Vocational Support Programme
This programme was created for students and youths preparing their interview skills and resumes for their various job or internship applications. It is meant to provide an opportunity for all students regardless of background, especially those who may lack the necessary connections and personalized guidance to improve such assets.
Objectives:
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Empower youths to be able to attain own internships / job shadowing
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For mentors to have more targeted sessions regardless of the time of the year
Begins June 2023;
VSP acts as a complement to the current support which pre-university and secondary institutions are providing for interview and CV guidance. In these schools, such advice is typically given in mass sessions, with little advice on applying to specific job sectors. Even though popular ones such as medicine and STEM do get separate specialized help, this leaves out other students interested in other sectors. Our programme aims to fill this gap, by opening 1-to-1 specialized guidance in applying for opportunities in a wider range of industries; Students at any stage of their application and interviews can receive such support after consulting the general advice given by their educational institutions.
We are an on-demand short-term guidance programme, with a mentoring cycle as short as 3 weeks. With job openings opening applications all year round, we understand the urgency of youths who want to apply for them. Hence, our programme supplies that urgent demand by linking prospective mentees to mentors for 3 weeks; Receiving flexible 1-to-1 guidance based on their needs, such as interview skills and application reviews, will ensure mentees sufficiently prepare themselves in a shorter amount of time.
When should someone apply for this programme?
If you:
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Have a resume but not sure where it may be useful
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Are interested in some careers, need guidance for preparation
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General interview advice or practice
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A resume that needs to be checked and improved
Who is it for?
The vocational experience programme targets:
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Pre-university students
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University students
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Who need guidance in their job, internship, and/or university applications
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Who are seeking to develop their resume and interview skills
What are the expectations of those joining?
Mentees:
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Possess the initiative to arrange for own mentoring sessions
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Each session should be arranged prior to the day of session, at mentee’s and mentor’s convenience
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Should a mentee remain unresponsive/is absent for a session within 24h of it without a valid reason, he/she is subject to expulsion
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Do consistent practice on their own and with mentors
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Complete at least a draft of their CV by the end of the programme
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OR complete at least one round of interview practice
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Have a set of goals and takes constant action to achieve them
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Have sectors they are interested in ;
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Internship considerations
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University considerations
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Come prepared to sessions with relevant queries
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Be able to commit to at least 2 sessions over 3 weeks
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Should mentee not turn up for agreed session date, he/she is subject to expulsion
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If extension is needed, mentee may request to the committee upon receiving endorsement from their mentor
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Be honest and open with mentors
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Speak up if concerns are not being addressed
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Awareness of own strengths and weaknesses
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Willingness to work on themselves
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Open to critique and strive to improve throughout the programme
Mentors
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Successful in at least 1 job or internship
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Possess good knowledge of relevant application processes and specific sectors they are supporting
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Ability to craft professional resume specific to mentee's needs and targeted sector
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Possess good knowledge of interview processes and skills
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Be able to commit to at least 3 sessions over a span of 3 weeks
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Should mentor be unresponsive within 24h of an agreed session date without a valid reason, he/she is subject to expulsion
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Each session should be arranged prior to the day of session, at mentee’s and mentor’s convenience
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If extension is needed, mentee may request to the committee upon receiving endorsement from mentor
*Disclaimer
The run starting in June 2023 will be a trial run for the programme. To optimize the experience for the full launch of VSP, do expect some changes to be made during this trial run. Signing up for this programme would mean that you acknowledge this disclaimer. We appreciate your understanding in advance.