S'pore govt-funded traineeship to offer up to 800 roles for uni, poly, & ITE fresh grads from Oct. 2025

The Singapore government-funded traineeship program will offer up to 800 traineeships across the private and public sectors for fresh university, polytechnic and the Institute of Technology (ITE) graduates from October 2025.

The initiative will be opened to Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PR) who graduated in 2024 or 2025 from the above institutions, including autonomous and private universities and overseas institutions.

National Servicemen who complete their service in 2024 or 2025, and who had graduated earlier will also be eligible for the traineeships, as will those who complete their studies this year but only receive their certificates next year.

This will be the first round of training programmes rolled out by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Workforce Singapore over a span of three to six months across various sectors.

Speaking at a media doorstop on Aug. 22, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said the initiative is designed to support fresh graduates amidst a turbulent economic landscape.

Tan said that while preliminary data have shown a majority of fresh graduates are able to secure full term employment, the programme is in response to concerns about challenges of the ongoing economic climate.

It also addresses concerns that many employers require graduates to have years of relevant working experience before being employed.

"But graduates cannot obtain the required experience if they are not offered the opportunity in the first place," he said.

The initiative was first announced by Wong during the National Day Rally on Aug. 17, noting concerns about economic uncertainties facing young Singaporeans.

It also builds on the success of the SGUnited Traineeships (SGUT) programme offered during the Covid-19 pandemic, where most trainees secured long-term employment after the end of their traineeship.

The scheme was conceived in consultation with tripartite partners under the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) of which Tan is a member, and which was established by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Apr. 8 to tackle U.S. tariffs.

Public and private sectors

The initiative will be divided into two programmes.

The GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) Programme, a joint scheme between MOM and Workforce Singapore (WSG), is designed to provide fresh graduates with exposure to leading companies in various private industries.

Host organisations will be identified by WSG and sector agencies, the same team that implemented the SGUT in 2020.

Industry leaders like Grab, OCBC, Micron, ST Engineering and Sea Limited and its subsidiaries have since put forward their interest to participate in the programme, Tan said.

These include roles in areas such as data science, strategy and planning, business analytics, digital marketing and engineering-related fields.

On the other hand, public service traineeships will fall specifically under the GRIT@Gov Programme, coordinated by the Public Service Division (PSD).

Tan said that 2,400 immediate vacancies have also opened in the public sector for fresh graduates to secure employment via the Careers@Gov job portal, including roles in data, tech and digital services sectors.

The government will monitor the ongoing labour market and "increase the level of support for fresh graduates, including funding more traineeships" if the situation worsens, he added.

Training allowance

Graduates undergoing traineeship will receive a monthly training allowance ranging from S$1,800 to S$2,400 over the duration of the traineeship.

The government will fund 70 per cent of this amount, while the host organisation funds the remaining 30 per cent.

In response to concerns about the risks the GRIT programme poses to mid-career workers, MOM said the allowance and duration of the traineeships were deliberately set lower and shorter than those for the Mid-Career Pathways Programme (MCPP) which supports full-time and mid-career workers.

The allowance range for MCPP is set at S$1,800 to S$3,800.

While applications for the programmes will begin in October 2025, potential trainees can register their interest on the gov.sg website in advance.

Traineeship vacancies will be posted on MyCareersFuture portal and Careers@Gov portals for private and public sector openings respectively.

Training for senior leaders at OCBC

Giving his remarks at the OCBC Campus Building in Tanjong Pagar, Tan was also present to witness the launch of a coaching programme for senior leaders at OCBC on Aug. 22.

The programme, a collaboration between OCBC and International Coaching Federation (ICF), aims to train 100 senior leaders to attain the International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach (ICF-ACC) accreditation by the end of 2027, an OCBC spokesperson said.

Leaders would have to complete 60 hours of coaching education, 100 hours of coaching education experience and 10 hours of mentor coaching in order to qualify for the accreditation.

The programme is a part of the bank's commitment to cultivate a skills-first workplace and is in alignment with the government's drive for a skills-first approach, the spokesperson said.

Citing a recent NTUC LearningHub survey, they said that it is a pivotal step in workforce development as nine in ten business leaders and employees indicated their belief that leaders should possess coaching abilities.

Top image by Khoo Wen-en/Mothership