SINGAPORE – Structured, government-supported training that takes place over a longer duration in companies is being planned, said Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau.
Such traineeships will seek to arm fresh graduates with skills not just for the “first rung” of work, but also subsequent steps of the job ladder in growth sectors, she added.
The potential scheme must also lead to full-time jobs, Lau said in her first interview with local media since taking on the manpower portfolio following July’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Lau said the scheme will draw lessons from the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) scheme, which was designed in response to global economic uncertainty and the possibility of a significant downturn or recession.
Rolled out in October 2025, GRIT offers graduates from tertiary institutions here three- to six-month training programmes in 50 companies in sectors such as manufacturing, financial services, information and communications technology, and professional services. A related scheme offered roles in the public sector.
The programme has had good outcomes, with six in 10 alumni in employment, said Lau.
However, there is only so much that a company will invest in training if a traineeship is for three months, she noted, and the authorities are designing the new scheme to be “more meaningful in terms of training”.
“We are thinking through how you do something longer, and something that’s not designed just for a downturn, a recession, or shock,” she said.
Lau’s comments follow remarks in recent weeks by government leaders expressing concern that artificial intelligence will break the bottom rung of the job ladder, which refers to traditional entry-level jobs.
In October, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said employers need to be more deliberate in training and mentoring their junior hires, and that the Government was looking at whether there is a need for new schemes.
Meanwhile, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam noted that global hiring for entry-level roles was falling due to AI disruption, and that states have to partner the private sector to encourage the hiring of fresh graduates.
In her interview, Lau said there is agreement that the first rung of the job ladder “is starting to feel weak”, though the bigger question is what the next rungs entail, and how to then train graduates to have those competencies.
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