A high-tech national job portal was launched yesterday to better match local job seekers with employers.

It can prioritise search results according to the relevance of a job seeker's skills, and filter results to show, among other features, jobs which come under government schemes that support training.

The portal, MyCareersFuture.sg, was developed by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Government Technology Agency. It replaces the interface of the existing Jobs Bank for users, and WSG said it aims to roll out the function for employers to post jobs by the end of this year.

For now, employers will still post jobs on Jobs Bank, and the posts will be shown on MyCareersFuture.sg

A pilot run of the new portal was conducted with 100 users in the last three months of last year, and the site went live in January this year.

It has received 280,000 visitors as of the first week of April.

Second Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo told reporters the portal aims to provide job seekers with a smarter and faster way to find the right opportunities in the next phase of their careers.

"Today, some job seekers send out many resumes, not knowing whether there is a good job fit and whether they have the skills employers are looking for.

"Employers also have a similar problem. They have to sieve through a lot of CVs (curricula vitae), and sometimes they may not find who they are looking for," she said at Suntec City mall, on the sidelines of a roadshow on government Adapt and Grow job schemes.

Mrs Teo said the portal is timely because new jobs keep coming up and the skill profiles of jobs are changing very quickly. With the portal showing the level of skill relevance to jobs, even those now employed can see areas where they can enhance their skills, she added.

It is also about delivering better service to job seekers, who use very friendly apps and portals for other things, like looking for holiday destinations, Mrs Teo said, adding that suitable features can be adapted for the job search engine.

To calculate the relevance of job seekers' skills, which are displayed in percentage form, from zero to 100, the system uses machine learning to analyse job descriptions and identify the skills needed.

It then compares these with skills the job seeker has indicated.

Clicking on a job post will also show other relevant skills the job seeker lacks.

WSG group director for Careers Connect Lynn Ng said this feature is to encourage job seekers to reflect on their skills and experience. "It's better than submitting applications based on a job title, salary or company name."

A WSG spokesman said the new portal will complement the MySkillsFuture.sg portal that was rolled out last year for the wider population, giving information on career pathways and available training.

WSG will roll out more features for the new portal later this year, such as recommending suitable candidates to employers based on the CVs of applicants.

Mr Simon Oh, 43, who lost his job in the oil and gas industry last October, sent out hundreds of applications for all types of positions.

After advice from a WSG career coach, he began to use the MyCareersFuture.sg portal.

He tailored his search for jobs in technology businesses where his skills, including business development and sales management, have at least a 50 per cent match.

"With the skills matching, you don't apply for jobs where your match is very low," he said.