Mr William Chua, Chief Executive Officer
First, build a strong nation
For learning solutions provider eLC Pte. Ltd. (eLC), the core value, ‘Nurturing and Caring’, is derived from their belief in helping oneself first before asking for help from others. According to eLC’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr William Chua, this core value motivates the company to support National Service (NS) and Total Defence (TD) so that the country has the capabilities to defend its sovereignty.
Positive attitude helps NSmen ace NS and work performance
eLC has a number of NSman employees serving in key appointments in NS, and Mr Chua encourages all his Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) to give their utmost when serving their NS. eLC has a Buddy System in place to give their NSmen employees peace of mind when they are away on In-Camp Training (ICT). The system also allows each NSman employee to monitor work progress during his ICT and enables him to make informed decisions about volunteering beyond his call of duty as he can confidently ascertain if work back in the office is on track. eLC encourages their employees to always have a back-up plan to mitigate contingencies at work so that they can focus and perform well during their ICTs. Mr Chua said, “The attitude an NSman displays during his ICT is as important as his performance at work. One need not be supervised continuously to perform. Hence, if an NSman achieves any award in his ICT or any category of Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) award, we will match dollarfor-dollar the monetary award he receives.”
Rich lessons from doing a small part for TD
In support of TD, eLC had participated actively in National Day Parades (NDPs) and Army Open Houses. eLC’s employees had also volunteered their personal time and effort to bring members of society, especially underprivileged children as well as children and adults with disabilities under the care of Volunteer Welfare Organisations, to watch the annual NDPs. “Participation helps eLC’s employees develop their organisational, decisionmaking and public engagement skills. Seeing other people’s difficulties also helps us to rethink our daily challenges and appreciate what we have,” Mr Chua added.
MAJ(NS) Ong Wei Shiong, Deputy Head Training Faculty
Pillar of support
The NS-friendly policies of eLC have always motivated Major (MAJ) (NS) Ong Wei Siong to give his best during his ICT. In fact, MAJ(NS) Ong was presented with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) NSman of the Year award in 2020. He credited his employer for the support and understanding which played a vital part in his NS achievement.
Supportive environment
“eLC has always been supportive of our NS commitment. It has always been eLC’s policy to release the NSmen whenever there is an NS call-up and there is always good support in terms of arranging for my work to be covered by my colleagues during my period of NS. In eLC’s effort to encourage, motivate and reward employees who do well in NS, my company also gives monetary incentives to the NSmen who do well in their IPPT or achieve other awards during NS,” he said. Many of his friends are aware of, and applaud, eLC’s support for NS and TD. He added, “Such support from employers will provide ease of mind to NSmen because they know that their commitment to NS is of value and is recognised by their employers.”
Critical contribution
MAJ(NS) Ong encourages NSmen to keep an open and honest communication style with their employers regarding their NS commitment and continue to keep up their good work as employees in their company as well as in their role in NS. He concluded with this piece of wisdom, “NS is a critical part of us as a nation and community — the support from every person and every company counts. It is my sincere hope that more companies will come on board to support our nation’s NS efforts and the NSmen who have availed their time and given their commitment to this very worthy and important cause.”