Singapore’s career attachment programmes benefits jobseekers

As of end-February, the Singapore government has placed a total of 9,500 trainees across 2,500 firms through its SGUnited jobs programmes, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Among the 9,500, four in five are recent graduates who qualify for the traineeships, while the remaining are mid-career jobseekers. Of the companies hosting the trainees, almost nine in 10 are SMEs, from the top sectors of ICT, financial services and professional services. 

As of end-February, while the majority of attachments are still ongoing, 200 trainees have left their attachment early to full-time employment, which also includes a conversion to a full-time role within the same company, said MOM and Workforce Singapore (WSG).

READ: 35% of 2020 job openings in Singapore were for remote work

WSG has also reached out to over 500 host companies with trainees who have ended or are ending their attachment by June 2021, with over 250, or 85% responding that they plan to convert suitable trainees to full-timers, or have plans for such conversions.  

The remaining 15% cite reasons such as not having an available headcount; finding the trainee unsuitable for the job; needing more time to assess the trainee; and the trainee wanting to further studies for not converting them to full-time staff.