SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Education (MOE) will set up a network of established professionals across diverse industries to work with primary and secondary schools, students, and parents, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Tuesday.

The professionals aim to help students discover and appreciate the diverse career choices and multiple pathways in life, Mr Heng said at the ministry's annual work plan seminar held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

For a start, the network will have 17 partners - 16 individuals and one organisation, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - across seven fields such as business, humanities, and sports.

The partners include Home-Fix DIY store's managing director Low Cheong Kee; Yale-NUS College's executive vice-president of academic affairs, Professor Tan Tai Yong; and filmmaker Royston Tan.

They will organise talks, workshops, and work attachment programmes to reach out to students and their parents.

The MOE hopes to match 300 individuals to schools by the end of next year, and eventually build up a pool of 1,000 partners.

Apart from industry partnerships, the MOE is also ramping up its partnership with parents.

All parents whose children will attend Primary 1 next year will receive an activity book in November, which focuses on helping the children transit to primary school.

The book will contain tips and activities that encourage parent-child conversations, to help the children adapt to primary school life.