SINGAPORE - Residents living in the South West District will be able to tap into a training and employment network to look for jobs near their homes and learn new skills under the SkillsFuture initiative.

The network, called the SkillsFuture Network @ South West, was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Saturday (Nov 11) at Taman Jurong Community Centre.

The network, involving partners like Employment and Employability Institute Pte Ltd (e2i), Sakae Holdings Ltd, and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), aims to help link residents, especially stay-at-home women and senior citizens, with job opportunities with flexible working hours near their homes.

For example, Japanese restaurant Sakae Sushi is open to hiring women who live within a one-kilometre radius of any of their branches, said Mayor of South West District Low Yen Ling.

Such job opportunities are currently in demand due to smaller family sizes, an aging population and the need to care for the young or elderly, added Ms Low.

Volunteers will also be on hand at the network to explain the SkillsFuture initiative to residents and how they can utilise their credits learn new skills.

Residents can also gain access to various agencies and training providers in the South West area through the network, including career coaches of e2i at the Devan Nair Institute and ITE College West, which provides training courses in IT, healthcare and the creative field.

A job fair was also held during the launch, with more than 15 employing organisations conducting on-the-spot interviews. More than 400 job and training opportunities were offered at the fair.