Career conversion programmes ease PMETs into SMEs

DESPITE previously working for a multinational corporation (MNC), Lim Keng Kian jumped at the chance to join a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) when he received a job offer in late 2021.

Becoming a purchasing assistant at food manufacturing SME Ha Li Fa was a no-brainer, he told The Business Times: “Looking for a procurement role during the pandemic was not that easy, but it happened that Ha Li Fa offered the opportunity to me.”

As a PMET – someone in a professional, manager, executive or technician role – who worked in procurement at an MNC for five years before a career break in 2019, he was no stranger to what the job entailed. What was challenging, instead, was adapting to the work culture and practices at an SME.