We examine the launch of the National Jobs Bank earlier this year and distil what it will really mean for you, the employer.
Since the National Jobs Bank launched in July 2014, some 12,700 employers have registered onto its database (as of September 2014). And according to Minister of Manpower Tan Chuan Jin, the proportion of registered employers that are actively utilising the Jobs Bank stands at a healthy 80 per cent.
Set up to support the Fair Consideration Framework, the Jobs Bank aims to strengthen to Singaporean core of the workforce. Firms submitting Employment Pass (EP) applications must advertise their job vacancies on the Jobs Bank for a minimum period of 14 calendar days before their application can proceed.
As an employer looking to fill open positions as quickly as possible and with the best candidates, the Jobs Bank can be a double-edged sword – either a good way to publicise your job openings better visibility, or as an obstacle in the way of your hiring process.
What does the Jobs Bank really mean for you, the employer?
Does It Matter?
Leaving out some exceptions to the rule – jobs paying a fixed monthly salary of more than S$12,000 – employers will now have to consider Singaporeans first before making the job available to other nationalities.
However, the question remains – will you, as an employer, be inconvenienced in the name of a Singaporeans-first policy? According to a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) report on the employment situation in the third quarter of 2014, unemployment remained at a low 2.9 per cent for Singapore citizens. With Singaporeans enjoying almost full employment and job vacancies aplenty, it remains to be seen if there is in fact a pressing need for the Jobs Bank in the first place.
Employers naturally want to hire the most qualified candidate, regardless of nationality. The requisite 14-day window for Singaporean-only applicants can be an unnecessary delay in the hiring process, especially when certain positions need to be filled quickly.
Nevertheless, if there is no urgency to fill a vacancy, the two-week priority given to Singaporeans appears too brief to have any significant impact on encouraging firms to give more opportunities to local workers. As an employer, there will be little need for you to worry about being forced to hire a local over a better qualified foreigner. Furthermore, if you – like many other employers – plan to hire locally anyway, the new Jobs Bank regulations will be irrelevant to you.
The Jobs Bank and Traditional Job Portals
What the Jobs Bank does do is streamline your hiring process by providing you with a central database to reach out to local talents. You are probably already utilising a variety of online job portals to advertise vacancies at your company. The centralised nature of the Jobs Bank will draw greater numbers of candidates to peruse its listings, and you will gain access to a larger pool of potential candidates from a single source. By putting you in touch with candidates across a range of industries and with varying qualifications, the Jobs Bank provides a clear estimation of the availability of candidates for a certain role and gives your job openings better visibility.
Traditional job portals aren't going away in the short- to mid-term future, but if more companies opt to advertise on the Jobs Bank and more jobseekers turn to it for employment opportunities, it could very well eclipse your regular online job portal in the long run.
Looking Ahead
As a relatively new initiative, the Jobs Bank may not have had a significant impact on the hiring process thus far. However, as an employer you should note that the Jobs Bank sets the precedent to consider Singaporeans as your first resource when it comes to hiring. And by leaving the option open to hire international workers should they prove to be better qualified, the Jobs Bank paves the way for a healthy and productive mix of foreign and local talent that could lead to handsome payoffs in time.
