By Jamie Ee Wen Wei

When a government-funded traineeship at a digital media start-up came her way three weeks ago, Ms Yap Hong Kheng jumped at the opportunity.

The new graduate had been looking for a full-time job since July but to no avail.

'In this economy, it's quite difficult to find a full-time job if you don't have any work experience,' said the 23-year-old, who has a Bachelor of Computing in Communications and Media from the National University of Singapore.

She started working three weeks ago at Sonoport (Asia) as a Flash demo developer. During her six-month stint, she will work with programmers to create flash-based games, demonstrations and animation. She is paid $1,000 a month by the Media Development Authority (MDA). The firm does not give an additional allowance.

Like Ms Yap, many fresh graduates and retrenched professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are tapping government-funded traineeships during this period of limited opportunities. The traineeships, administered by various government agencies, come under the umbrella of the Professional Skills Programme Traineeship (PSPT) scheme led by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

As of end-July, more than 300 companies have participated, offering more than 2,200 positions. Most are given to graduates in sectors such as infocommunications, media and manufacturing.

Mr Jeffrey Wong, MOM's divisional director of manpower planning and policy division, said the traineeships offer Singaporeans a 'two-in-one package'. 'It enables them to undergo structured training while getting meaningful work experience during the downturn.'

Terms and conditions differ across agencies and sectors but trainees can expect a monthly stipend - co-paid by the government agencies and companies - during their training of between six months and two years.

Some companies may extend benefits like annual leave.

The companies have to submit a training plan and regular reports. Upon completion of the traineeship, trainees may have to work for a certain duration with the company or in the same sector.

The Sunday Times understands that those who break the contract midway will have to pay back the grant received during training.

Companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, said the initiative has helped them plug their manpower needs.

At Tiny Island Productions which does 3-D animation, there are six trainees hired under the PSPT scheme. The company tops up the $1,000 grant paid out by MDA with about $1,000 for each trainee.

Its managing director David Kwok said: 'For SMEs, it is difficult for us to justify why we are paying for someone to learn. With this scheme, we are able to groom new talent and hopefully keep them in the long term.'

Those on the scheme hope to convert the traineeship into a full-time job. Take Mr Ang Chwee Hock, 30, a freelance animator for six years before signing up for the scheme in July as a trainee line producer.

Said the Nanyang Polytechnic graduate who holds a diploma in Digital Media Design: 'In this industry, roles like line producer are very hard to come by, especially if you are inexperienced. Hopefully after my stint, I can be hired full-time.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.