NTUC’s e2i pilots new hands-on mobile job search workshop and job search kiosk for non-PMETs to help them acquire digital skills for a faster and more effective job match

1. 25 April 2019, Wednesday – Over the years, job search modes have evolved and looking for a new job has gone beyond traditional methods such as going through newspapers and attending job fairs. Presently, many hiring employers put up advertisements online and through job portals to look for suitable candidates. However, some job seekers still have limited awareness or access to the Internet and/or may not be digitally savvy enough to use their phone or mobile devices to search for jobs. This is especially more prevalent among the mature non-Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (non-PMETs) worker group.

2. To assist non-executive job seekers who may not be digitally adept, the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) is piloting new ways and tools to help these job seekers pick up basic digital literacy skills to search for employment opportunities more quickly, enhance their job search and to be better matched to vacancies.

3. The “Mobile Job Search” (MJS) workshop, developed by e2i, serves to guide job-ready non-PMETs so that they can acquire relevant and useful knowledge and know-hows to access online job search platforms, search for jobs easily and be matched to employers in a shorter time. e2i partnered FindJobs to introduce a mobile job search app at the workshop and new job kiosks at e2i career centres so that both job seekers and employers have an additional platform to find a better and suitable match.

4. The first MJS workshop will commence on 25 April 2019 where participants will be updated on the available job search avenues and guided with tips on grooming, interview skills and how they can craft their marketing pitch to employers. Prior to the workshop, the participants have already been assessed by e2i to be job-ready and, at the workshop on the same day, they will be encouraged to go hands-on to apply for jobs through the FindJobs app installed on their mobile phones. A trial of the MJS workshop was undertaken by e2i in early April with 12 mature non-PMET participants, ages ranging from 42 to 71 years old, with more than half of the participants unaware of mobile job apps. After the pilot class, participants provided positive feedback, sharing that the content presented was easily comprehensible and relevant. With the use of the ‘broadcast’ feature in the FindJobs app, the number of job applications actually doubled and more than half of the class participants were shortlisted by employers for the jobs they applied for.

5. With effect from 17 Apr 2019, a new job kiosk loaded with similar features derived from the FindJobs app (familiar to the MJS participants), has been installed at career centres in e2i west and e2i central. These kiosks, developed in collaboration with FindJobs, feature an intuitive and touchscreen interface (with a display area of 288mm width x 476mm height) with simple navigation. Users can search for jobs based on job function and geographical proximity i.e. filter jobs within varying distances ranging from 1km to 10km. What is also good about this app is that job seekers can also directly contact employers through WhatsApp and apply for multiple jobs through the ‘broadcast’ feature. The app also narrows the language capability barrier as jobseekers can choose to listen to the job description without reading job postings. There are currently more than 700 participating employers.