To bring young working adults and fresh graduates to the growing sectors of fintech and Greentech/sustainability, Young NTUC, the youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has collaborated with more than 50 partners to introduce over 300 job placements for youths in the growing sectors.
These job vacancies and career resources will be unveiled at the third edition of the annual LIT DISCOvery career symposium and marketplace which will be taking place between 27 – 30 July 2021. Organised by Young NTUC, supported by the National Youth Council and in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore as part of the SkillsFuture Month, this year’s event is held in a virtual format over the course of four days.
The opening of the event on 27 July 2021 was graced by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, who was present at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre to deliver his welcome address.
Deep diving into growth sectors: FinTech and greentech/sustainability
In a survey conducted by Young NTUC in February this year involving 1,000 youths between 16 to 35 years old, up to 60% surveyed are working youths. Among these working youths, 62% are either actively looking to switch careers or will have plans to switch careers in the future. The top three sectors that they wished to venture into include the public service (28%), financial services (24%) and the IT sector (22%). These working youths expressed that exposure to more job opportunities (66%); funding support to help in skills upgrading (60%); and avenues for career consultation and guidance (51%) are the top three things that would be beneficial in helping them switch careers.
Helping young workers navigate the growth sectors
First introduced in 2019, Young NTUC’s LIT DISCOvery Career Symposium and Marketplace has benefitted over 5,000 youths to date. The third edition this year will mark the beginning of new collaborations for fintech and sustainability between tripartite partners to connect youths to job vacancies, training, and career resources. Young NTUC will introduce over 300 job placements for youths in the following growing sectors including FinTech and greentech/sustainability. The symposium and marketplace would also offer a variety of learning resources and career guidance in the form of masterclasses, career profiling, coaching and networking opportunities for youths to tap on and equip themselves with the necessary tech and soft skills to pivot into new and evolved job roles.
On the FinTech front, the Singapore FinTech Youth Chapter (SFYC), established between the Polytechnics and Singapore FinTech Association, and powered by PolyFinTech 100, will see its first Executive Committee inaugurated at LIT DISCOvery Symposium 2021 by Mr Patrick Tay, Assistant Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress. This will signify the start to a series of collaborations with NTUC to help youths build and grow their careers in the FinTech sector.
Young NTUC will also be supporting the Banking and Financial Services Union (BFSU) in its launch of the BFSU Support & Skills Up (S2U) Program. The programme aims to form a robust network for workers within the financial sector where they can receive support and guidance to better navigate and plan their careers with the assistance from their peers, the Union and its partners. Workers can be kept updated of the changes and opportunities in the sector and equip themselves with the latest information and pick up applicable and transferrable skills from this platform. Other supporting partners for the programme include the Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS), NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), NUS School of Computing and Singapore FinTech Association (SFA).
On the sustainability front, Young NTUC and the Singapore Institute of Building Limited (SIBL), a U Associate partner of the NTUC U Network, will establish a sustainability and built environment mentorship network. The latter will see more than 100 experienced individuals volunteering as mentors to guide youths interested to join this sector.
At the event, Mr Ng Chee Meng, NTUC Secretary-General, said: “The pandemic has affected many sectors over the past one and a half year, forcing traditional businesses to evolve and speed up the digital transformation across industries. As we embrace technology and progress forward, we need to ensure that our workforce is adequately trained to keep up with the changing demands of the job market. This is the reason why NTUC introduced Company Training Committees even before the onset of the pandemic. We must bridge the knowledge gap and work closely with our tripartite partners to help workers get better pay, better welfare, and better job prospects. Being future-ready does not only apply to the workers of today. Ensuring our young workers of tomorrow stay competitive in the global economy is also the Labour Movement’s commitment to our youths.”
Mr Desmond Choo, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and advisor to Young NTUC, said, “The LIT DISCOvery Symposium is all about helping our young workers look far and look ahead in their careers. It might seem scary to be starting out in the workforce in such times but I encourage our young workers to grab opportunities that come their way and keep their options open. There will always be transferable skills that they can bring along with them to a new role. For some, pivoting into new sectors may not be ideal, however it is important for our youths to step out of their comfort zones and continue improving themselves through training and skills upgrading so that they remain relevant.”
The four-day event will touch on topics across FinTech and greentech/sustainability, with programmes conducted in various formats. Participants can expect to gain insights through job opportunities, masterclasses, panel discussions, career profiling and Clubhouse conversations.
Key segments to expect over the four days:
a. Keynote symposium with C-suite leaders: Keynote symposiums with industry leaders from City Development Limited, DBS Bank, e27.co, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Sea Limited, Sunseap Group, Surbana Jurong and UOB Bank on their insights on key growth sectors such as FinTech and greentech/sustainability.
b. Virtual marketplace for jobs and career profiling: Through NTUC’s career profiling services, youths can understand more about their strengths and weaknesses, as well as connect and network with esteemed employers for job placements.
c. Masterclasses, networking and mentorship opportunities: Youths will learn how to future-proof their careers with valuable advice from experienced industry mentors and gain new knowledge on collaboration and agile thinking through the masterclasses.
d. Clubhouse conversations: Via the audio-based social media application which gained traction last year, youths can listen in to conversations on topics including fintech, sustainability and mental wellbeing.
LIT DISCOverySymposium 2021 will take place over four days via the Hubilo platform and is expected to engage over 2,000 youths. For more information on the programmes, visit www.litdisco.sg
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