Job fairs help those affected by Turf Club closure

It’s been quite a ride for Singapore Turf Club (STC) employee Mohammad Rezuan Husin but the impending end of horse racing here means he must take the reins on a whole new career.

Mr Rezuan, 42, whose grandfather and father also worked with horses, has been employed at the club several times, chalking up more than 10 years in all at the track.

His present role, which he has held for two years, is right at the sharp end, ensuring that the horses are situated properly behind barriers that are lifted when the race begins.

It will be a wrench to leave when STC finally closes. He said: “I’d always wanted to do this (work with horses) from when I was young. Watching the races, I felt that it was a job I wanted to do.”

Whatever work comes next will be a new beginning, as Mr Rezuan is one of 350 STC staff to be let go in multiple phases, ahead of the club’s impending closure that will mark the end of horse racing in Singapore.

Mr Rezuan spoke to The Straits Times at a job fair held on Sept 4 for affected staff. Around 1,800 vacancies from 30 or so employers are available across this and another fair to be held on Sept 18.

Both fairs are also open to employees of horse trainers, as they are affected by the end of racing as well.

Other forms of assistance for STC staff were announced in 2023 and include counselling, job placement assistance, personal career guidance and skills training courses.

DFI Retail Group, Singapore Pools and government shared services provider Vital were among the employers present on Sept 4.

Around 300 training programmes have been identified for the 90 employees to be let go in the first phase of the job cuts between end-November 2024 and April 2025.

STC said 95 per cent of those in the first phase have registered for at least one training programme.

It added that it sets aside a training budget amounting to 5 per cent of annual payroll for each employee, above the industry benchmark of 0.8 per cent.

STC employees have already clocked up 3,544 training hours, or about 42 hours per employee, it noted.

STC will wind down after its final race is held on Oct 5, 2024, with the land to be handed back to the Government in 2027 for redevelopment.

Mr Rezuan, a self-professed outdoor enthusiast, said roles in the shipping industry or the sporting sector caught his eye.

“Anything that’s outdoors and lets me work together with people,” he added.

In line with this, he is pursuing a four-month course on shipping operations and management offered by maritime services provider DNV which was among the identified courses.

Mr Rezuan said his initial reaction was shock when he heard the announcement of STC’s closure.

Even though he had thought of backup plans before that, these involved working in another capacity with horses.

“Now, after the announcement... a lot of the people need to start from zero, but the club has been very helpful since the announcement.”

Ms Evelyn Quak, a 34-year-old property and facilities executive who has clocked up over two years with STC, is another affected employee.

Ms Quak, who has worked in facilities management for 10 years, said she applied for her role with the club to use her skills in a unique setting.

She expressed appreciation for the courses made available to affected staff, including one on implementing a process to manage emergency incidents, as well as counselling sessions.

Ms Quak said staff were given enough advance notice, as the announcement was made in June 2023, and the club has laid out plans for each stage of the closure.

She added that she was looking forward to her next job, which would ideally involve facilities management in a similarly unique setting.