S’pore Labour MP Releases 4-Part Video Series About Working in S’pore; Says Be Open To Career Change Even During Covid-19

2020-06-14 , 12:49 am

Are you unemployed? Or maybe, you’re wondering, what’s next? Or even if there’s a “next” for you to think about, given how the upcoming recession is going to be like.

Well, no matter whether you’re someone who’s unemployed, on unpaid leave, or wondering what’s going to happen in the next year, I’ve got some news for you.

Labour MP Released 4-Part Series On Facebook

This is Patrick Tay.

Most Singaporeans might have known him as that MP who wants to reintroduce a scheme that’ll let NTUC “employ” needy Singaporeans.

People living at Boon Lay View would know him as the man who made a most-welcomed cement path to the traffic light.

And residents at the West Coast Town Council would know him as their MP.

Here’s something else that he might be known for soon: the employment guru.

Why? Because he just dropped a four-part series about working in Singapore during Covid-19, covering a range of topics from what to do if you’re on unpaid leave to what are your employment rights.

Answering Questions That Most People Would Want To Know

His videos are split into two parts: a lecture and a FAQ session.

If you only have 30 minutes to spare, I’ll say, go for the FAQ sessions (the second half) because that’s when people online would ask questions and he has no choice but to answer them.

Most times, these are questions that you’d probably want to ask too.

Expect things like:

The government keeps asking us to upskill. But what exactly should we learn?

To this, MP Patrick Tay advised three broad categories of skills that he predicts will be important in the future:

Technology and digital skills
Deep skills in your industry (so if you’re in the marketing industry, pick up SEO or digital design)
Skills that allow you to adapt to changing situations

But you shouldn’t follow this blindly.

He also mentioned that Singaporeans need to keep an eye on the various job portals to see what vacancies are available and see what piqued your interest.

Even if you don’t have the skills currently, you can use this chance to upskill.

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Should I Change My Career Now?

I know what you’re thinking: stupid question. Things are so unstable now, how to change? You’ll be lucky not to lose your job.

~deng. Wrong answer.

According to MP Patrick Tay, you should stay open-minded.

Never in the history of Singapore has so much emphasis been placed on skills and training. Support has been enhanced, funding has been increased and if you’ve always wanted to explore and pick up new skills, this would probably be one of the best timing to do so.

But take note ah, that doesn’t mean you should quit your job tomorrow (if you’re lucky enough to still have one).

You can always use your SkillsFuture credits to explore new courses on your own first before taking the plunge.

There are also plenty of short-term opportunities out there for you to see if you really like working in that field.

Your Employment Rights

If you only have time (or patience) for one video before you go back to Netflix-ing, this is the most important one for people who are still working.

Covid-19 has changed everything, including how we work.

Some who work from home find themselves working 12 hours a day with their bosses piling on extra work.

Is that right? Or are they violating your employment rights?

MP Patrick Tay has dedicated one of his four videos to discussing Singaporean workers’ employment rights.

Things like, can your boss ask you to work only 2 days a week and get reduced pay without asking you about it?

What if you’re suddenly dismissed for “poor performance” even in Jan 2020, your boss was promising you a raise this year?

Whelp, you’ll know what to do when you watch his video.

You can check out all four videos on his Facebook page here.

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