SINGAPORE - More than 1,500 Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students will receive support preparing for their careers through employment opportunities and career mentorships.
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng announced its partnership with ITE on Friday at Young NTUC’s annual symposium, Lit Discovery 2023.
NTUC and ITE signed a memorandum of understanding at the event.
Through the partnership, ITE students will be given sector-specific career mentorships, undergo pre-employment workshops and learning journeys to potential employers’ companies as well as have work opportunities.
The tripartite partnership between the government, employers and workers coming together to work for the good of every Singaporean is the country’s unique formula for success, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong who was guest of honour at the event.
The NTUC Starter Membership for individuals aged between 18 and 25 was also launched at the symposium and offers them numerous benefits in work and play.
Members will get access to career mentorship and funding of $200 for the Union Training Assistance Programme-lite (UTAP) to engage in UTAP-approved training courses.
The mentors that members can speak to at group networking sessions come with at least five years of experience and are mostly in managerial roles to provide youth with better guidance.
Members can also get insurance benefits, including 15 per cent off upsized coverage under insurance products from Snack by NTUC Income.
Snack is a micro insurance and investment financial lifestyle app that helps people build investments and insurance using bite-sized, micro-premiums through daily activities.
Other benefits include all-day $10.50 movie tickets at Cathay Cineplexes, including the eve of public holidays and public holidays, and a year-round 30 per cent discount off Wild Wild Wet water park tickets.
Those eligible can sign up for the membership on lit.sg
Youth who were at the symposium were also able to sign up at the event booths.
Ms Mak Yu Xuan, 22, was introduced to the NTUC Starter Membership trial through the NTUC Youth Taskforce’s engagement sessions. She is currently working full-time at the non-profit organisation The Red Pencil and studying psychology part-time at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
“I hope to work in a marketing and design role after I graduate and eventually go into user experience work. My career route will be a bit unconventional, so finding a mentor through this membership can give me some guidance in the process,” said Ms Mak.
The membership also gave her the chance to network with the human resources team on a company learning journey where she found out more about their company culture. “It’s not something I would be able to do through traditional job-seeking processes like interviews,” said Ms Mak, who added that her last learning journey was with telecommunications equipment maker Huawei.
One of the young people at the event was Ms Pay Yu Xuan, 19, a final-year business administration student at Singapore Polytechnic.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to sign up for the NTUC Starter Membership as I already have mentors from a scholarship I received in secondary school,” said Ms Pay.
She found out about the symposium event through the polytechnic.
“I think such events are still helpful to me as I’ve already started to think about things like insurance and investing – I want to plan ahead for my future,” said Ms Pay, adding that she currently earns her keep through her internship and working part-time at banquets.
