SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - The Centre for Seniors (CFS) has enhanced its outreach effort by collaborating with job portal FastJobs to relaunch an improved website for seniors seeking jobs.
The Silver Jobs portal has a "resume drop" function that allows them to deposit their resumes for potential jobs with ease.
A Silver Skills feature, designed to encourage age-free hiring, allows seniors to list their experience and expertise so that employers can hire them based on job requirements rather than age.
CFS also obtained the support of Workforce Singapore to fund schemes to "trial, train and place" seniors in new careers that will allow them to adapt and train from job to job.
FastJobs introduced a new hashtag, #SeniorsWelcome, for employers to post if they are open to hiring mature job seekers.
The campaign, started in July this year, has seen more than 469 jobs posted by over 171 employers.
At the virtual launch of the partnership, Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of NTUC and Pioneer MP, said: "I urge employers and businesses who are hiring to tap this platform and give seniors and mature workers employment opportunities as they bring with them their own domain experience and expertise."
Ms Lim Huishan, general manager of FastJobs Singapore, said: "We're excited to have the opportunity to work with CFS to provide additional support and resources for mature job seekers... we need to move away from age profiling and focus on experience and skills in hiring.
"This partnership gives us the chance to reach out to a larger group of mature job seekers and allows us to connect them to reliable employers and training providers."
Meanwhile, from Saturday (Oct 3), residents in Pioneer SMC will be able to access a one-step centre for legal advice, career matching services and advice, as well as training and upskilling opportunities at Frontier Community Club.
The centre, called Legal & Employment/Employability @ Pioneer (LEaP), will see Pioneer residents volunteering to provide the various services, in partnership with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), NTUC LearningHub, NTUC U PME Centre and the Law Society Pro Bono Services. It is an extension of the JOBS@West Coast Programme.
Programmes at the centre will be focused on PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), as nearly 90 per cent of residents in Pioneer are employed in such capacities.
From end-October, residents can register for monthly legal clinics, which will be conducted by a team of three lawyers and two practicing legal trainees - all of whom are Pioneer residents.
Pro bono career coaching and mentorship will also be available for PMETs residents who have been unemployed or retrenched for three to six months.
Residents will also be able to meet a course consultant from NTUC LearningHub who can suggest suitable skills training and job-related courses.
Mr Tay said in a statement that LEaP is the culmination of the efforts of many Pioneer residents, volunteers, partners, community stakeholders and grassroots leaders helping one another.
"I will continue to leverage my networks and bring together like-minded people to co-create new programmes and initiatives that will better serve residents in Pioneer and help them fulfil their career aspirations, especially during these difficult times," he added.
