SINGAPORE - Despite the green light by the National Wages Council (NWC) for employers to cut wages to save jobs, at least six companies that The Straits Times spoke to at a career fair on Saturday (Oct 17) did not feel a need to do so.
Instead, these firms - from various industries such as food and beverage, transportation and logistics - said they are looking to hire amidst the weak labour market due to the pandemic.
"On the contrary, the Covid-19 crisis has actually brought opportunities for us," said Mr Andrew Sim, who is chief executive officer of logistics firm J&T Express.
This is because the company is riding on the e-commerce sector, which is still growing rapidly, added Mr Sim.
Mr Ray Law, a recruitment officer from security services provider Certis, said that the company is recruiting as security services are still in demand.
"Even for the Covid-19 (crisis), (while a lot of) shops may be closed... but their products are still inside the shops," he said.
About 800 jobseekers attended the two-day career fair held at Our Tampines Hub, either virtually or in person. Those who went to the fair waited in line for interviews while others consulted career coaches or sought guidance from organisations such as SkillsFuture Singapore.
Titled Career Discovery @ North East, the job fair which ended on Saturday, was organised by the North East Community Development Council (CDC), in collaboration with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute.
A total of 1,400 jobs were on offer by 12 participating companies and 27 retail tenants of Our Tampines Hub.
Among the job vacancies, 280 were for professional, manager, executive and technican (PMET) roles, including positions in customer services and sales.
The other jobs available are for auxillary police officers, dental assistants, bakers and drivers.
Besides the participating employers, social agencies and organisations such as Mendaki also had booths at Our Tampines Hub.
Representatives from the Ministry of Social and Family Development's Social Service Office located at Tampines were also present.
These are part of efforts to provide integrated support to job-seeking residents, said Minister of Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli at the career fair on Saturday.
"As they look for jobs, they are also shown how they can get support for their financial needs and career coaching, even for their families," he said .
MP Desmond Choo, who is North East District mayor, said that such an integrated approach would be the way forward for future career fairs.
"It will be very resident-centric, helping them to tackle not only jobs, but (also) provide them with the support while they are searching for jobs," he said.
