This enhanced career trial model would match post-IHL graduates, including NSmen, with mentors in an ecosystem supported by SNEF

1. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) announced today that it will be piloting the NTUC Career Starter Lab initiative with the aim to officially launch it with more than 100 companies on board by the end of this year. This is in partnership with the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), to support both National Servicemen who have recently completed their full-time National Service; and fresh graduates from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). Through the NTUC Career Starter Lab, which takes the form of an enhanced career trial model, NTUC would help youth kickstart their career journeys as they transit to become working adults. The enhanced career trial model will ride on an ecosystem supported by SNEF, Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), employers, Young NTUC and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and other partners.

Quality internships and career mentorships are key resources that would support youth transitioning to the workplace

2. NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng shared about the pilot NTUC Career Starter Lab ahead of the NTUC May Day 2023 celebrations. He said the enhanced career trial model was developed based on youth’s feedback during the NTUC Youth Taskforce’s engagements in the past few months. To date, NTUC Youth Taskforce has engaged more than 10,000 youth since July last year in Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Polytechnics, and Autonomous Universities. Out of the 10,000 youth engaged, close to 4,000 youth were asked to list the top three resources that they would need for their transition from school to their desired careers. The youth shared that quality internships (31.4 per cent of respondents) and career mentorships (18.9 per cent of respondents) were their top two resources.
3. Furthermore, through a series of focus group discussions and dialogue sessions conducted at ITEs, polytechnics and autonomous universities in 2022, NTUC Youth Taskforce found that proper supervision and mentorship were cited by youth as the top determining factors that make for a quality internship.

Strengthening the ecosystem of support for youth transitioning into the workforce

4. To replicate the qualities of a positive internship experience, the enhanced career trial model will provide youth with workplace mentorship as part of a dedicated support framework when they navigate their career journeys. Post-IHL graduates will have the opportunity to partner with an in-company mentor who can provide guidance and deeper insights into their chosen industry. NTUC and SNEF will develop a career trial guide to provide tips to employers to enhance their onboarding, structured training and mentorship programmes to help youth better integrate into their organisational culture. Employers will also receive Career Trial support, administered by NTUC’s e2i, during the trial period, such as training allowance and retention incentives.
5. Post-IHL graduates may apply for the pilot NTUC Career Starter Lab within the current year. NSmen who have completed their full-time National Service may also apply within the current year. Applicants will be able to register their interest by the end of this year.
6. NTUC SG Ng said, “Youth are our future workforce. As Every Worker Matters, NTUC wants to play a bigger role in meeting our youth’s needs and serving them better as they kickstart their careers. The NTUC Career Starter Lab will help our youth seize good opportunities so that they can progress into their careers with confidence. NTUC and SNEF will rally more progressive employers into our ecosystem to provide enhanced career trials for them. We want to assure our youth that we will be alongside them as they enter the workforce.”
7. Currently, NTUC is already in partnership with MINDEF and MHA to support full-time national servicemen (NSFs) through career and education fairs, which are organised by NTUC’s e2i and NTUC LearningHub; and complimentary courses hosted on the SkillsFuture @NS Learning eXperience Platform (SG@NS LXP). National Servicemen who have recently completed their full-time National Service will be able to tap the pilot NTUC Career Starter Lab for the enhanced career trials as well.

Understanding the work-life aspirations and concerns of youth

8. Since its launch on 23 July 2022, NTUC Youth Taskforce, led by Young NTUC – the youth wing of NTUC, has engaged more than 10,000 youth across IHLs to understand the work-life aspirations and concerns of youth to better support them in their career journeys as they transition from being students to working adults. NTUC also partnered with local IHLs in Singapore, including ITE, polytechnics and Autonomous Universities to reach out to youth and engage them through focus group discussions, dialogue sessions and surveys. Youth can visit www.youthtaskforce.sg to find out more details.
9. The NTUC Youth Taskforce is part of #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, a larger- scale series of engagements launched by NTUC in August 2022, to engage all workers across various life stages and types, especially our future workforce, as part of NTUC’s efforts to refresh a long-standing compact with workers forged more than 60 years ago.
10. The NTUC Youth Taskforce will conclude its engagements in July 2023, where findings and recommendations will be shared to address the concerns and aspirations of youth in areas such as career, finances and mental well-being.