Training Up Migrant Workers

Wong Chun Han, TOUCH International & Smart Nation & Digital Government Office Volunteer

When Singapore reopened after the ‘circuit breaker’, I volunteered at the migrant worker dormitories as a digital ambassador.

This was part of an overall effort by TOUCH International (in partnership with Smart Nation Singapore and the Ministry of Manpower) to train up approximately 1,200 digitally-savvy migrant workers at over 60 dormitories into digital ambassadors themselves. These newly-trained ambassadors would in turn help their peers with the onboarding and adoption of the essential apps (TraceTogether, FWMOMCare and SGWorkPass) required to facilitate contact tracing and the monitoring of every migrant worker’s daily health status. All migrant workers resuming work after the circuit breaker would have to use these three apps daily.

I signed up as a volunteer because I wanted to contribute and help in my own small way amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The migrant workers, who have quite literally built up our country behind the scenes, turned out to be one of the hardest hit communities. It was thus an opportune moment to show love and care for them.

The workers I interacted with were generally in good spirits and were all eager to return back to work and the ‘normal’ life they had pre-COVID. Many of them also expressed gratitude and appreciation for all that Singapore has done during this pandemic to ensure their safety and well-being in the dormitories.

There is definitely more that can and needs to be done for our migrant worker friends. Let us all start by being part of the change we want to see!

Source: Smart Nation and Digital Government Office