Singapore-based online job platform Glints are targeting the recruitment of Bruneian talent for outsourced professional work for Singaporean firms, after seeing local IT graduates in action at the Brunei Hacks last weekend.
Business lead of Glints’ talent hub Billy Jantriko said last weekend that their management has engaged the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) and Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) on the feasibility of tapping into Brunei’s pool of graduates.
If Glints is able to reach an arrangement with local stakeholders and job matches are successful, Jantriko said Glints would potentially invest in setting up an office in the Sultanate where Bruneians would be able to work remotely for overseas firms.
Glints – who have raised over $4 million in investment – reportedly have 300,000 users across Singapore and Indonesia and 10,000 companies on their platform including United Overseas Bank, Adidas and Grab.
“We have seen some early success by setting up (an office) in Indonesia, and as part of our regional expansion see Brunei as the next viable opportunity,” said Jantriko.
“Even though Brunei’s overall population size is small, it is a good fit for Glints; there is a strong pool of young job seekers (due to unemployment) who are also well-versed in English.”
Most full-time positions advertised on Glints are for Singapore-based corporations with the opportunities listed favouring IT, business development and marketing. However the startup also has plans to connect with firms internationally, with Australia and Hong Kong amongst the countries targeted.
Jantriko said that most firms on Glints contract individuals as direct employees, different from other outsourcing platforms where a scope of work is open to freelancers, independent contractors or corporate entities.
“Engaging these talents as employees, depending on the nature of the work, is important to a lot of corporations for confidentiality,” said Jantriko.
Glints has been strategic in expanding their talent pool to cater to markets where unemployment is prevalent. Their largest base abroad now is in Batam, Indonesia – less than an hour by ferry from Singapore and whose economy was reportedly unraveling in 2017, with 300,000 losing their jobs after factory shutdowns.
Similar to their expansion to Batam, Glints began scoping out Bruneian talent in coding, designing and marketing by hosting a hackathon locally. Jantriko shared that Glints’ connection to Brunei came through one of their main investors Golden Equator – who are currently running DARe’s business bootcamps.
“Through Golden Equator we were able to connect with another (similarly-styled) startup in Brunei who we are exploring a potential collaboration with,” said Jantriko.
Aside from connecting job seekers with employers, Glints helps its users identify the skill sets and training opportunities needed for them to build their career of choice.
