Young Adults in Singapore Turn to Subsidized Traineeships Amid Low Job Prospects
In Singapore, where average graduate salaries hover around SGD $60,000 per year, the median starting salary stands at SGD 4,200 per month, many unemployed college graduates are forced to settle for traineeships that pay as little as half that amount.
Subsidized by the Singaporean government, these traineeships aim to provide young adults with valuable work experience and skills, but they often come with a stigma – that of being low-paid and temporary. This has led many graduates to question the worth of these gigs, despite their supposed benefits.
Government-Funded Traineeships: A Last-Ditch Attempt at Getting Ahead
Under this initiative, the Singaporean government offers a portion of the traineeship’s cost to participating companies, in exchange for hiring a young adult as a trainee. With the economy slowly recovering from the pandemic, unemployment rates may be stabilizing, but many graduates still find themselves struggling to secure full-time employment.
Battling the Stigma of Low-Paid Traineeships
Despite the supposed benefits of these traineeships – such as gaining work experience and building a professional network – many young adults view them as a desperate measure, rather than a viable career path. This stigma is rooted in the idea that taking a low-paid traineeship signals a lack of ambition, or that the individual is unable to secure better-paying work.
What this means: For young adults in Singapore, the decision to take on a subsidized traineeship is often a trade-off between gaining valuable work experience and accepting a low wage. As more graduates turn to these gigs, it remains to be seen whether this trend will pave the way for better-paying jobs in the future, or simply perpetuate a cycle of low-wage work.
Trainees like 23-year-old **Emily Tan**, who’s currently interning at a marketing firm, say that while the experience is valuable, the pay is hardly enough to cover living expenses. “It’s tough to make ends meet when your salary is so low,” Tan admits. “But I’m hoping that this experience will open doors for me in the future.”
