nEbO celebrates 10 years of youth development
nEbO to further strengthen work-readiness and leadership development among members. Exclusive calendar of events and programmes for members to celebrate the milestone.
Singapore, 8 June 2017 – When Poh Yong Shun first joined nEbO as a volunteer in 2011, he was a quiet and shy person. But since then, through the various trainings from nEbO, he has grown into an ardent nEbO champion, motivating other youths to be more prepared for work life. Yong Shun is just one of the 100,000 members who celebrated the 10th anniversary of nEbO this year.
Launched on 7 July 2007, nEbO is the junior membership arm of the NTUC. This year, the community celebrated their 10 years of engaging and enabling Work, World and Life-Ready youths by reaffirming their commitment towards youth development. Identifying youths as one of the key factors in sustaining future leadership, nEbO nurtures the next generation of leaders by providing them a wide choice of Work-Ready programmes to develop their skill sets.
A decade of youth development
One of the key initiatives by nEbO to develop youths into leaders of tomorrow is a programme called LEAD (Lead, Engage And Develop). The leadership programme, which was launched in 2011, was curated by nEbO to help youths to deal with the challenges of adolescent life, and prepare them to be responsible workers of tomorrow. Upon completion of the LEAD programme, nEbO Champions are given the resources and opportunities to initiate and execute projects of their own. To date, nEbO champions conceptualised and executed more than 300 youth-initiated programmes, with topics ranging from entrepreneurship to giving back to the community.
One such youth-initiated project was nEbO’s Thank Your Intern Day (TYID). Aimed at educating youths and employers on the importance of a quality internship, TYID reached out to students and interns-to-be to educate them of their rights at work. More importantly, the project allowed the youths to better understand the requirements of working life and be better prepared for it.
Developing youths’ skills for joining the workforce
Aside from the TYID initiative to get youths Work-Ready, nEbO will also intensify its efforts in collaborating with secondary schools and Institutes of Higher Learning moving forward. By offering more Work-Ready initiatives such as learning journeys with partnering unionised companies, students will have opportunities to learn about the companies’ operations and that industry. Through the years, nEbO had worked with partners across various industries like F&B, hospitality, arts and entertainment, maritime and healthcare. Another initiative, nEbO’s Jobs Portal – Jobs On Board, collates internships, part-time jobs and work exposure attachments so that members can sign up for opportunities with employers who had pledged to provide a quality working experience. Jobs On Board is also a database of articles on subjects such as tips on increasing productivity at the workplace.
“There are many resources and avenues available for youths who are entering the workforce today to prepare themselves for future ready jobs. Learning Journeys are one good way for them to have a real look into companies and organisations they’re interested in. This is how HSEU works closely with nEbO to provide exposure and experience to these young members into the healthcare industry and for them to comprehend what it is like to be working in this environment of intense care delivery demand. We believe that through such collaborations, HSEU and nEbO can give youths more direct career guidance and give them a head start to their careers,” said Ms K Thanaletchimi, President, Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU).
“After a decade of serving the youth community, nEbO has brought together over 100,000 youths to lead initiatives that they are passionate about. By giving them those platforms, we’ve also allowed them to practice and hone their soft skills, and this gives nEbO members an edge when they join the workforce. With the support of the Labour Movement and our partners, we believe that we can take our youths under our wings and help them to grow into contributing members of Singapore’s workforce,” said Mr Lim Eng Lee, NTUC Alignment Director (nEbO).
Exclusive treats for members at Downtown East
To celebrate 10 years of youth development, nEbO rolled out 10 exciting activities and treats just for nEbO members. These celebrations are taking place at Downtown East, a place where nEbO members can call their own. These are on top of the many other privileges and benefits that nEbO members enjoy, such as preferential rates at D’Resort and Wild Wild Wet.
Some of the celebratory events included the Destination Fun event today at Downtown East, where nEbO members enjoyed 1-for-1 admission into Wild Wild Wet. There will be other activities planned throughout the year to celebrate nEbO’s 10th anniversary.