I personally know many young people who have just graduated in the midst of one of the most serious economic and health crises in years. I decided to file the following Parliamentary question on jobs for our young graduates:

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Manpower how can the Ministry partner other stakeholders in the public, private and people sectors to seek permanent/temporary job or internship opportunities for fresh graduates in a labour market impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo responded: “I share the concerns of Mayor Denise Phua, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Rahayu Mahzam regarding fresh graduates from local and overseas institutions.

This is why we launched the SGUnited Traineeships Programme to help them gain industry experience, build up their resumes and boost their chances of securing jobs in the future.

The Government funds 80% of the monthly training allowance for up to 12 months.

Our young people are absolutely critical to our future. There are now more than 4,000 traineeship opportunities offered by 280 organisations.

We hope more host companies can come forward to help build up the pool of traineeships and give our young graduates the much-needed opportunities to start their careers. Graduates can apply for these opportunities from 1 June onwards.

To my fresh graduate friends, it’s tough times but fret not, stay positive and let’s take action together to scale this COVID-19 challenge!