered by the owner to take over the operation post and thus becoming as a Director in 2007. When the owner decided to retired, she officially took over the company and now the major shareholders of Certact Engineering Pte Ltd.
In 2019,because of trade war, Certact’s businesss was badly affected, under her leadership, she decided to transform Certact’s business direction into a niche market whereby they are able to sustain better business forecast and revenue. Though the transformation took place in a very fast and quick phase , because of her agility move, Certact witness a successful transformation whereby the sales revenue had doubled. Certact is now a precision company that focus on Plastic Engineering that serve mainly the MNC contract manufacturers in Singapore.
She is also the Director of J.Dragon Tech in Suzhou where focusing of landing gear manufacturing in aerospace industry since 2010.
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Chief Executive,
SkillsFuture Singapore
Mr Tan Kok Yam joined SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in November 2021 as its Chief Executive. He leads the organisation to drive and implement the national SkillsFuture movement. To this end, SSG strives to promote a culture of lifelong learning, build a support system to enable the pursuit of skills mastery, and raise the quality of adult education and training in Singapore.
Prior to Nov 2021, Mr Tan was the Deputy Secretary of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office. In this role, he established plans to realise impactful projects for Smart Nation, and developed policies and initiatives for the public sector to improve its use of data and IT to serve citizens better. Mr Tan also held a concurrent Deputy Secretary in Strategy Group overseeing issues related to climate change.
Mr Tan had also served in a number of other Ministries within the Singapore Public Service. He was the Director of Manpower in the Ministry of Defence, overseeing the human resource and national service policies of the Singapore Armed Forces. He also served previously in the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Education, dealing with public housing and higher education policies respectively.
Mr Tan is an engineer by training, having graduated from the University College London in 1997 with a Bachelor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a Master of Science in Telecommunications. He also completed the 1-year Sloan Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a Fulbright Scholar.
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Chief Executive Officer,
ST Logistics
Loganathan is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ST Logistics, a supply chain services provider focusing on the Defence, Government and Healthcare in Singapore.
He took on his role as CEO on 1 April 2019. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ST Logistics – a position he held for 4 years.
Loganathan has been with ST Logistics for 12 years now, during which he headed various businesses. His leadership skills and deep understanding of the industry have seen him held several positions at the company, including General Manager of Healthcare Business, General Manager of Contract and Fulfillment Logistics and Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions. He has also overseen the provision of “end-to-end” supply chain services, such as sourcing, procurement (including for emergency), warehousing, inventory management as well as distribution to defence and healthcare agencies.
Prior to joining ST Logistics, Loganathan served the Singapore ArmedForces (SAF) for 25 years before he retired as a Colonel. He held various command and staff positions in the SAF including as Army Logistician forthe last 15 years.
Loganathan has a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Singapore & a Master of Arts from Nanyang Technological University.
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Director,
Seraphcorp
Karen Lam is the Director for Learning at SeraphCorp Institutute. She brings wide-ranging experience in dealing with leaders from multinational companies and government agencies. With 3 years as an executive search consultant, and almost 9 years in the Singapore Civil Service, Karen has interacted with senior management leaders at the local and Asia Pacific levels, as well as with senior government officials and political leaders. Karen graduated with an Honours degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, and a Masters degree in Political Science from Columbia University. Karen is the first Provisional Training and Supervising Transactional Analyst (PTSTA) in the Educational Field in Singapore, and pioneers the use of Educational TA in designing and delivering learning programmes for all ages. Her research interests include high ability leaders and learners, the psychology behind adult learning and leadership, and the stories that make up every person or leader.
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Cluster GM,
Copthorne King’s Hotel and M Hotel Singapore
Mr Kung Teong Wah is currently the Cluster General Manager with Copthorne King’s Hotel and M Hotel Singapore managed by Millennium Hotels and Resorts. His career in the hospitality industry spans over 30 years of dedication to the highest standards in Hotel Management, Asset Management and Operations. His experience has taken him on key assignments with Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG); opening several regional hotels.
As an active hotelier, he sits on the boards of Food and Beverage Managers’ Association as President, ITE Hospitality and Tourism Advisory Board as Chairman and Chancelier of Chaine des Rotissuers Singapour. He was recognised by NTUC as Friend of Labour, Asian Lifestyle Tourism Award as Outstanding General Manager. Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines IHG Future Leaders Award.
Teong Wah is passionate about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and has helped over 60 People with Disability (PWD) integrate into the hospitality workforce since 2010. As a dedicated CSR personnel, he has also been awarded the Enabling Partnership Award 2012 and Northlight Partnership Award 2012.
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