Access Singapore

As we progress through the Access Fellowship Programme (AFP), we wanted to introduce some of the incredible mentors who have taken time out of their busy schedules to support our Fellows - so please join us in saying hello to Cloud He! Cloud is a Senior Marketing Specialist at SHEIN, where she provides training and support to new joiners. She is also involved in team development initiatives for her colleagues based in Thailand and the Philippines, and coordinates regional projects like logistics optimisation and IP infringement investigations. She was inspired to join the AFP as she believes programmes like this can help students build their confidence. She also felt she could leverage her skills to guide them in overcoming challenges and exploring their future career journeys. Despite working in marketing, Cloud originally studied Apparel Design and Merchandising in Temasek Polytechnic, as well as Public Relations in the US. She encourages students to follow their passions and never be afraid to make gradual changes to their plans, as long as they can move closer to their goals. Interested to join us in making a difference? Drop us a message to explore ways you can contribute to our cause! #AccessSingapore #AccessFellowshipProgramme #Mentorship

Last Thursday, we were honoured to have Mr Andy Lo, Commercial Director at Deliveroo lead our first Access Fellowship Programme (AFP) Masterclass on Personal Branding in the Working World! Specially designed to equip our Fellows with essential skills to stand out in an increasingly complex job market, Andy honed in on three enlightening segments: 🚀Understanding the Job Application Process Andy provided an in-depth look at the job application process, sharing insights into the various considerations and demands of recruiters. 🚀 Mastering Personal and Professional Branding  He then discussed the impact of a well-curated brand on career opportunities, and shared strategies on how to effectively market oneself by identifying and leveraging one's own strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. Fellows also applied these lessons to some hands-on activities to kickstart their own branding journeys. 🚀 Enhancing One’s Interview Skills Our Fellows were finally guided through the intricacies of the interview process. Andy shared insights on what hiring managers look for during interviews, common pitfalls to avoid, as well as techniques to confidently articulate one’s skills and experiences. A key highlight of the day was also the interactive Q&A session where the Fellows were able to dive deeper into Andy’s personal experiences and career journey. This allowed them to ask specific questions, seek advice on their educational and career paths, and gain personalised insights directly from an industry leader. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Andy for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his experiences with our Fellows. The Masterclass was really impactful, leaving our fellows inspired and better equipped to navigate their professional journeys. We look forward to hosting more of such enriching sessions in the coming months of the AFP! #AccessSingapore #AccessFellowshipProgramme #Mentorship 

Thank you, Minister of State Alvin Tan, for your strong support of Access Singapore! We have made significant headway over the last few years in advancing social mobility for youths, but much more remains to be done. Disadvantaged youths in particular often lack representation and struggle to understand how they can overcome the circumstances they were born into. As such, we need to do more and act faster to shift mindsets around traditional notions of success and bridge opportunity gaps for those who need it most. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with key stakeholders and further enhancing social mobility in Singapore in the years to come.

✨ Unlock Opportunities, Empower Tomorrow ✨ Our 2023 Access Social Mobility Survey revealed a concerning trend: 51% of respondents feel that inequality has worsened in Singapore over the last decade. This underscores the complex and multifaceted nature of social mobility in our country, and highlights the disadvantages faced by underprivileged families who, in particular, lack access to essential resources. At Access, our commitment has always been to support disadvantaged communities and bridge opportunity gaps to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to rise above their circumstances. Our focus for the coming years will thus be to run more student programmes to nurture confidence and aspirations, partner with more schools to reach a larger cohort of disadvantaged youth, and grow our own team to enhance our operational capabilities. However, sustaining our operations requires collective effort. Now as a registered charity, we invite anyone who believes in our cause to join us on this journey and make a contribution. Every amount donated will significantly impact our mission. Further, with the Singapore Tote Board's support, all donations from now until the end of 2024 will be matched under the Enhanced Fundraising Programme (EFP), doubling the impact of every dollar. As we move beyond our fifth anniversary, we hope to continue making a meaningful and lasting impact on our communities and your support is crucial to our mission. Click on the link here to help us reinvigorate the lives of those who need it most: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gRAkKt48 #AccessSingapore #SocialMobility #Fundraising

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of hosting the third session of our Access Fellowship Programme at the YWCA Fort Canning! 🚀 We were thrilled to have over 50 enthusiastic Fellows over for this impactful session where they gained valuable insights into leveraging the RIASEC profiling tool to identify their career interests, skills confidence, and work values. Additionally, they learned the importance of setting SMART goals, and received guidance on creating their LinkedIn profiles to kickstart their personal branding journey. A special highlight of the day was the Fellows’ official introduction to their mentors from SHEIN, Deliveroo, Schneider Electric, and Constellar. These dedicated professionals took time out of their busy schedules to connect with our Fellows, and we are grateful that they were so open to offering their wisdom and support in our first of many small group sessions. We are excited to continue building momentum with our Fellows and eagerly anticipate diving further into their capstone projects soon. Here's to fostering growth, learning, and meaningful connections over the next six months! #AccessSingapore #AccessFellowshipProgramme #Mentorship

Last Friday, our Founder and Executive Director, Clarence Ching, spoke at a dialogue session organised by the British High Commission in Singapore. Presenting to members of the British Chamber of Commerce, Clarence shed light on the state of social mobility in Singapore, and detailed the important  work Access Singapore does to advance the cause, including our student programmes, advocacy efforts, and other exciting initiatives in our pipeline. We were also privileged to hear from Luc Delauzun, our invaluable partner from international law firm, Simmons & Simmons. He shared about his experiences participating in our past student programmes, and his insights were a testament to the powerful impact of our collaborative efforts. Drawing inspiration from the UK's exemplary work in promoting social mobility, we were thrilled to engage with so many senior leaders from BritCham’s network, and to learn from their own experiences and best practices in this space. As we emphasised during our Social Mobility Summit in April, greater action from the corporate sector is crucial to advancing social mobility. We certainly hope that this session will spur greater interest in the topic and encourage more corporations to join us as we create a more inclusive future for all! 💪 #AccessSingapore #BritishHighCommission #SocialMobility

Happy Social Mobility Day! 🎉🇬🇧 Today, the UK celebrates Social Mobility Day which aims to raise awareness of social mobility and the incredible work organisations do to foster positive change. Since our founding, we have always been inspired by the UK's progress in creating equal opportunities, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes the ways they build public awareness, curate youth programmes, and offer work experience placements. And so, doing our part, we have curated a quick carousel to share more about social mobility, why it matters, and how you can join us in creating a more equitable future for everyone. We look forward to learning more from their experiences, continuing to build on our own knowledge, and eventually applying these insights to our own communities as well. Wishing our UK counterparts a fantastic Social Mobility Day! ✨ #SocialMobilityDay

Last Thursday, we hosted the second session of our Access Fellowship Programme. It was a fantastic opportunity for our Fellows from the various ITEs, Polytechnics, and Universities to visit the offices of our principal sponsor SHEIN, and our corporate partner, Schneider Electric, and: ✔️ Gain a more practical understanding of their respective day-to-day operations, workflows, and processes in their professional settings ✔️ Understand the types of careers that exist within each organisation and how they contribute to the business’ operations and success  ✔️ Outline the key skills and competencies required for the different roles ✔️ Network with potential mentors who can provide guidance and advice as they progress through their career journeys We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated speakers and mentors from SHEIN and Schneider Electric who generously shared their time, experiences, and valuable advice with our Fellows. We hope this session provided them with a meaningful introduction to the working world and the myriad opportunities that await them. Stay tuned for more updates as we kickstart our AFP masterclasses this June! #AccessSingapore #AccessFellowshipProgramme 

Back in April at our Access Social Mobility Summit, we unveiled a set of comprehensive recommendations aimed at advancing social mobility in Singapore.  Apart from advocating for more data-driven insights, redefining success from the ground-up, and engaging in more youth-level interventions, a key recommendation was to encourage greater corporate sector involvement, as companies have huge social and human capital to catalyse large-scale impact. Against this backdrop, our team at Access has been leading an increasing number of lunch and learn sessions with corporate organisations to:  ✅ Drive greater awareness around the topic of social mobility ✅ Explain why corporates can and should do more to engage with youths, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds  ✅ Show how they can get involved to bring about more meaningful and lasting change Last week, our Senior Communications Manager Tiara Robyn Chew shared more about the state of social mobility in Singapore with 100 bp employees and engaged with them in crucial dialogue around this topic. We are glad that more companies are taking the issue of social mobility seriously, and exploring new opportunities to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment for their employees. Thank you BP for the opportunity to share more about our work, and thank you to our academic partner A/P Nathan Peng from Singapore Management University for joining the session. We are excited to continue spreading the word on social mobility and seeing how we can collectively shape a more equitable future for all. #AccessSingapore #LunchandLearn #SocialMobility

After months of meticulous planning, we recently celebrated the launch of our highly-anticipated Access Fellowship Programme (AFP) - our flagship initiative aimed at supporting students from Institutes of Higher Learning as they transition from education to the workforce. Centred on our mission to enhance the self-confidence, aspirations, and life outcomes of disadvantaged youths, the AFP will connect bursary students from the various universities, polytechnics, and ITEs with experienced professionals across exciting industries such as consultancy, e-commerce, energy, events management, and media. Through curated masterclasses and mentorship sessions, they will help our Fellows develop the necessary workplace knowledge and experiences to succeed in their future careers. We are thankful to our Principal Sponsor SHEIN, and corporate partners like Schneider Electric, Deliveroo, Constellar, Solve n+1, and HEPMIL Media Group for their unending support and dedication. We believe that they will bring invaluable lessons to our Fellows over the next six months. We cannot wait to see them grow under their mentors’ guidance, and apply their newfound skills to meet their career goals. Stay tuned as we continue to share more about their journeys and open more doors for opportunities for all! #AccessSingapore #AccessFellowshipProgramme #SocialMobility