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SINGAPORE: Schools are providing career guidance to students entering sectors that have been hard hit by COVID-19, Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo said in Parliament on Monday (November 2).
She was responding to Tampines GRC Member of Parliament Desmond Choo, who asked how students majoring in disciplines related to aerospace, aviation and hospitality were preparing for their graduation next year.
These sectors have been particularly affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic when travel abroad stopped.
Higher education institutes (DIH) have initiated career guidance and assistance programs, as well as helping to explore “adjacent career opportunities,” Ms Teo said.
“We are organizing career fairs featuring job openings in adjacent industries that will make good use of the education and skills of graduates,” he said.
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DIH is also introducing new electives for students to acquire the skills they seek, such as data analysis and visualization, programming and digital marketing, he added.
Ms Teo said that the Government has introduced the SGUnited Internship Program, which has selected over 21,000 internships from some 3,300 host organizations.
“In general, employers are open to accepting good candidates in a variety of disciplines. Candidates will also have better opportunities if they are open to trying positions outside of the disciplines in which they are trained, or look beyond the positions they are in. many applicants have focused, “she said.
He said the Ministry of Education Graduate Employment Survey for graduates in 2020 will be released in the first quarter of 2021, and this will give some indication about the prospects of the cohort that will graduate next year.
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In response to follow-up questions from Mr. Choo, Ms. Teo said that approximately half of aerospace engineering students could still obtain internships related to their area of study.
The other half of the students were able to get internships in other areas, such as manufacturing, where they can apply their skills. In aviation management, about 60 percent of students have been able to obtain internships, even if they are not directly involved in their field of study, he said.
“That gives us an idea of how the collective efforts of the agencies involved, together with the students’ own willingness to step out of their comfort zone, have been able to secure meaningful internships that we believe will allow them to be better positioned for the job market. . “
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