Just like how gyms offer free trials for members to try out their services, a new upgrade under the Work Trial scheme will let job seekers in Singapore try out new careers part-time.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo announced yesterday (5 Mar) the launch of the Career Trial programme, which will provide job seekers with training allowance for up to three months as they take up jobs on a “trial basis”.
Additionally, job seekers under this programme will receive a bonus if they stay in the job for at least three months after the trial.
The programme will also provide salary support to employers.
According to the website, the scheme will pay employees “30% of (the employee’s) monthly salary for up to 6 months, capped at $5,400 per hire”.
Minister Teo stated that she hopes that the enhanced Career Trial programme will “benefit more job seekers who have caregiving responsibilities and help employers become more comfortable managing part-time workers”.
Sometimes, job seekers and employers are unsure about each other […] Career Trial helps job seekers and employers get to know each other better before signing on the dotted line.
She also revealed that the programme helped about 730 workers find new jobs last year – a 40% increase from 2017.
Adapt, Grow, And Stay Employed
Minister Teo also provided updates on other employment-centric Government initiatives.
One of which is the Adapt and Grow initiative, which benefitted 30,000 people in 2017. Out of this number, “more than half were professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs)”.
The initiative also helped more than 9,000 people with secondary-level qualifications or below.
Nearly 9,000 older workers aged 50 and above were also placed into new roles.
Job-matching portal MyCareersFuture.sg, launched last April, has also received “more than 2 million visits and more than 1.7 million applications” so far.
Featured Image Credit: Asia Law Network
