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Jobs Situation Report 20th Edition

Jobs Growth Incentive supported 27,000 growing firms to expand through hiring of 130,000 locals between September and November 2020

The Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) is helping to boost hiring activity of locals in some companies to levels higher than in 2019. From September to November 2020, 27,000 JGI-eligible employers hired a median of two locals.

    1. This is higher than the median of one local hire by these employers in the same period the year before (September to November 2019).

    2. About six in 10 of these employers hired one to two local workers; the remaining four in 10 hired more.

    3. Nearly all (99%) the employers were SMEs.

2. Launched in August 2020 to support employers to expand local hiring, the JGI has been extended to end-September 2021 to benefit more employers and jobseekers. Employers hiring eligible locals can receive up to $15,000 per hire. Those hiring mature workers, persons with disabilities, and ex-offenders can receive more support, with effect from 1 March 2021, of up to $54,000 per hire.1

3. The JGI supported hiring across many sectors. Close to four in 10 of the 130,000 JGI-supported hires were in growth sectors, such as Wholesale Trade, Professional Services and Information & Communications.2 JGI also supported the rebound of the Food Services and Retail sectors – employers in these sectors hired one in five of all JGI-supported hires. A breakdown of JGI-supported hires in the top hiring sectors is provided in Chart 1.

Chart 1 - JGI-supported new hires in September - November 2020

JGI-eligible employers found success in tapping on wider pool of jobseekers

4. JGI-eligible employers have hired from a wide pool of jobseekers, including the unemployed,those from different sectors, and they also considered mature workers.

    1. About half of the 130,000 JGI-supported hires were not employed at the point of hire and over a quarter had been out of work for more than six months.

    2. Six in 10 were previously employed in a different sector. Employers who are prepared to consider applicants who may not have the full set of skills and experience preferred for the job, but have the right attitude and potential to do well, will have more options and are ultimately more likely to find a good fit. To help employers defray the costs of reskilling new hires with skill gaps, Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) career conversion programmes provide substantial wage and training support of up to 90%. The JGI comes on top of these subsidies3.

    3. Offering competitive and fair wages also makes some employers more attractive than others. About six in 10 of the JGI-supported hires earned the same or higher wages compared to their previous jobs.

    4. Close to half of JGI-supported hires were mature workers aged 40 and above, and one-third were aged 50 and above. Under the enhanced JGI, eligible employers will receive up to 50% wage support for each local aged 40 and above hired between March and September 2021, for up to 18 months. Those hiring seniors (aged 60 and above) can tap additional support, such as the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant and the Part-Time Re-employment Grant to adopt progressive workplace practices.

5. With unemployment rates gradually declining since October 2020 and the job market seeing pockets of tightness, MOM encourages employers to be open-minded towards jobseekers from diverse backgrounds. This will better enable them to fill their vacancies and support their businesses.

About Pacific Logistics Group (“PLG”) and the Logistics Sector

6. The JGI has supported more than 4,000 local hires in the Logistics sector. PLG is one of many employers that have benefitted.

7. PLG saw the need to restructure their business operations, and venture into new areas to make up for the fall in demand due to disruptions in the supply chain. To support this business transformation, it expanded its workforce in areas such as food logistics and process innovation and hired new staff to perform roles such as IT Data Analyst, Logistics Executive and Warehouse Supervisor.

8. One such new hire is 51-year-old Sia Hock Tee.

    1. Previously a Tanker Driver in a wholesale trade company dealing with petroleum and lubricant products, Hock Tee lost his job in Sep 2020.

    2. He tried applying for the same role with PLG. Impressed by his attitude towards learning, PLG chose instead to tap on his vast experience to support their supply chain operations.

    3. Hock Tee thus joined PLG as a Supply Chain Compliance Executive in Oct 2020 and was charged to ensure company’s operational processes comply with the company’s SOPs and regulations in critical areas such as management of dangerous goods (DG), food and pharmaceutical products.

    4. To prepare him for the role, PLG placed him in the PCP for Supply Chain Professionals, which equipped him with fundamental knowledge and skills in supply chain operations.

9. To help employers in the Logistics sector meet their manpower needs, Workforce Singapore offers the Professional Conversion Programmes for Supply Chain Professionals, Logistics Professionals and e-Commerce Supply Chain Professionals.

    1. These are nine-month programmes administered by the Supply Chain and Logistics Academy (SCALA) that comprise facilitated classroom sessions, structured on-the-job training as well as a mentorship programme for new mid-career hires.

    2. In 2020, more than 170 employers such as PLG, Ninja Logistics and Corlison, have tapped on these career conversion programmes to hire about 320 mid-career workers for roles such as Business Development Manager, Logistics Solutions Analyst, Supply Chain Technology Manager and Omni Channel Specialist.

Continued Support for Local Jobseekers

10. Local jobseekers who require assistance with their job search can also approach WSG and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), including through the 24 SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres across the country. The Ministry of Manpower and WSG have also appointed Adecco Personnel Pte Ltd, an employment agency with over 64 years of global experience in employment facilitation, as a SGUnited Jobs and Skills Placement Partner to provide another option for mature workers, long-term unemployed jobseekers, or persons with disabilities. Together, we will help every segment of the workforce emerge stronger from this crisis.

For More Information

11. To find out more about:

    1. The Jobs Growth Incentive, please visit https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Schemes/ Businesses/Jobs-Growth-Incentive--JGI-/.

    2. Recruitment strategies that employers may implement to boost their manpower efforts, please refer to the 19th Job Situation Report at https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2021/0312-jobs-situation-report---19th-edition.

    3. WSG’s programmes and career advisory and matching services, please visit www.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/careercoaching (QR code below) or call WSG’s hotline at 6883 5885.

    4. NTUC-e2i’s career coaching and job matching services, please visit e2i.com.sg/app or call NTUC-e2i’s hotline at 6474 0606 to book an appointment to meet a career coach.

    5. The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Placement Partners Initiative, please visit https://www.wsg.gov.sg/programmes-and-initiatives/sgunited-jobs-and-skills- placement-partners-initiative.html

QR code for WSG

FOOTNOTE

  1. Employers hiring eligible locals will be given up to 12 months of wage support of 25% of the first $5,000 from the month of hire. Employers who hire mature local workers (aged 40 and above), persons with disabilities and ex-offenders will be given enhanced support of 50% of the first $6,000 (previously $5,000) of gross monthly income for up to 18 months (previously 12 months).
  2. These refer to the Built Environment, Financial Services, Healthcare, Information & Communications, Professional Services, Logistics, Manufacturing, and Wholesale Trade sectors.
  3. For individuals newly hired on WSG’s Place-and-Train career conversion programmes for the period between 1 Sep 2020 and 30 Sep 2021, the salary support disbursements will now be disbursed to participating employers over a longer period, comprising the career conversion programme training duration and an additional period of retention equivalent to the training duration.