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Leadership scheme for social serviceprofessionals launched

SINGAPORE – When school vice-principal Malcolm Wong (picture) wanted to make a career switch to join the social service sector, some of his peers felt his career prospects in the field would be limited.

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SINGAPORE – When school vice-principal Malcolm Wong (picture) wanted to make a career switch to join the social service sector, some of his peers felt his career prospects in the field would be limited.

“Joining the social service sector is not something you often hear or talk about ... The stereotypical image is that (the sector is) only for bleeding hearts happy with little pay,” said Mr Wong, 43.

As one of 13 individuals under the National Council of Social Service’s (NCSS) new centralised hiring scheme that was officially rolled out yesterday, Mr Wong hopes the scheme would change such a perception.

The Sun Ray scheme will see the NCSS recruit, develop and deploy social service professionals to take on leadership positions in social service organisations.

The agency will also plan and manage their career pathways.

First announced by Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing during the Budget debate in March, the scheme aims to address the perennial problem of retaining staff due to a lack of structured career pathways, among other factors.

Under the scheme, individuals will be offered a more varied job scope and will be rotated across different social service organisations and relevant government agencies, with each rotation lasting between two and five years.

The initiative is divided into two career tracks — the organisational leadership path is for those who want to head social service organisations in positions such as an executive director, while the professional leadership track is for those who prefer to focus on specialised areas, such as early childhood intervention.

Those on the scheme will have the flexibility to switch between the two tracks, the NCSS said.

There will also be “multiple points of entry” to take in individuals with different levels of experience and competency, such as fresh graduates, mid-career professionals and former social service practitioners.

To date, 14 social service organisations have joined Sun Ray and the NCSShopes to hire and place at least 200 professionals on the scheme by 2019.

Mr Martin Chok, 36, joined the scheme after taking a one-and-a-half-year break from the social service sector to recharge. He had spent nearly 10 years as a social worker.

“It’s an opportunity for me to move from one area of work to another ... so I think it gives me a lot of room to grow,” said Mr Chok, who is now a centre manager of the Early Years Centre at the Asian Women’s Welfare Association.

Speaking at Sun Ray’s official launch yesterday, Mr Chan addressed some reservations that social service groups had previously raised, including whether the initiative would “cannibalise” manpower from existing voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).

Pointing to the individuals who are participating in the scheme, Mr Chansaid the NCSS is trying to bring in “new streams of manpower” to strengthen the social service sector.

On the concern that VWOs would lose talent to the rest of the sector, Mr Chan noted that he would rather provide social service professionals with the opportunities to develop in the sector than lose them to other industries.

“So long as the person is still with us in the sector, I am very confident that regardless of where the person may be, one day, he or she will continue to serve the sector and VWOs well,” he added.

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