Here are some interesting things to note on the National Jobs Bank.
1. Are all companies operating in Singapore supposed to submit their openings on the portal before they send headhunters out to comb?
Firms submitting EP (Employment Pass) applications are required to advertise their job vacancies via the National Jobs Bank.
For Work Permit or S-Pass holder, you are not required by law to advertise. But you still have to hire fairly. Otherwise the penalties described above will apply.
2. If yes, how is the government policing it?
MOM will use the Fair Considerations Framework to police this, read here: Fair Consideration Framework
3. Do job seekers send in their application through the portal? This will allow the government to know exactly the number of applications and question companies why they are not hiring locals who apply.
You can send in your application via the portal, and indeed there exists data that technically allows analysis of applications.
4. From job seekers prospectives, who can use the portal?
Everyone with a Singpass.
5. How are rogue companies and headhunters punished? What are the whistle blowing avenues to bring them to justice.
You can lodge a complaint with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP).
6. How will TAFEP help? Is this a ‘wayang’ act as it has no ‘teeth’?
If a complaint is lodged to TAFEP, companies practicing discrimination to locals will hear from officers by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). When that happens, the offending company will see themselves put on a blacklist, and slowly, they’ll find their applications for foreign talent rejected.
Or they can use public shaming as in the case of discriminatory job offers.
There are a 101 means of corporate torture tripartite partners can inflict on an offending company. There is no need to institutionalise a means of punishment. Perhaps this is the reason why we were not able to find an official statement that prescribes a course of action. But if you have the chance, speak with officials from the Ministry of Manpower or the NTUC and this will quite likely be what they will tell you.
7. It seems to easy to game this system.
Yes, any process and system is subject to loopholes and gaming. It is very easy for an employer to say “oh, we’ve advertised but we can’t just find a Singaporean”. It will be up to MOM to decide if the said company has reasonably considered Singaporeans or not.
Similar systems in tough European and Australian systems are also subject to gaming, not just us.
8. Won’t the other job portals such as JobsDB suffer from a lack of revenue?
Well…yes, but that’s their corporate problem isn’t it? lol…
FAQ on the National Jobs Bank - Five Stars And a Moon
1. Are all companies operating in Singapore supposed to submit their openings on the portal before they send headhunters out to comb?
Firms submitting EP (Employment Pass) applications are required to advertise their job vacancies via the National Jobs Bank.
For Work Permit or S-Pass holder, you are not required by law to advertise. But you still have to hire fairly. Otherwise the penalties described above will apply.
2. If yes, how is the government policing it?
MOM will use the Fair Considerations Framework to police this, read here: Fair Consideration Framework
3. Do job seekers send in their application through the portal? This will allow the government to know exactly the number of applications and question companies why they are not hiring locals who apply.
You can send in your application via the portal, and indeed there exists data that technically allows analysis of applications.
4. From job seekers prospectives, who can use the portal?
Everyone with a Singpass.
5. How are rogue companies and headhunters punished? What are the whistle blowing avenues to bring them to justice.
You can lodge a complaint with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP).
6. How will TAFEP help? Is this a ‘wayang’ act as it has no ‘teeth’?
If a complaint is lodged to TAFEP, companies practicing discrimination to locals will hear from officers by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). When that happens, the offending company will see themselves put on a blacklist, and slowly, they’ll find their applications for foreign talent rejected.
Or they can use public shaming as in the case of discriminatory job offers.
There are a 101 means of corporate torture tripartite partners can inflict on an offending company. There is no need to institutionalise a means of punishment. Perhaps this is the reason why we were not able to find an official statement that prescribes a course of action. But if you have the chance, speak with officials from the Ministry of Manpower or the NTUC and this will quite likely be what they will tell you.
7. It seems to easy to game this system.
Yes, any process and system is subject to loopholes and gaming. It is very easy for an employer to say “oh, we’ve advertised but we can’t just find a Singaporean”. It will be up to MOM to decide if the said company has reasonably considered Singaporeans or not.
Similar systems in tough European and Australian systems are also subject to gaming, not just us.
8. Won’t the other job portals such as JobsDB suffer from a lack of revenue?
Well…yes, but that’s their corporate problem isn’t it? lol…
FAQ on the National Jobs Bank - Five Stars And a Moon
