SINGAPORE - Mentoring SG, a national-level office that seeks to promote a mentoring culture here and make it accessible to youth, aims to ramp up efforts to engage more corporate partners and young people, as well as strengthen the ecosystem here.

Its community-driven digital platform Mentoring SG Connect – which enables both mentors and mentees to engage one another at their convenience – has set a goal of reaching 3,000 new mentors and mentees by the end of 2024.

Since it started in 2021, Mentoring SG Connect has registered more than 5,000 mentors and mentees. Previously known as WeConnect, the platform was renamed when Mentoring SG was launched in 2022.

Mentoring SG will introduce a Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications-accredited course in 2024 called Mentoring for Youth. It aims to train mentors through scenario-based practices that hone facilitation and communication skills.

The office also plans to work closely with 50 partners from educational institutions or mentoring organisations to improve the skills of mentors. The aim is to train about 2,000 mentors and practitioners by end-2024.

These new initiatives were announced on Nov 17 at the annual National Mentoring Summit that brought together 350 attendees, who were mainly corporate leaders and professionals, as well as people from mentoring organisations and educational institutions.

At the event, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan, who is the adviser to Mentoring SG, said the office has “made significant progress” since it was launched.

Mentoring SG aims to support youth development and school-to-work transitions. Mentors can help young people broaden their perspectives in their definition of success, and provide guidance, support and practical advice to navigate key transitions.

Mr Tan also gave out the inaugural Mentoring SG Corporate Excellence Award, which recognises organisations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the mentoring community – both in-house and in the broader mentoring ecosystem.

The three award winners are Micron Technology, Huawei International and Timbre Group.

Timbre Group founder and chief executive Danny Loong said that having a mentorship programme in the food and beverage (F&B) industry benefits both his staff and the young people who take part.

His company was recognised for its own mentorship programme that started seven years ago, and has a strong focus on engagement and job satisfaction. Students from Raffles Institution and ITE College West were part of its programme.

Calling it a “two-way street”, Mr Loong said these young people get a chance to experience how the industry works and learn about service culture. They also interact with people who may come from different backgrounds and have different life experiences from them, he added.

As for the mentors, he said such a programme gives them the opportunity to impart life skills and share first-hand experience of working in the service industry.

Going forward, Mr Tan, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry, said Mentoring SG will partner more corporate partners on industry-led mentoring initiatives.

For a start, the office announced plans to triple its reach with two industry-led mentoring collaborations.

The first is a partnership with Huawei and introduces the Tech4City programme – Huawei Singapore’s flagship ideation competition that aims to empower youth to build the Singapore of tomorrow through technological innovations.

The second collaboration is with Respect SG and focuses on training, attracting and retaining skilled young talent in the F&B and hospitality sector.

Respect SG is an industry-led movement initiated earlier in 2023 by Timbre Group, The Black Hole Group and Team Rise that wants to change the mindset and perception of F&B in Singapore.

Since it started, Respect SG has had 53 students from Raffles Institution, Bedok View Secondary School, Hillgrove Secondary School and APSN Katong School taking part in its mentoring programme. In 2024, it wants to involve about 1,000 students.

Mr Loong said: “Hopefully, we get people to have a bit more empathy and understanding about the F&B industry. While it is a mentorship programme, I also see it as something that helps to uplift the industry’s image.”