Jobs Situation Report - 11 August 2020

24,000 placed into jobs under SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package Extensive support measures and outreach efforts to help jobseekers

1. Preliminary estimates from MTI’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey and MOM’s Labour Market Advance Release confirmed earlier warnings that the impact of COVID-19 on Singapore’s economy and labour market would be more extensive in 2Q 2020 compared to 1Q 2020. With the external economic environment remaining weak and COVID-safe management measures moderating the pace of recovery in certain sectors, softness in the labour market is likely to persist with continued weakness in hiring and pressure on companies to retrench.
2. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has stepped up support for employers and workers. These efforts, which are now coordinated through the National Jobs Council (NJC), include the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package which aims to support close to 100,000 jobseekers by expanding job, traineeship, attachment and training opportunities.
3. The Government has also brought forward its hiring, and invested more resources into career conversion programmes. For jobseekers who are unable to secure a job, traineeships and attachment opportunities are available for them to gain industry-relevant skills to boost their employability once the market recovers. These opportunities may come from growth sectors, where jobseekers can pick up new skills and ready themselves for news job coming onstream.
4. To help jobseekers better access these opportunities, the Ministry of Manpower will be providing weekly updates on the jobs situation in Singapore to highlight the opportunities available for jobseekers and how they can access these opportunities. Subsequent reports will also include other key employment indicators, such as cost-saving measures adopted by companies, so that members of the public can have access to important information on a regular and timely basis.
   
   Updates on the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package
5. As at end-July, NJC has curated 92,000 committed opportunities¹. About half are significantly funded by the Government (including traineeships and attachments hosted by private sector firms) or jobs offered by public sector agencies. The other half are jobs offered by private sector employers. The latter, together with the SGUnited Traineeships opportunities are hosted on MyCareersFuture.sg. Table 1 below provides a further breakdown of these opportunities.
   
   
6. By end July, 24,000 jobseekers have been placed into these opportunities. In the initial phase, the focus was on placing jobseekers into more short-term jobs (up to 12 months’ duration) to handle the surge in COVID-19 related operations, especially in the public sector. Since then, the Government has been ramping up our efforts to implement SGUnited Traineeships, SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways and SGUnited Skills training programmes. In subsequent reports, we will provide the placements into such opportunities, that help to upskill and prepare our workers for the economic recovery. Table 2 below shows the breakdown of the opportunities under SGUnited Jobs and Skills that have been filled.
   
   
   
   Engagement and Outreach Efforts
7. To help jobseekers navigate these opportunities, Workforce Singapore (WSG) has ramped up its outreach by organising a series of events to help Singaporeans meet with hiring companies, pick up career tips and guidance to improve their job search, and better access information on the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. In July 2020, a total of 59 outreach and engagement activities have been conducted across Singapore reaching some 13,000 jobseekers.
   
   Walk-in Interviews
8. Nearly 1,000 opportunities were available at the 11 walk-in interviews held in July 2020. These includes opportunities in sectors such as Early Childhood Education, Food & Beverages, Retail, Logistics and Manufacturing. Slightly more than 300 jobseekers applied for at least one job, and more than 200 were shortlisted.
   
   Career Workshops
9. 43 career workshops and seminars were organised in July 2020 to help jobseekers better prepare for jobs of the future and to improve their job search. These events were well-attended by close to 2,700 individuals, and included topics such as overcoming job search fatigue, improving communications during interviews, online interview skills, and improving productivity while working from home, managing teams via virtual platforms, and improving one’s EQ at work.
   
   SGUnited Jobs and Skills Info Kiosks
10. WSG has been deploying SGUnited Jobs and Skills Info Kiosks almost every week in neighbourhoods to promote and raise awareness of various schemes under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Five such physical pop-ups were organised in Ghim Moh, Bedok, Seng Kang, Ang Mo Kio and Pasir Ris in July, reaching over 5,700 individuals. About 62% of visitors were aged 40 and above.
11. Based on the feedback collected, about 8 in 10 visitors gained a better understanding of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package after visiting the information kiosk.
12. Besides learning more about the package, individuals can also interact with WSG’s Career Ambassadors over live chat for bite-sized career advisory services. More than 130 did so, with tailored career advice depending on their job situation.
13. To encourage safe distancing and minimise the amount of time visitors spend at the physical kiosks, the Info Kiosks were designed as a blended physical-virtual setup, with visitors also encouraged to visit a specially created website to find out more at their convenience. WSG was able to reach over 4,600 individuals through this platform. Less technically-savvy individuals were provided with physical collaterals to take home.