By Ramesh Subbaraman
There are plans in the pipeline to further fine-tune and enhance the 18-month old National Jobs Bank.
The aim is to help Singaporeans better assess themselves for the suitability of the job and thus improve their chances at getting the job.
Making the point was Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say at a dialogue session on ‘Jobs of the Future’, held as part of the ‘Future of Us Exhibition’ on 5 March 2016.
The Jobs Bank was an idea championed by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay in 2013.
Since August 2014, employers have had to advertise job vacancies on the Jobs Bank for at least 14 days before they can apply to hire an Employment Pass (EP) holder.
The rule is applicable to jobs paying up to $12,000 a month, and is aimed at making firms consider Singaporeans fairly for a job.
The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is currently looking to enhance the data analysis feature on the Jobs Bank portal.
“What we hope is that job seekers in future will be able to do their own data analysis so that they can zero down to jobs that are able to match their expectations and requirement,” said Minister Lim.
Addressing Problems
One participant working in the maritime industry felt that the Jobs Bank was not working, saying that companies in his industry were still hiring foreigners despite Singaporeans applying.
He added that companies were just going through the motion of advertising on the Jobs Bank for 14 days.
Minister Lim assured participants that his Ministry is taking the Jobs Bank and Fair Consideration Framework very seriously.
The Fair Consideration Framework aims to strengthen the Singaporean core in the workforce. It sets out clear expectations for companies to consider Singaporeans fairly for job opportunities.
The Ministry of Manpower is also monitoring companies which Minister Lim describes as "double weak" - those that don't employ a strong Singaporean core and lack commitment in wanting to nurture a Singaporean core.
