New programme empowers social service professionals to raise awareness about their roles

SINGAPORE – As an early intervention educator at Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, Ms Ivy Chew is often confused for an early childhood educator, with people assuming that she primarily teaches mainstream curriculum to children with special needs.

Instead, she focuses on developing skills in children that help to foster independence. 

“When I explain my role to the public, I often describe it as being a teacher for children under the age of seven with developmental needs, such as autism. Many are surprised to learn that such services exist for young children,” the 40-year-old said. 

Other professionals in lesser known roles in the social service sector face similar challenges explaining their role to others. 

To tackle this, Ms Chew and a team of social service professionals in lesser-known roles, such as speech therapists and educational psychologists, intend to use interactive videos to shine a light on these professions.

Her team presented this idea at Tribe Ambassadors Programme’s Open Mic Day at the National Library on July 9. 

The pilot programme by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), which began in February, aims to train social service professionals in content creation.

There are 36 social service professionals from 31 social services agencies in the first batch of Tribe Ambassadors.

They worked in teams to conceptualise content to spotlight and foster pride among social service professionals, while also encouraging more to join the sector. With support from MSF and NCSS, they will bring their ideas to life across the rest of 2025.

Ms Chew’s team intends to engage audiences on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram through “Guess My Job” videos, where social service professionals give clues about their job before inviting guesses.

When the professionals reveal their roles, they also encourage viewers to learn more about the featured profession and explore career opportunities in the sector. 

Speaking at the July 9 event, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said Tribe Ambassadors amplify the impact of the social service sector.

“Beyond being practitioners of care at work, you are voices of credibility and compassion for the social service profession,” he added.

“When stories are told, myths debunked and awareness raised on social media through videos, gamification concepts and podcasts – it is very creative! I used to think there was only one way to connect. In fact, there are many, many ways.”

Six other teams of Tribe Ambassadors presented their ideas at the Open Mic Day, with ideas ranging from short videos spotlighting social service professionals through their loved ones, to podcasts where professionals explain the emotional depth and complexity of the work that they do.

One team plans to create short videos where heads of social service agencies share their commitments in a “What’s in My Cal(endar)” format that gives viewers a glimpse of the different facets of their work.

One of the team’s members, Ms Lorraine Lim, 51, deputy chief executive officer at the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO), said that her day typically involves meeting clients for counselling, training other counsellors, and sometimes even conducting outreach and advocacy work. 

She hopes that through these videos, others will understand her work better and “know they can reach out to SCWO for help and support – as we work to promote gender equality in our society for women to have ‘Equal Space, Equal Voice and Equal Worth’,” she added, citing the organisation’s mission.