Written Answer to PQ on GRIT
NOTICE PAPER NO. 1231, 1259, 1260 OF 2026
*2883. Mr Fadli Fawzi [8 September 2026]: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) why have more than half of the fresh graduates who completed the GRaduate Industry Traineeship (GRIT) programme not found employment; (b) why have only 20% of GRIT completers secured employment at their host companies; and (c) what actions are being taken to help unemployed trainees who have completed the GRIT programme secure employment.
*2895. Mr Low Wu Yang Andre [8 September 2026]: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower for each of the GRIT and GRIT@Gov programmes, among trainees who completed their traineeships by 31 July 2026 and have since found employment (a) how many have entered full-time permanent employment; (b) what is their median time to employment; and (c) whether programme-specific outcomes will be published regularly.
Answer:
Mr Speaker, my response will address the questions raised by Members in relation to the Graduate Industry Traineeship Programme, or GRIT. My response will also cover related a written Parliamentary Question for tomorrow’s sitting.
The GRIT and GRIT@Gov programmes were designed to improve the employability of graduates who needed more help to find a permanent job, amidst uncertain hiring sentiments in 2025. As of July 2026, close to 600 trainees have been onboarded onto GRIT and GRIT@Gov.
As the labour market remains resilient, many applicants have found full-time employment or pursued other opportunities before taking up traineeship offers. As a result, the number of unique applications for GRIT and GRIT@Gov has fallen by 85 per cent from the initial surge at the October 2025 launch.
About half of the 280 trainees who had completed their traineeships by end-July 2026 have secured employment. Among them, about 4 in 10 were employed by their host companies. We do not have data on a further breakdown between permanent employment and other types of employment.
The employment figures cited are an early snapshot, as many trainees had completed their traineeships only recently, while others had yet to complete their traineeships. Job search takes time, and we expect employment outcomes to improve in the coming months.
For trainees who have not yet secured employment following the end of their traineeships, SWDA will continue to reach out and provide personalised support, including career coaching and job matching.
Feedback from trainees on their GRIT experience has been positive. Over 95 per cent of trainees found their assigned tasks relevant to their role, and 98 per cent reported having sufficient supervision, reflecting the programme's emphasis on structured and meaningful work exposure. Trainees also rated their overall well-being favourably. Host companies have also responded positively, with over 8 in 10 indicating they were likely or very likely to participate in GRIT again.
GRIT is part of a broader suite of measures to support fresh graduates. We will continue to monitor traineeship quality and outcomes and look at how best we can support fresh graduates to find full-time employment. We will also continue to provide updates on programme outcomes at relevant junctures.