People of TAL

Amos Hong

Senior Manager, Fair Consideration Management

TAFEP

1. Tell us more about your job.

My job involves engaging employers and assessing if their hiring practices are in line with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Consideration Framework.

We work in partnership with MOM to check on selected employers whom we assess may not have fairly considered local job seekers.

2. Can you describe a typical day at work?

My workday typically starts with reviewing the email responses of employers about their hiring practices. I will subsequently submit the findings to MOM.

After lunch, I will review potentially discriminatory job advertisements. I would engage the companies if there were discriminatory elements found and help them rectify the job advertisements.

On some days, I also conduct engagement sessions with companies. These sessions help companies gain a better understanding of what they can do to attract and retain locals and strengthen their workforce profiles. This includes sharing on resources and programmes available to them.

Finally, to round up the day, I will put on my earphones and listen to music before going home to spend time with my family.

3. What is something surprising or unusual about your work that most people are unlikely to know?

Many employers we engage do not realise that we are not just checking on their hiring practices, but also helping them to become better employers. So, our role is not just to ensure compliance but also to help businesses succeed.

4. What keeps you going? What is one guiding principle you live by?

At TAFEP, I get to shape progressive workplace practices. My guiding principles at work are summarised in 3 Ps: Performance, Passion, and Purpose. I believe in being excellent, deriving meaning and purpose in my work with doing something greater than myself.

5. Tell us how your work made a real difference in someone’s life, and why?

Employers are realising that it is important to have a strong Singaporean core at their workplaces instead of having large number of foreigners. Hence, after talking to me, many of these employers had reviewed their HR practices to ensure locals are considered fairly for jobs.  

6. What support or help have you received from your co-workers or supervisors to carry out your work?

TAFEP has an amiable work culture where bosses are supportive and colleagues are helpful. I am grateful for my bosses who have been supportive in trying out new technologies at work (e.g. using ChatGPT) and allowing me to try new things (e.g. hosting, acting for corporate videos). TAL also encourages the formation of Communities of Practice where like-minded colleagues with similar interests can engage in shared interests.

7. Which of the TAL values resonates the most with you?

People Centredness. Our work is all about people and making the world a better place.