Staff training plays a crucial role in facilitating mid-career switch
The increase in global interconnectedness has made economies more vulnerable. Singapore, being a trade-centric country, is highly susceptible to changes around the world. As the world enters the age of digitalisation, there seems to be a mismatch in what companies are looking for and what job seekers can offer. Employability has become less about unwillingness but more about inability. Hence, as companies develop and adapt to changes in the world, employees need opportunities to learn new skills that will enable them to remain relevant. One such way of doing so would be talent development.
Fresh Fruit Lab Pte. Ltd. prides itself with modern dining concepts and innovative dishes to provide their customers with a memorable dining experience. Having opened various concept restaurants over the years, it is essential that training is provided to the staffs to uphold a consistent level of service to the customers. Mr Kelvin Tan, strategist of Fresh Fruit Lab Pte. Ltd. collaborated with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to customise staff training programmes according to their operational needs. Mr Tan believes that the provision of training can attract a wider pool of applicants to apply for jobs in the F&B industry as they will be trained on the job-specific skills. This encourages individuals to apply for cross sector jobs, creating a diversified work environment which enables cross sector skill sharing.
By tapping on the expertise from the training institutions as well as funding support from e2i, they were able to successfully place two of their staff through a structured training programme from which they were able to equip themselves with the necessary skills that were essential for their job scopes. Both Ms Lau Geok Leng and Mr Lee Wei Jian have been servers at Fresh Fruit Lab Pte. Ltd. for approximately 8 months till date. Both Lau and Lee did not have any prior experience in the F&B industry and had their reservations before they joined this industry.
Lau, who previously worked in the retail industry, decided to make a career switch into the F&B industry due to her personal motivations for a different work environment and challenge. Despite having experience with customer interaction in her previous job, Lau was concerned about how customer expectations in the F&B context would differ from retail. The training provided Lau with the essential customer communication skills as well as the competence to manage her emotions at work. She also attended courses that taught her how to manage a good working relationship with her co-workers. All in all, she was able to breach the skill gap that she was lacking prior to the job and as a result, managed to make a successful career switch into the F&B industry.
Aside from facilitating employees in mid-career switches, staff training can also be highly beneficial for employees who have no prior job experience. Lee, who was previously serving national service, took interest to apply for the job as a server at Fresh Food Lab Pte. Ltd. due to a friend’s recommendation. He was told by his family that the job can be challenging due to the complexity of the job scope which consists of customer service, cashiering to simple food preparations. Despite all these, it did not deter him from applying for the job as he heard about the training provided by the company. During the training, Lee attended several courses that taught him on restaurant operation process, customer service and food preparation techniques. Aside from the training, Lee was also accompanied by a full timer who provided him with guidance during his shifts. The training programme coupled with on-the-job guidance provided by the company assisted Lee to ease into his first job in the F&B industry.
Through the provision of mentorship and engaging in external training, Fresh Fruit Lab Pte. Ltd. equips their employees with vital skills to tackle the upcoming challenges that they might face at work. This led to a more productive and tightly bonded service team which furnished the company with the competence to provide excellent service standards in their future operations.
Visit https://ffl.com.sg/ to explore F&B career options with the company or find out more about their refreshing dining concepts!
