Speaking at a media event in Aug 2025, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng acknowledged it was tough times for fresh graduates and young workers.
“To our fresh graduates — many have shared with me that job-hunting today can feel daunting and exhausting, especially after facing multiple rounds of rejections.
“I understand your concerns. I know the current economic climate is challenging, but rest assured we are all behind you every single step of the way,” he said.
He then shared the launch of a new programme, called the GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) programme.
Helping young workers get a foot in the door for jobs they want
Minister Tan shared: “One issue we have heard from graduates in their job search is that while there are jobs available, many employers are also looking for individuals with years of relevant working experience to fill them.”
“But graduates obviously cannot obtain the required experience if they are not offered the opportunity in the first place.”
“This is why we designed GRIT to help our fresh graduates gain industry experience and practical skills via traineeships, which can then help them explore various career options, while at the same time also strengthening their employability for future jobs.”
Currently, leading firms in key growth sectors have stepped forward to offer traineeships.
These include Grab, Micron, OCBC, ST Engineering and Sea Limited, as well as its subsidiaries, for quality traineeship roles in areas such as data science, strategy and planning, business analytics, digital marketing and engineering.
For those interested in GRIT, traineeship opportunities will be available from October 2025 when the programme is launched.
Fresh graduates are encouraged to register their interest to be among the first to know when opportunities become available!
Cindy Lee, Adecco Singapore’s country head, explains why recent annual graduate employment surveys conducted by universities and polytechnics have also been showing declines in hiring of fresh graduates.
“One factor playing out today is a climate of slower economic growth and global uncertainty, which has prompted employer caution.”
“Although Singapore still has more job vacancies than jobseekers, employers are holding back on their hires, adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach,” she shared.
While artificial intelligence is increasingly capable of automating certain entry-level roles that might affect graduates, it simultaneously opens up opportunities for new kinds of work and learning, Cindy believes. She adds that as employers adapt to the evolving landscape, the interplay between technology and human talent becomes ever more important.
Ultimately, some essential skills, such as critical thinking and sound judgement, remain distinctly human, and their value is likely to grow as industries change and experienced workers retire.
Over time, nurturing these abilities will be crucial to sustaining the expertise needed for strategic decision-making and guiding companies forward.
Why the GRIT programme can really help you
GRIT is not the first traineeship scheme the government has initiated. Previously a similar one under the SGUnited auspices was set up during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which helped young people get paid training stints for up to six months.
The government funded 80% of their training allowances, while employers funded the rest. Ultimately, the pandemic-era programme ended up supporting more than 12,500 trainees.
Cindy agrees that such learn-on-the-job programmes can be useful for young workers.
“With their skills-first approach, allowing jobseekers to apply skills and pick up new ones on-the-job, the GRIT traineeships can allow thousands to avoid long-term unemployment, and gain tangible on-the-job experience.”
“Such schemes can be lifelines for jobseekers who are facing a gap between school and their first job, as these experiences can then be included in resumes and showcased to prospective employers during interviews, bridging the gap for jobseekers to secure their next jobs.”
She referenced how similar schemes are operating in other countries successfully as well.
“If we look globally to other countries, Germany and Switzerland’s apprenticeships systems (VET, or vocational and educational training), feature a dual-track track approach that allows students to study theoretical training in school while undergoing practical training at companies.”
“This shows how learning skills on-the-job has become a critical piece of plugging the skills gap, allowing more jobseekers to be aligned with industry needs.”
Similarly, for both the SGUnited traineeship during the pandemic and the GRIT traineeships now, the public-private collaboration is key in addressing the skills gap, Cindy says.
It allows governments to draw on the insights from interacting with companies and understand ‘which sectors’ and ‘which skills’, offering a more targeted approach to the skills gap that exists between employers and jobseekers.
Over time, this ecosystem can also help facilitate more programmes and schemes for the future.
Seizing opportunities is key for younger workers and fresh graduates
Speaking further on the GRIT programme, Minister Tan revealed the government is prepared to increase the level of support for fresh graduates. This included funding even more traineeships should the labour market worsen, and reiterated his hope that graduates will make the best use of these opportunities.
Cindy added: “I think it can be tempting to equate a job’s worth to its salary and feel disillusioned or lose confidence.”
“But there is so much more that comes with the GRIT scheme, which can help provide exposure, experience, networks, and skills.”
“And how much you gain through the experience is not defined by your ability, but rather your mindset — whether you are able to see and remain open to the opportunities available.”
For young jobseekers on the GRIT scheme, she had one piece of advice: Keep doing the “next right thing”.
“The traineeship serves as a stepping stone to the career you aspire towards.”
“By staying grounded with manageable actions and always taking the next step forward, such as taking on a side project for exposure, or networking more at work, you will be able to nurture not only your own skills, but also your confidence and resilience.”
She concluded: “At the end of the day, by successfully completing this traineeship, you can do justice to your own journey!”
