By SIA LING XIN

SINCE the recession began, the number of jobseeking professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) registered at a community- development council here has jumped dramatically.

The North West CDC has seen a 160 per cent jump in the number of such jobseekers, from a monthly average of 48 before last October, to 125 last month.

They now make up some 20 per cent of its jobseekers, up from 10 per cent previously.

At the same time, the CDC's success rate in helping them find jobs has fallen to 40 per cent, down from 60 per cent before the recession.

In response, the CDC launched a new workshop on work etiquette last month. It will also hold networking sessions to help these workers improve their chances of landing a job with prospective employers.

These measures will be especially helpful to PMETs aged above 40, as they already have skills but need to learn how to present themselves to employers, said Mayor of the North West District Teo Ho Pin.

Four in 10 of the 600 PMETs registered with the CDC belong to this age group.

The CDC will invest $80,000 in 10 runs of its workshop and four networking sessions over one year.

It is also working with Republic Polytechnic to offer PMETs a certificate in business skills for start-ups through parttime or full-time courses.

Since 2001, the CDC has been helping workers get jobs through job fairs and skills training.

Until recently, nine in 10 of them were blue-collar workers. The success rate of this group in getting a job has held steady at about 55 per cent, in spite of the recession.

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