27 August 2024
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) is pleased that the Government has considered the employers’ feedback when designing the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme (JS Scheme).
2. Given Singapore’s tight labour market where there were 156 job vacancies for every 100 jobseekers as at March 2024[1], it will be important to help the involuntarily unemployed regain employment as soon as possible. With the current design of the JS scheme, where payouts are tapered down over a period of six months, and capped at $6,000, the scheme strike the right balance of providing support, and incentivizing the involuntarily unemployed to take active steps to gain employment, and not to remain unemployed.
3. Employers are keen to maximise our workforce potential by tapping on various sources of manpower, including those who are involuntarily unemployed. But they may not be equipped with the right skills or have the information on what suitable jobs are available for them.
4. Hence, the active support measures under the JS Scheme, such as career coaching and employment facilitation, would help jobseekers to find jobs that are suitable for them and match them with the relevant employers.
5. In addition, SNEF noted that the JS Scheme can be complemented by the SkillsFuture Step Up Programme and Mid-Career Pathway Programme to support jobseekers to undergo skill development while finding jobs that would fit their skillsets. At the same time, employers can leverage the Career Conversion Programmes to further train the new hires.
6.Overall, employers will benefit from finding better-fit and better-skilled employees that meet their business needs through the various Government support schemes, including the new JS Scheme.
1 Source: Ministry of Manpower
About Singapore National Employers Federation
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) is a trade union of employers. Our mission is to advance tripartism and enhance labour market flexibility to enable employers to implement responsible employment practices for sustainable growth. SNEF has a membership of over 3,700 companies with a combined workforce of over 850,000. For more information, please visit www.snef.org.sg
