Nearly 5,500 openings at Singapore startups under SGUnited Jobs and Skills scheme so far

MID-CAREER workers in Professional Conversion Programmes made up half of the 330 new workers taken in by startups under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package from April to June.

And another 150 fresh and recent graduates have joined the sector since a national traineeships scheme opened in June, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Thursday.

The fresh placements come on the back of the vacancies for more than 4,600 jobs and 860 traineeships and attachments, offered by more than 1,600 startups under the jobs package.

Software developers; chefs; engineering professionals; sales, marketing and business development managers; and administrative professionals were the top five roles available.

"Contrary to common perception, salaries offered by startups are not necessarily below the industry norm," said the MOM in its statement, while calling the median pay cheque of S$6,000 for software developers at startups in line with industry norms.

The ministry also highlighted tech-related roles such as software developers and app developers, and non-tech roles such as sous chefs, business development leads and digital content producers, among the positions that are open at startups.

The S$2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package - which also ropes in private-sector employers to offer jobs and training positions to local workers, during the Covid-19 pandemic-related downturn - was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in May.

He followed it up this week with a S$1 billion Jobs Growth Incentive scheme that dangles wage support for new local hires, especially mature workers aged 40 years and older.

Government agency Workforce Singapore (WSG) is still matching job seekers to startups, with the MOM adding: "While the job roles and sectors are not always familiar, we are encouraged by the job seekers who have kept an open mind. The government will also provide support to businesses, both established and new, to build a strong Singaporean core as they expand."

The latest data was released in a weekly "jobs situation report" that Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo inaugurated on Aug 11, in a bid to offer timelier labour market updates.

Meanwhile, WSG and the labour movement's Employment and Employability Institute jointly supported more than 16,000 job seekers in July, the MOM reported.

Their outreach activities included SGUnited Job Interviews in fields such as healthcare and technology, and career workshops on topics such as salary negotiations and networking skills.