Project to help people find work near homes launches in North East District

SINGAPORE — A community effort to help jobseekers land jobs in districts near their homes is being piloted in the North East District.

The three-month programme, dubbed R³ (Recruit, Reskill, Retain), also enables employers to better focus their hiring, talent-development and retention efforts. 

It will be based in Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) Careers Connect centre in Tampines and draw on openings offered by a diversity of employers at community job fairs under the Government’s Adapt and Grow employment-support initiative, and through the National Jobs Bank.

Unveiled by Second Manpower Minister Josephine Teo on Wednesday (July 26), the R³ initiative is a partnership between WSG, the North East Community Development Council (CDC) and Our Tampines Hub, where the Tampines career centre is located.

Speaking to reporters after a learning journey to the Giant hypermarket in Tampines, Mrs Teo said that if the programme works well, there is the possibility of expanding it to other districts. 

For a start, it aims to reach at least 600 jobseekers, who need not be from the North East District, she added.

The first stage — Recruit — will see participating employers receive a list of potential jobseekers curated by the centre’s career coaches. 

Five employers, including the Giant supermarket chain and bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore,  have signed up so far, and North East District mayor Desmond Choo said it will work hard to get more among the 15,000 employers in the district on board.

Firms may take jobseekers on “learning journeys” to their premises so they have a better grasp of the working environment and roles. 

They can hire jobseekers directly or via a Work Trial programme after interviews, which can be done on the spot. A work trial allows prospective employees to try a new job for a short period of time.

Up to twice a week, a “career exploration” bus will also ply the North East District to take jobseekers to firms’ premises for these purposes. 

Those keen on the programme may sign up at WSG’s Careers Connect centres, by phone or online. 

To ease workers into new jobs, the next phase, Reskill, will see employers working with Careers Connect to pinpoint skills gaps and training suited to the needs of potential and new hires.

Employers will receive course-fee subsidies of up to the full cost of foundational skills training, and up to 90 per cent for industry or occupational skills training, subject to caps.

The final step, Retain, will offer workers and their supervisors support over the first three months of employment. Career coaches will work with firms to iron out challenges in areas such as performance and competency to raise retention rates.

Mrs Teo, who is also a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the initiative was targeted at those who may have family commitments and prefer to find jobs in their community. “We also want to be able to help the employers within the community access a wider pool of talent,” she said.

Madam Vanessa Tan, 48, is keen on a buying administrator position at Giant supermarket. She was retrenched from her role as a team administrator in an analytical services firm in May.

The Tampines resident found Wednesday’s learning journey to Giant “very useful” since she has never worked in retail. Giant has 30 positions available under the initiative, including cashiers and team leaders.