With a rich heritage of 49 years, PA continues to make building bonds within the community its priority – all towards the betterment of the nation.

By Kevin Lim

“To Build and to Bridge communities in achieving One People, One Singapore.”

The organisational mission of the People’s Association (PA) sounds straightforward enough, given the racial harmony we enjoy today. However, this wasn’t always the case.

PA was founded in 1960 during a time of racial unrest in Singapore. Through the determination, belief and hard work of a group of visionaries at the time, and with the establishment of Community Centres (CCs), Residents’ Committees (RCs) and Neighbourhood Committees (NCs), multi-racial participation was promoted, leading to the peaceful yet vibrant and colourful assortment of cultures we see on our cosmopolitan island today.

A Single Dream
Sarah Lee and Shahid Shafie are two modern-day champions of PA’s cause.

Despite the contrasts between these two interesting individuals (Sarah spends her free time perfecting the art of cooking while Shahid loves music and travelling), one common thread runs through each of them – the desire to give back to the community.

“All along, I’ve been interested in community development. As luck would have it, I chanced upon PA and realised that with them, I could have a career that would not only offer me a pay check every month, but an opportunity to give back to the community and society,” says Shahid, a graduate from Nanyang Polytechnic, on how he was drawn to his current role as Community Development Executive (CDE).

Meanwhile, Sarah, who sports a Diploma in Business Administration, was recently promoted from CDE to Master CDE. Besides taking on the duties of a regular CDE, a Master CDE is also involved in training and developing CDEs such as Shahid and getting them up to speed with the skills required to be effective in their work.

Unity Starts from Home
As much as PA is about “building communities” on the outside, it’s also about “building people” on the inside. One of the perks of being in PA is the excellent balance it brings to each employee’s life.

“The working environment is good, there are plenty of training opportunities to upgrade yourself and you get to learn many integral skills on the job,” Shahid acknowledges.

Sarah adds that PA offers high-performing employees attractive recognition for their good work, in terms of remuneration package and career opportunities.

PA is truly a “people’s organisation”. A quick look at its awards cabinet shows shelves overflowing with accolades for its top people practices.

Some of the trophies spotted are the Singapore Human Resources Institute Leading HR Practices Awards in Health & Employee Wellness and Quality Work-Life, the Singapore HEALTH Award (Gold), the 5-Year Outstanding SHARE Award, Distinguished Defence Partner, Meritorious Home Team Partner and POSB Everyday Champions Awards. Each trophy speaks volumes of the organisation’s drive to display the same genuine concern for their employees’ wellbeing as they do for the wellbeing of the community in Singapore.

Testimonies from Within
Outsiders looking in will be duly impressed by PA’s role in crafting Singapore’s history, as well as its continued excellence in building up its employees.

“There are plenty of training opportunities in PA. In fact, all staff are given 100 hours of training every year. Besides enrolling for courses at the National Community Leadership Institute, PA’s own training wing and Civil Service College, we have the option of taking up training courses with external organisations should we wish to do so,” says Shahid.

Besides vertical career progression, PA also practices lateral movement within the company, allowing employees to rotate across departments to be where they can best excel at, providing exposure in various job scopes for better employability.

Having had seven years’ experience at PA and more before, Sarah divulges that the “secret ingredient” that has kept her motivated throughout the many years at PA is simple – her colleagues.

A fervent advocate of strong camaraderie within her teams, Sarah thoroughly appreciates her working environment and colleagues, whom she affectionately describes as “friendly, helpful and always willing to lend a hand”. In fact, when asked about her career highlights and aspirations, Sarah modestly turns the spotlight onto her colleagues whom she says have been integral to the success she has enjoyed so far.

“I wish to progress in my career with my colleagues as they’ve given me tremendous support in my course of work. I’m especially thankful to my supervisors, who have always trusted me wholeheartedly to handle vital tasks,” she shares.

Sarah also gives special mention to PA’s excellent employee policies, which include adequate family, vacation and medical leave, exemplary work-life balance programmes, as well as first-rate medical benefits.

A New Beginning For A New Generation
From a starting point of just 28 CCs, PA now has under its wing about 105 CCs, 556 RCs and 109 NCs.

With its identity already forged eternally in Singapore’s history, the organisation’s next challenge is to up the ante of its services towards scaling greater heights, as it continues to be relevant and effective in today’s society.

The PA team of today may be tackling a different host of issues than those of their founding members in 1960, but at its core, PA remains the same organisation it has been for the past 49 years – the heartbeat of Singapore.