SINGAPORE: In an online discussion, when a commenter expressed that “not many companies are willing to train people anymore,” many agreed, pinpointing it as a problem not only for younger members of the workforce.

The discussion took place when the April 6 article, “WP MPs ask if Singapore’s job market is leaving young people behind,” from The Independent Singapore, was shared on Reddit. 

Several WP MPs will be raising questions about the latest Graduate Employment Survey (GES), which showed that fewer Singapore university graduates found jobs within six months of finishing their exams.

This is a topic that WP MPs and NCMPs have been vocal about. Last year, they raised various questions in Parliament, including whether the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) can help Singapore’s fresh graduates find jobs.

This appears to echo the concerns of other Singaporeans. In February, a young woman who will be graduating this year told CNA that she wished the Government would incentivise companies to hire fresh graduates for entry-level roles so that companies would not look for applicants with experience for these roles. She also suggested that the Government could pay for new hires’ training periods when they are on probation, which would serve as an incentive for companies to hire fresh graduates

On the Reddit post, the comment that received the most upvotes began with “Not many companies are willing to train people anymore. Almost every position, they are hired to just plug and play. Most companies are also understaffed, and employees are overworked, which leaves almost no room for self-improvement or development via rotation or courses within the company. Cause who else is going to do the work?”

The commenter...