What you need to know about the National Jobs Bank

Singapore's new National Jobs Bank has been launched in its beta stages, and already boasts more than 9,000 jobs across several industries.

The site is being administered by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), and the current testing stage, which will end in June, allows for employers and individuals to provide feedback for site improvements.

The site is targeted at three different groups: individuals or job seekers, employers, as well as third party entities such as employment agencies and private job portals.

With just over two months to go to the portal's official start in August, here are three things you need to know about the Jobs Bank.

1. Information you'll need prior to registration

Companies who want to advertise jobs require a Unique Entity Number (UEM), an e-Service Access Code from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and SingPass accounts for company personnel who will be accessing the site.

2. Make sure you're complying with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) has released guidelines on what employers can and can't mention in a job posting. For a quick rundown on the regulations, click here.

3. Current users of JobsNet will need to re-register

Because the Jobs Bank will replace JobsNet (WDA's online self-help job portal for job seekers and employers) on 1 June 2014, companies with existing accounts on JobsNet will have to register for a new one on the Jobs Bank.

Once the portal official launches on 1 August 2014, employers in Singapore will have to advertise for available positions paying less than S$12,000 a month on the site for two weeks, before they can offer those roles to a non-local.

This is in line with the Ministry of Manpower's Fair Consideration Framework. In September last year, Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said: "These changes are part of a broader effort to ensure that good jobs continue to be created for Singaporeans."

However, he added the framework is not about hiring Singaporeans first, or hiring Singaporeans only.

"What the government is doing is to help them get a fair opportunity. Singaporeans must still prove themselves able and competitive to take on the higher jobs that they aspire to," he said.

"We will continue investing in our continuing education and training infrastructure so that Singaporeans can upgrade their skills and remain competitive in the workplace."