About half of government-funded traineeship positions filled but applications fell by almost 90%: Tan See Leng

Close to half of the positions available for the government-funded traineeship scheme launched last year have been filled, but applications from fresh graduates has dipped by almost 90 per cent, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng.

In a written parliamentary reply on Wednesday (Feb 25), Dr Tan said that close to 400 positions under the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) and GRIT@Gov have been filled since it was launched in October 2025, and that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is working with partner organisations to expedite the filling of the allocated traineeships.

The initiative was designed to improve the employability of ITE, polytechnic and university graduates who need more help in finding a permanent job amidst uncertain hiring sentiments, with MOM initially offering 800 positions.

However, Dr Tan said that applications have since fallen by about 90 per cent compared to when the scheme was first launched, but that MOM will continue to prioritise channelling fresh graduates to full-time employment.

"Based on feedback from many host organisations, a significant number of applicants had declined traineeship offers as they had found full-time employment or decided to pursue other opportunities," the minister said.

Dr Tan was responding to Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru regarding factors that contributed to the fewer than 50 per cent of the allocated places being taken up, including employer participation or scheme design constraints.

He said that GRIT was designed to facilitate the conversion of trainees into permanent employees with their host organisations before their traineeship ends, adding that host organisations will not be disadvantaged if the conversion happens before a traineeship period concludes.

If a host organisation hires a trainee who has completed at least three months of the traineeship, the organisation will continue to receive subsidies for the remainder of the traineeship duration, Dr Tan said. 

So far, there have been no conversions, owing to the fact that the first batch of trainees only commenced their traineeships in December 2025.

According to Dr Tan, the current trainees are roughly split equally between GRIT and GRIT@Gov, where about one third of the GRIT trainees are placed with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Other than SMEs, companies such as OCBC, Thales Solutions Asia and Micron are GRIT host organisations, and 60 public sector agencies are part of the GRIT@Gov initiative. 

Each traineeship lasts for a period of three to six months, and trainees are paid between $1,800 and $2,400 per month.

The Government funds 70 per cent of the monthly allowances, while the host organisation funds the remaining.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com