Singapore GRIT Program Places Unemployed Graduates in Temporary Roles, with Some Later Hired Permanently

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower launched the Graduate Industry Traineeships program in October 2025 to give unemployed college graduates temporary positions at government agencies and private firms. Trainees receive a monthly allowance of 1,800 to 2,400 Singapore dollars, with the government covering about 70 percent of the cost and employers paying the rest.

The lowest allowance is less than half the median graduate starting salary and roughly two-thirds the wage of a McDonald’s management trainee who holds only a pre-university diploma.

The government caps the stipend at half the median first salary to keep participants focused on securing permanent roles. Lee Jia En, a 25-year-old graduate from the Singapore University of Social Sciences who earned second-class honors and completed four internships, joined the program and was assigned printing and laminating tasks.

She later received a permanent position with real responsibilities at the same government employer.

Phang Jun, a 24-year-old communications major who graduated in 2025 from Singapore Management University, applied to 100 jobs and received three low-paid offers outside her field. She described her degree as useless and is now networking with colleagues while remaining open to any role.

Ng Hui, a 26-year-old information systems graduate from Singapore Management University carrying S$50,000 in loans, receives the top stipend of S$2,400 as a data engineer trainee and supplements income by tutoring.

Full-time employment rates for business, arts and science graduates from Singapore’s six universities fell about 10 percentage points from 2023 to 2025, according to the annual graduate employment survey published in March 2026. Retrenchments reached the highest level in nearly three years in the first quarter of 2026 while the unemployment rate stayed at 2 percent.