Q&M unit unveils programme to hire and train mid-career dental surgery assistants

Q&M Dental Centre, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Q&M Dental Group, has announced a programme to hire and train mid-career dental surgery assistants through the group's dentistry college, the mainboard-listed company said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

Supported by Workforce Singapore, the Place-and-Train Programme for dental surgery assistants will help lower the barriers to entry for new mid-career hires who lack relevant experience and skills, the company added.

Through this programme, Q&M Dental Centre will be able to expand its workforce to support its growing operations, it said. Up to 30 Singapore citizens and permanent residents will be employed as dental surgery assistants by Q&M Dental Centre.

The three-month programme will equip those looking for a mid-career switch with the necessary skills and competencies to take up a new job as dental surgery assistants.

It comprises classroom lectures and on-the-job practical training in clinics under the Q&M Dental Group.

Topics covered in the training programme include dental administration and communication, infection control and sterilisation, dental charting and chair-side assisting, and dental radiology.

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The training provider is Q&M College of Dentistry, which offers a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry course for practising dentists in Singapore. The college has been registered with the Council of Private Education since June 2019.

Q&M Dental Group chief executive Ng Chin Siau said the programme would give new dental nurses "a certifiable skillset from the largest private dentistry group in Singapore" and help create job opportunities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that the "timely" introduction of the programme would support the group's manpower needs as demand for healthcare services in Singapore continues to grow.

Shares of Q&M Dental Group ended Thursday at 44.5 Singapore cents, down one cent or 2.2 per cent before the announcement.