From digital forensic examiners to festival staff, S’pore youth get a taste of work life

SINGAPORE – For 18-year-old Ifra Farveen Mohamad, listening to Government Technology Agency (GovTech) employees talk about their jobs brought some of the lessons she learnt in school to life.

The second-year international trade and logistics student at Temasek Polytechnic was among about 100 young people who attended a job taster session hosted by GovTech on Sept 4.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the session, Ifra said: “I got to see how the things I learn (in school) are applied by industry professionals.”

She also saw the session as a two-way exchange, noting that while the professionals are experts in their fields, such engagements allow them to hear how young people feel about their initiatives, too.

Ramiro Althea Mae Bathan, who also signed up for the session, said she was reassured to know that a person’s eventual career need not be tied to what they studied.

The 18-year-old medical biotechnology student at Temasek Polytechnic said: “Joining this session helped broaden my perspective on what types of careers there are and how my course can fit into it all.”

The session was aimed at introducing youth to digital governance, offering a look beyond building digital products to areas such as policy, risk and audit that shape how technology is used across government.

“Through initiatives such as job tasters, we hope to give young Singaporeans meaningful exposure to technology careers and digital government, helping them better understand the opportunities available in this space,” said Peggy Mah, senior director of the culture, community and youth cluster at GovTech.

In 2025, about 8,800 students and young people took part in such job tasters, said the National Youth Council (NYC) in response to queries from The Straits Times. Nearly 80 per cent of participants said they left with a clearer sense of their possible career pathways, the council said.

The GovTech job tasters were among more than 10,000 being rolled out in 2026. Up to 30,000 stints are slated to be offered annually by 2030.

The expansion is part of the July launch of the SG Youth Plan, a suite of initiatives aimed at helping young people navigate their careers, friendships and personal development. Other initiatives introduced include co-living units, adulting programmes and more funding for youth-led projects.

As at August 2026, job taster opportunities have been offered across 34 industries, said NYC. Industries with the highest uptake include infocomm technology, financial services, healthcare and public service.

The council said it hopes to see more opportunities in industries such as healthcare, financial services, environment and sustainability, and engineering.

Another session, hosted by HeritageSG, a subsidiary of the National Heritage Board, gave participants a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to organise and run the annual Singapore Night Festival, one of the country’s largest nocturnal events. Its 17th edition ran from Aug 21 to Sept 5.

The job stint covered event operations, stakeholder coordination, and festival execution during the lead-up to the event. HeritageSG works to strengthen the heritage sector through public-private partnerships and ensuring a supply of talent in areas such as museum services and event management.

Temasek Polytechnic second-year fashion management and design student Sarah Sofian, who took part in the job taster, observed and helped with different aspects of the festival such as crowd control, registration and ushering. She also observed the media preview and how staff interacted with guests during the tour.

The 19-year-old said she was keen to find out how a large arts festival operates behind the scenes.

She said: “One of my biggest takeaways was that working in the creative industry involves a lot of clear and strong collaboration, as well as adaptability in dealing with unexpected issues.”

The three-day stint gave her a valuable introduction to the industry, and she said she would still like to learn more about the creative direction of the festival, including the curation of artists, performers and venues.

At another job taster, a panel discussion hosted by the Digital Defence Alliance Singapore (DDAS), about 65 young people heard from industry experts on what a typical day in their work might look like.

Moderated by Chua De Hui, honorary digital forensic adviser at DDAS, the session unpacked how professionals in the digital defence industry play different roles across the public and private sectors.

DDAS is an organisation dedicated to strengthening the digital defence pillar of Singapore’s Total Defence strategy through advocacy, education and partnerships.

Chua said these job tasters open up networking opportunities for young people.

“It does not have to end here. If they are interested to find out more, they can approach DDAS and we can advise them,” he said.