More childcare centres set up at

workplaces

Islander Pre-school, which opened in Jan 2016 to cater to people working on Sentosa Island. ST PHOTO:
ALICIA CHAN
Published
8 hours ago

Numbers up by nearly 50% from 2012 as more women enter

workforce
Priscilla Goy
goyshiyi@sph.com.sg
For a growing number of parents, junior is only a stone's throw away in a childcare centre near their
workplace.
Last year, there were 390 childcare centres at workplaces, which include those in commercial or
government buildings, or industrial estates. This is a rise of nearly 50 per cent from that in 2012.

Last month, a childcare centre even opened on Sentosa. Islander Pre-School, under the EtonHouse chain,
became the third pre-school there and caters to those working on the island.
Childcare centres at workplaces made up 31 per cent of more than 1,200 childcare centres here last year,
up from 26 per cent in 2012, according to figures from the Early Childhood Development Agency.
The increase in such workplace childcare centres comes amid higher demand for childcare services as
more women enter the workforce.
It also follows an enhancement of the Workplace Child Care Centre Scheme in 2013, to allow all building
owners or employers to apply for grants that cover up to half the cost of converting their premises into a
childcare centre for employees. Only government-owned buildings were eligible previously.
Firms with childcare centres in their office premises said there was high demand for such services and they
wanted to support their staff.
OCBC - the first bank here to have an on-site childcare centre - partnered the National Trades Union
Congress twice to set up The Little Skool-House centres.
One is at OCBC Centre in Raffles Place, set up in 2007, and the other was set up in Tampines Junction
office complex in 2010 to meet the needs of parents in the bank's Tampines branch in a building nearby.
OCBC's head of human resource planning Jacinta Low said: "We want to give (our) staff peace of mind,
knowing that their child is well cared for in a safe environment, and encourage employees to be more
involved in the crucial growing years of their children."
But operators noted some companies may not be keen to have childcare facilities on their premises.
Ms June Rusdon, chief executive of Busy Bees Asia, which owns brands such as Learning Vision, said:
"Some building owners have the perception that having a childcare centre negatively affects the 'image' of
their building."
Kinderland Educare Services general manager Seet Lee Kiang also noted that some owners of private
buildings seem less keen on allocating space for childcare facilities.
Meanwhile, firms said they benefit from having workplace childcare centres.
IT firm NCS' human resource head Doreen Loh said: "We've observed higher productivity and lower
absenteeism rate among the parents." Parents said having children in centres at their workplace and not
near their homes has benefits.
Mr Derrick Sim, 31, who co-owns a marine services company with his father, works in an office on
Sentosa. His two-year-old daughter is enrolled at Islander Pre-School.
"My company is a family business, so having my child enrolled in a centre on Sentosa allows for more
opportunity for family bonding, as both my father and I can spend time with my daughter," he said.
OCBC process and service innovation manager Rebecca Chiew, 32, has two sons in the pre-school in
OCBC Centre.
She said: "I get to spend more time with them during our morning and evening commutes. Having the preschool and my office in the same building is also useful during emergencies - I can rush to them quickly
when the need arises."