SINGAPORE - About 1,000 fresh tertiary graduates here are set to benefit from a new $500,000 fund set up in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fund was set up by the South West Community Development Council (CDC) and Koh Kock Leong Enterprise in partnership with micro-learning platform Gnowbe.

Eligible graduates will be given access to an online training course of their choice on GnowbeLearn, an online library of accredited and certified courses suited for learning on mobile devices.

The courses aim to equip them with critical skills such as design thinking and entrepreneurship to help them increase their employability.

Graduates will each receive a $500 grant when they complete the course they have chosen.

Mayor of South West district Low Yen Ling, who helped launch the fund on Monday (June 22), said: "We recognise that the pandemic and this period of economic uncertainty present many challenges to our fresh graduates, especially those from low-income families. Besides the increased difficulties in landing a job, the financial stability of their families may be threatened.

"Through this partnership... we seek to enhance the employability of the young graduates by equipping them with relevant skills, as well as provide them with some financial relief and encouragement. The bite-sized learning modules from Gnowbe can be easily accessed online and be completed anywhere and anytime," said Ms Low, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower.

Mr Koh Tiam Teck, managing director of Koh Kock Leong Enterprise, added: "We are glad to be on board (with) this initiative to provide timely support to fresh graduates affected by Covid-19, and hope that our contribution will help them through this trying period."

Eligible graduates should be residents of South West district and should have graduated between December 2019 and December 2020.

They should come from a household with a combined gross monthly income of $3,500 or $875 per capita, whichever is lower.

Other criteria apply. The full list, as well as application procedure, can be found on this website.