CFS launches community impact fund to support marginalised groups' employment

The programme helps beneficiaries land jobs in the F&B industry.

The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) has launched a new community impact fund that supports programmes that provide vocational training for marginalised groups in Singapore such as persons with disabilities, persons recovering from mental illnesses, disadvantaged women and youth-at-risk.

Dubbed as the Learning Initiatives for Employment (LIFT) Community Impact Fund, the fund aims to help such groups land a job in the F&B industry. CFS adds that the scope of industries covered in the scheme will be expanded in the future.

Whilst an anchor donor has already been secured to seed the LIFT Community Impact Fund, CFS is looking to raise funds to cover the estimated $528,000 required to support the programmes.

“LIFT meets this need in a holistic manner by concurrently providing participants with technical training, social support and job coaching to help them manage socio-emotional and financial stressors while they learn and work,” said Joyce Teo, deputy chief executive officer at CFS.

The fund will support an initial 90 participants with a total of 12,600 hours of WSQ1-certified vocational training.

During the training phase, participants will receive ongoing social support from charity partners to minimise or resolve family and/or other issues that may otherwise derail their learning.

Potential participants will first be identified and referred by IPC (Institute of a Public Character) charities, and then assessed in terms of attitude, aptitude as well as potential for employment. Successful candidates will then be trained by one of two social enterprises working alongside CFS as programme providers. Project Dignity will train participants for kitchen and service jobs, whilst Bettr Barista will train participants to be baristas, both providing job attachment opportunities during the training phase.

CFS aims for around 65% of participants to complete the training phase and for around 60% of graduates to be successfully placed into employment in open market conditions for at least three months.