With the COVID-19 pandemic weakening the job market, students graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) this year will get a timely boost from their alma mater.
The ‘Resilience and Growth’ (R&G) Initiative, announced by NUS on April 24, offers 1,000 full-time salaried positions and paid traineeships in diverse professional roles in multiple fields.
Students from the graduating class can apply for 200 full-time positions within the University. These positions span roles in NUS’ central administration, 17 faculties and schools, 29 research institutes and centres, and the National University Health System (NUHS).
There are 800 traineeships available for the Class of 2020, covering four distinct tracks: executive and professional, education, research, and entrepreneurship. Traineeships come with personalised mentorships and development plans, and run for up to 12 months. They are open to bachelor’s, master’s and PhD graduates.
“Graduating students are concerned that they cannot land good jobs," said Professor Ho Teck Hua, NUS Senior Deputy President and Provost. "The idea of the R&G Initiative is to provide them with opportunities that have strong development potential and which will give them an edge in a competitive market."
Prof Ho explained that each traineeship was designed with a clear career pathway, accompanied by a personalised development plan. All trainees will have access to all of NUS’ CET courses and certificates, for free.
“Singaporean graduates who receive financial aid will be given priority in receiving these paid traineeships,” he added.
Graduates are also offered free Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses and competency certificates, as well as master’s programmes with deferred, interest-free course fees payment.
Under NUS' current 20-year enrolment scheme, every fresh graduate is eligible for CET training. This year, the university is launching a specially curated catalogue of 150 CET courses and more than 20 certificates of competency, for the graduating cohort. This course catalogue covers areas such as data analytics, AI and machine learning, finance and accounting, as well as business and management.
Each student in the graduating cohort will be given up to 26 training days under these offerings, for free.
In addition, graduating students who enrol in any Master’s degree programmes at NUS may also defer the payment of course fees for up to three years (interest-free) from the date of enrolment.