Two community-led initiatives hope to help workers displaced by Covid-19 pandemic find jobs

• At least two community-created and -managed spreadsheets have started circulating online
• These were created to match jobseekers with potential employers
• Initiatives have seen mixed success; HR experts doubt efficacy, reffering to privacy concerns
• Labour MPs said that these initiatives can complement government initiatives

SINGAPORE — With the economic impact of Covid-19 leading to a rise in retrenchments, several communities have come up with initiatives to connect displaced workers with companies looking to hire.

One such initiative is SEAcosystem.com, a spreadsheet that allows people who have been laid off to submit their details to a public list where companies can connect with potential hires. Companies may also post job vacancies while career coaches may list their services.

The spreadsheet, launched in April, has since accumulated the details of more than 1,500 jobseekers and 500 job listings by 186 companies. Of the jobseekers on the list, nearly a third are based in Singapore, while the others come from countries in the region sich as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

A majority of the jobseekers were from the marketing or product professions, as well as business development and data analytics.

Ms Rachael De Foe, one of the four creators of the spreadsheet, said: “(We) originally started this list to help employees of startups who were laid off, because we believed that there was a collective interest to retain startup talent in the regional ecosystem,” 

Ms De Foe, who is a communications consultant for finance and tech companies, said that the spreadsheet started gaining traction after being shared by venture capital firms and social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

“It was an effort to unite the startup ecosystem and flag mutual opportunities at a time when we're all encountering similar hurdles,” she added.

The sheet has attracted job listings from both startups and bigger players, including e-commerce and logistics companies such as Lazada, Shopee and NinjaVan.

Another spreadsheet, this time focusing on displaced workers in the travel industry, has also been making its rounds.

Called Covid-19 Support: Helping Talents in the Travel Industry, it was created by Mr Andrew Tan, who works for a tech company, with a former colleague, in order to leverage networks built over the years.

So far, the initiative has seen a modest reception, with more than 50 jobseekers and job listings by 19 companies.

MIXED RESPONSES

While the creators of both spreadsheets said that they do not track the success of their initiatives, the responses have been mixed.

Ms Ananya Deshpande, 29, who was from the events industry, said that while she did not manage to land a permanent job, several people who had seen her name on the SEAcosystem list reached out to her for freelance work, which she did before starting her current job at a consultancy.

“I think this is a fantastic initiative that shows so much support for and from the community,” Ms Deshpande said.

Ms Drishti Mulani, 32, however, has not been able to get opportunities so far. She said that while the SEAcosystem list has helped her connect with more people, she has yet to land a job.

Ms Mulani, who was from streaming service HOOQ before the company went into liquidation, said that the spreadsheet is an “an efficient resource for both employers looking to hire and people looking for jobs to refer to”, but she wishes that it would have more diversity in jobs offered because many in the listings are engineering-related positions.

Some human resources experts contacted by TODAY had doubts on the effectiveness of such movements.

Ms Angela Kuek, director at The Meyer Consulting Group, said: “There is no function for matching skills to relevant job listings, so it is difficult for employers to find what they are looking for without having to go through the whole list of information.” She added that tried-and-tested sites such as LinkedIn would be more reliable.

Similarly, Ms Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, said that the effectiveness of the spreadsheets will differ among jobseekers, depending on demand for their skill sets.

Both Ms Kuek and Ms Teo urged users to take caution, pointing out that there may be privacy issues considering the sensitivity of employment matters and how the spreadsheets are both open to the public.

They agreed though, that there is no harm in putting one’s eggs in many baskets and that this would present some opportunities for networking.

ENCOURAGING TO SEE SUCH EFFORTS

Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said that such ground-led efforts to help displaced workers are “encouraging” given the uncertain economic climate.

Mr Tay, who is also Member of Parliament (MP) for Pioneer Single Member Constituency (SMC), said: “The ecosystem approach of these initiatives helps bridge the needs of workers and employers by providing additional avenues for people to access jobs, as well as for employers to access the talent it seeks.” 

He added that such efforts can tap national initiatives, such as the Job Security Council under the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), to maximise their reach and provide pre-displacement support as well as match at-risk workers to new jobs.

Mr Melvin Yong, MP for Radin Mas SMC, who is also assistant secretary-general for NTUC, said that he is “heartened to see the community banding together”, and that the pandemic is a crisis that the Government cannot win alone.

“I encourage our civil society to partner with NTUC and community partners so that together, we can amplify the effectiveness of their job placement initiatives,” Mr Yong said.

He urged jobseekers to utilise offerings by the labour movement, such as the Union Training Assistance Programme and PME Career Coaches, to improve their resumes.

Under the Union Training Assistance Programme, NTUC members get 50 per cent off government-subsidised training courses for up to S$250 year. The PME Career Coaches is part of a programme by NTUC’s U PME Centre, where practising industry professionals help to provide peer support to NTUC members looking to transit into new jobs or industries.