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Oral Answer by Minister for Manpower Mrs Josephine Teo on Polytechnic Graduates Dropping out of SGUnited Traineeships Programme

Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 233 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 24 FEBRUARY

QUESTION NO. 567 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Dr Wan Rizal

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of polytechnic graduates who dropped out from the SGUnited Traineeships Programme; and (b) what are the reasons for the drop-outs.

Answer:

1. The SGUnited Traineeships Programme was launched in June 2020, to provide recent graduates with traineeship opportunities across various sectors.

2. As of end-December 2020, about 720 Polytechnic graduates had been placed into SGUnited Traineeships. Of these, 23, or about 3%, did not complete the programme. The Singapore Business Federation (SBF), our programme partner managing the SGUnited Traineeships Programme, surveys host organisations and trainees who have completed the programme, or left half-way. For those who did not complete the programme, the reasons were mainly because they had found full-time employment, or had undisclosed personal or medical reasons.

3. The SGUnited Traineeships Programme provides meaningful opportunities to graduates to pick up skills in preparation for full-time jobs. I am encouraged to see that the majority of trainees continue to go through with their traineeships. For participants who need career assistance, they can approach WSG or NTUC’s e2i through physical touchpoints such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres, WSG’s Careers Connect and its mobile extension, Careers Connect On-the-Go, as well as NTUC-e2i’s career centres. They may also visit the MyCareersFuture portal to search for job opportunities that suit their skills and competencies.