Job seekers keen to work near their homes can find openings through a new programme in the North East District.

Their employers will also receive funding support from statutory board Workforce Singapore (WSG) to train new hires.

The three-month pilot run of the R³ (Recruit, Reskill, Retain) programme by WSG, North East Community Development Council (CDC) and Our Tampines Hub was launched yesterday by Second Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo.

Mrs Teo told reporters that the pilot is part of efforts to make job matching more effective.

"The idea was to have... employment facilitation that is targeted at people who prefer to look for jobs within their community because they may have family commitments and don't want to work too far away," she said. "At the same time, we also want to be able to help the employers within the community access a wider pool of talent."

Under the scheme, job seekers can register at WSG's career centre Careers Connect at Our Tampines Hub, and be taken to visit employers to learn about the job roles and work environment.

Mrs Teo opened the revamped centre - one of three run by WSG - yesterday. The other two are in Paya Lebar and Woodlands.

If the job seekers are hired, their employers can receive up to a full subsidy from WSG to send them for foundational skills training like workplace literacy and numeracy during the first three months of employment. Employers can get subsidies of up to 90 per cent to send these workers for industry or occupational skills training during that time. WSG will also provide free career advisory services for fresh hires and their reporting supervisors for the first three months to help new workers settle in.

So far, five companies - including IT company Neurones IT Asia, supermarket chain Giant and bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore - are on board for the pilot run.

Mrs Teo said the aim is to reach at least 600 job seekers over the next few months. The scheme can be replicated in other districts if it is effective.

North East District Mayor Desmond Choo said the CDC is working to engage the 15,000 employers in the district - which comprises Tampines, Pasir Ris-Punggol and Aljunied GRCs as well as Hougang and Punggol East SMCs - to encourage them to take part.

Tampines resident Lim Luck Cher left her job as an assistant manager in a precision engineering company three years ago to look after her disabled mother.

She is hoping to find a job near home with a less stressful work schedule so that she can care for her mother in the afternoons.

The 50-year-old visited Giant hypermarket in Tampines yesterday through the new programme.

"The tour was helpful because I saw that the work experience is quite similar (to mine). Here, you need to understand the products well to explain to customers, like in my past job," said Ms Lim.