Job fair helps fresh university graduates in S’pore meet potential employers in person

SINGAPORE – A job fair is being held to help new university graduates facing the stress and difficulty of finding employment.

The event – the University Graduates Fair – does not guarantee that participants land a position, but it does help with the seemingly insurmountable task of getting a foot in the door.

At the fair on Aug 15, recent graduate Oliver Syn, who has a computer science degree, told The Straits Times that the hardest part is not securing a job, but getting an interview.

“Most employers are looking for fresh graduates with a minimum of two years of experience,” said Mr Syn, 25.

“We just try our luck sending in our applications for entry-level job openings; we still don’t know what the statuses (of the applications) are, whether they are pending or rejections.”

Mr Syn and fellow computer science graduate Noah Ng were able to talk to recruiters from Singapore General Hospital, one of the 20 or so employers at the fair.

“We were perhaps looking for backend IT roles, and wondering if they have job openings for fresh graduates like us,” said Mr Ng, 26, adding that family and peer pressure have added to the stresses of finding a job.

One of their university course mates, Mr Louis Mineo, 26, said he appreciates such face-to-face job fairs as they offer a faster track to getting responses from employers compared with applying online.

“This provides a bit of advantage as we get to pass them our resumes, and they can keep track of who we are and follow up. It’s like an express lane,” he added.

The two-day fair – being held at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability in Jurong East and ending on Aug 16 – is the first by NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) targeted at young entrants.

Firms in the tech, engineering, humanities and sciences sectors are on hand, with ST Engineering, Huawei, Sony Singapore, Mandai Group, Goldman Sachs and Marina Bay Sands among those with actual jobs to offer.

A Huawei spokesperson said that while fresh graduates show a strong passion for tech innovation, they have understandably voiced concerns about the uncertain future.

About 200 job seekers were interviewed on-site, out of the 300 or so graduates who attended the fair on Aug 15.

Apart from giving participants the opportunity to network and explore possible jobs, the event also provides resources to help them understand their strengths, improve their resumes and explore career pathways.

Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general, noted: “We don’t do this very often, but we decided we had to make some effort to help our undergraduates because over the last couple of months, we have also been engaging many young people to hear their concerns.

“One feedback we keep hearing is that there are not even interview opportunities. So today’s job fair is unique because, on the spot today, you will get an interview opportunity.

“We are going quite aggressively in the coming months to work with institutes of higher learning and with our partners, including industry partners, to create more platforms like today’s, so that young people and job seekers can come together with employers, so there is a better match in the process.”

At the event, Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education, and Sustainability and the Environment, announced that e2i has launched a new career development framework to help young job seekers transition confidently into their first or second jobs after graduation.

The framework includes imparting know-how such as career advice, connecting with employers through face-to-face interviews and networking sessions, and advancing career progression through engagement with industry experts.

The initiatives were developed against a backdrop of heightened global economic uncertainty and come after the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce noted that job security was a key concern for fresh graduates.

The task force has been working with institutes of higher learning to step up efforts to help fresh graduates secure good posts, including career counselling and holding job fairs.

Graduates can also find more than 800 job vacancies from 90 employers online at

https://e2i.sg/tlyg

Ms Yeo Lay, who leads the Student Success Centre as dean of students at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, told ST that a big challenge for fresh graduates is recognising their transferrable skill sets, which allow them to enter different career domains, and not just in their area of study.

“Our fresh graduates also need to expand their industry network, so that they are able to find opportunities through expanded channels,” she said.