Students at two tertiary institutions will have help jump-starting their future careers, thanks to a new tie-up with the labour movement.

The youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will bring its suite of career preparation programmes and career guides to the campuses of the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) under an agreement signed yesterday.

Undergraduates from the two universities will be able to make use of career coaching and skills workshops, among other things, offered by the labour movement's Youth Career Network.

More than 60 career guides will also be recruited and trained to mentor 500 students within the year. This mentoring system will build on the work of existing career guidance offices.

Mr Desmond Choo, executive secretary of the Young NTUC, said the guides will be drawn from working professionals from different fields, so they can "share real-time insights into their industry".

Students can tap job opportunities from NTUC's extensive network of corporate partners, he said, adding: "We hope to give students a head start in having clearer career plans and be better prepared to build successful careers."

At the SIT, career help will be offered to those from the engineering degree programmes first, before it is rolled out for other degree programmes.

At SUSS, Young NTUC will help students in the university's seven degree programmes, such as through organising meet-ups between undergraduates and industry partners every quarter.

Dr Yap Meen Sheng, director of the department that develops curricula for SUSS, said graduates need to be armed with soft skills and the right attitude that employers are looking for.

NTUC secretary-general Chan Chun Sing said the labour movement plans to work more closely with institutes of higher learning to make sure "the next generation of workers can start right". He added that he hopes students who have gone through these programmes will pay it forward by helping guide future cohorts.