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Job prospects remained one of the top concerns for fresh graduates and young workers. To address these concerns, the youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC), Young NTUC, has extended its existing LIT (Learning Is Triggered) initiative to provide more support and career guidance online. These include LIT DISCOvery 2020, Young NTUC’s signature LIT event, which was held virtually for the first time on 10 June 2020 at
www.litdisco.sg, with the aim of helping youths secure jobs, upgrade their skills, build resilience, and better navigate the employment landscape in a post-COVID-19 world. With about 800 registered attendees, the virtual event was graced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat, who shared a pre-recorded message with the attendees.
Job-focused virtual event
To better help workers transit from the impact of the pandemic, NTUC had adopted a job-focused approach. In line with this strategy, LIT DISCOvery consisted of various segments touching on different job aspects targeted at fresh graduates and young workers (Please refer to Annex A for the full-day programme):
i. Job preservation: Career symposiums by industry leaders from NETS, Google, Fave, Temasek Holdings and SIM on the changing employment landscape as the economy reopens gradually.
ii. Job matching: Partnering NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), Wantedly and gradsingapore, the virtual event enables participating youths to network with potential employers to gain better understanding on the hiring companies’ work culture and required skillsets.
In addition, employers also shared the types of talent development programmes offered, including internships, management associate and SGUnited Traineeship programme. A total of 10 employers were at the event with more than 140 positions available for application across industries.
iii. Job preparation: Career profiling test, resume reviews and virtual mentorships to prepare graduates and young workers to be work-ready post-COVID-19.
iv. Job training: Workshops to equip the participants with soft skills necessary to stay relevant and competitive.
Addressing career-related worries of the youths, Ms Gan Siow Huang, Deputy CEO of NTUC’s e2i, said, “As many businesses have been affected by COVID-19, it is understandable for those who are starting on their first careers to be concerned about job security. But help is available - NTUC’s e2i career coaches can be a partner and mentor as you work out your career goals and plan. To get a good head-start in enhancing your employment opportunities, I would recommend our employability workshops to boost your interviewing and networking skills. The jobs available may be far from what you have in mind, but it is important to stay hungry, adaptable and curious so that you are prepared when the right opportunity comes along.”
Introducing Start Work Package with career and lifestyle benefits for youths
In addition, Young NTUC is offering a Start Work Package for graduating students and young working professionals. The package, bundled with NTUC membership, is a one-stop portfolio with benefits and information relevant to a young worker amid COVID-19. This included exclusive access to Young NTUC’s LIT masterclasses and deep skills workshops, additional training grant, priority assistance for employment rights and workplace issues, to list a few. (Please refer to Annex B for more information on the Start Work Package)
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and advisor to Young NTUC Mr Desmond Choo said, “The pandemic has resulted in a much more challenging employment market. It is not surprising that they may feel anxious about whether they can find a job, or if they are able to keep their current job, let alone making career advancements. This is where NTUC can value-add, by working closely with our tripartite partners to provide job-focused programmes like the LIT series to help them emerge stronger and better prepared for a post-COVID-19 economy.”
Mentorship programme providing one-to-one support
Since the start of the pandemic, Young NTUC has been actively involved in helping youths enhance their job prospects and addressing their concerns. In April this year, it launched a series of virtual career programmes, LITerally Online: Career Insights and LITerally Online: Virtual Mentorship, where youths can access a network of close to 70 professionals across industries for career advice and guidance.
The virtual mentorship programme is the online extension of Young NTUC’s Youth Career Network, where industry professionals volunteer to become Young NTUC career guides to provide one-to-one peer support to fresh graduates and young workers who are uncertain about their careers. So far, over 400 industry professionals have helped more than 10,000 to seize upskilling and career opportunities.
Mr Kang Choon Kiat, 24, is one of the youths who benefitted from the virtual mentorship programme. When the pandemic hit, the NUS Computer Science undergraduate was doing an internship in New York at a start-up company. With the global economy badly affected, he saw first-hand how his fellow colleagues were retrenched. Though Choon Kiat was fortunate enough to be allowed to complete the internship remotely back in Singapore, the company’s retrenchment exercise left him feeling uncertain about his future. He also began questioning about his career interest and choice. Under the virtual mentorship programme, Choon Kiat connected with Jonathan Ng, a Technical Services Consultant (Infocomm Security) from GovTech. Jonathan patiently guided him and shared different possibilities in the IT industry. Jonathan also advised Choon Kiat to continue upskilling. With Jonathan’s support, Choon Kiat was able to gain more clarity on what he hopes to do after graduation and will continue to pursue a career as a business analyst. He is also making time to work on a personal project and exploring an alternate career path as an entrepreneur.
Choon Kiat said, “I was one of many of my peers who have felt the impact of the pandemic on the economy, and we could not help but to feel concerned about securing or keeping our jobs in the future. The mentorship helped me to regain some confidence in my career path after graduation and made me understand the importance of embracing lifelong learning. I am exploring different courses with the aim of upgrading my skillsets to secure better job prospects.”
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