Career health. It’s a word that’s been bandied around a lot recently in Singapore, and if you missed it, here’s a roundup:
- PM Wong talked about it during this year’s Committee of Supply
- A new Career Health SG initiative was launched recently
In case you are still wondering what it is, the Ministry of Manpower defines it as: “Charting long-term career pathways through career coaching and deepening one’s knowledge and skills with insights on growth jobs and industries.”
“With this, Singaporeans can take proactive steps to improve their career outcomes through training, on-the-job learning, and intentional career moves.”
“They can also make the best use of the wide array of Government upskilling and career conversion programmes.”
But for young Singaporeans already in the workforce, and fresh graduates just entering it you might not understand what it’s about, and why it matters so much. After all, you just graduated from school, and the whole idea is to find your first job ASAP and hit the ground running. Right?
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So why is there a need to go map out your career so early on, or heaven forbid, hit the books again with more studying to upskill?
We spoke to two interns at Workforce Singapore (WSG), Li Jiayue and Xiao YiXuan, who share their take.
What’s your take on the words “career health”, and how to achieve it?
YiXuan: Since WSG is such a strong advocate of career health, it’s natural for me to learn a lot more about it during my time here.
Of course, having to deal with this concept through my work showed me its definitions and examples through marketing materials. But it was the events that I participated in during my time here that really allowed me to see it in action.
For example, I attended a podcast recording held in collaboration with The Straits Times for HeadStart on Record.
There, a career coach and mid-career engineer discussed their experiences with career planning and helping others with it, shedding light on different career experiences and unconventional paths.
I was able to see real-life examples of people who could benefit from career planning, and people who have seen better opportunities and lifestyles due to healthy career practices.
The event really made me understand how everybody, no matter what stage of the career journey you’re at, stands to benefit from career planning and using it to improve your life in some way.
At its core, career health to me means constantly prioritising ways to improve your career journey in one way or another — whether it’s picking up a new skill to stay relevant in the ever-changing job market, or revisiting your life priorities and considering a different career path.
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Jiayue: Career health is about taking charge of your own career and being aware of the steps one needs to take to ensure they stay resilient and adaptable in today’s world.
During my time at WSG, I was constantly exposed to different case studies from different companies, whether they were from SMEs or MNCs.
Because I am only 21, I rarely hear stories of people who are older than me — we call them mid-career talents.
Yet, these are the stories that really captivated me and inspired me to continue growing even when I get older.
Learning and development do not stop after university. In fact, these people actively looked for career conversions mid-way through their career, which can be really daunting, I feel.
But because of their resilience and ambitions, they pushed through and many of them are really successful in their new positions.
I also attended the ST180 x WSG HeadStart on Record live podcast during the start of my internship and I learnt from two speakers on the importance of career health.
The topics discussed resonated with me as a university student soon about to join the workforce.
One thing I learnt is that there’s no fixed path to success and everyone figures it out differently — and that’s okay.
Also, you don’t have to go through it alone: Mentors, friends, career coaches… they can really help. And something that came up a lot was the tension between passion and practicality, which I think all of us feel.
But ultimately, career health is about knowing your values and making intentional choices, even if you don’t have everything figured out yet!
