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~ As part of NTUC Youth Taskforce’s year-long engagement strategy, it will hold focus group discussions and dialogue sessions with students at various IHL campuses ~
NTUC to partner IHLs to gather diverse insights and support more youths
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) shared more today on its plans to partner local Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in Singapore, including Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs). Other local IHLs such as polytechnics and universities have also indicated interests to partner NTUC to support youths between 18 and 25 years old in discovering their aspirations, goals, anxieties, and fears. This is so that NTUC can hear our youths’ voices and better support them as they transition from being students to working adults.
Through NTUC’s direct partnership with the IHLs and/or their relevant student bodies, NTUC Youth Taskforce, headed by Young NTUC, will go to various IHL campuses to conduct focus group discussions and closed-door dialogue sessions. The Youth Hub, a key component of NTUC Youth Taskforce, will also be situated at various campuses to provide career-related advice, tips and resources. The first on-the-ground engagement with ITEs began today at ITE College West.
NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng, who visited the campus and toured the Youth Hub with ITE Chief Executive Officer Low Khah Gek, said, “We are excited to partner Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to reach out to youths between 18 and 25 years old, especially those who are already starting to think and worry about their career trajectories. The youth may be concerned with what internships they should pursue; how they can kick start their careers and what industries they should work in. NTUC will provide relevant career resources to our youth. We want to be their guiding buddy at work, at the workplace and in the workforce. We hope that more educational institutions and youth organisations can come onboard with us to support our youth in their work-life aspirations.”
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Desmond Choo, who is chairing the NTUC Youth Taskforce, said, “We want to be able to gather diverse insights and perspectives from students from various IHLs, who may have different aspirations, needs and challenges, before they enter the workforce. This is part of NTUC Youth Taskforce’s year-long engagement strategy to hear from as many youths as possible from all backgrounds to gather their feedback. Thereafter, we will work to ensure that their needs are well-represented and addressed through the recommendations of the taskforce. We want to develop and deepen our partnership with our youths over the next many years.”
Young NTUC keeping pulse on what our youths need
In its outreach efforts, Young NTUC conducted a focus group discussion with 50 students from ITE College West today and gathered insights, which focused on three key aspects: work, workplace, and workforce. Participants had a candid discussion on their views and perceptions towards these areas including their definitions of success, anxieties of stepping out into the workforce and what they hope to see in their future workplaces.
Together with Young NTUC, SG Ng attended a separate closed-door dialogue session with 550 students from the School of Engineering at ITE College West. The dialogue session included sharing by Institute of Engineers Singapore executive committee member Syafiq Sahul and NTUC Senior Industrial Relations Officer Mahendran S/O Anbalagan on areas in internships and career mentoring.
The NTUC Youth Taskforce will continue to hold focus group discussions and dialogue sessions over the next few months at other IHL campuses. The Youth Hub will be at ITE College West before heading to ITE College Central and ITE College East. Students in polytechnics and universities can also expect to be engaged in the coming weeks through these engagements with the taskforce and Youth Hub.
The Youth Hub consists of a series of interactive elements to provide youths with useful career advice and tips. These include learning about their employment rights, career profiling tests, and receiving career advice to boost them in their professional journeys. The interactive elements were curated and designed based on continual engagements that Young NTUC had over the years to understand youths’ needs and concerns. Youths are also able to make virtual appointments with a list of career mentors from across 23 industries to get views and advice on career and job matters.
The NTUC Youth Taskforce was officially launched on 23 July 2022 by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. Youths can visit
www.youthtaskforce.sg to find out more on how they can participate. [See Annex A for media release on launch of Youth Taskforce]
