NFTE Educators’ Engagement

On 19 July 2019, we had the pleasure of hosting Normal Stream educators to participate in a dialogue about what top hirers of ITE graduates are looking for, and how we can build key competencies needed for our students to thrive in the working world.

The dialogue opened with a sharing session by Ms. Vanessa Yap, our Training and Development Executive. She shared the need to look beyond present situations and circumstances to call forth the potential in people. It is important to give youths platforms to affect change in their spheres of respective influence. At Halogen Foundation, we believe that every youth has the innate potential to make a difference and be a positive influence.  Having positive adult figures come alongside youth is what steered Vanessa to being a mentor in the lives of youth. Just as she has benefitted from leaders who guided her patiently through her difficult circumstances, she highlighted how Educators have tremendous influence over their students.

The panel dialogue brought together industry experts from three different sectors. We were privileged to have Mr. Derick Ooi, Human Resources Manager, Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore, Ms. Thaya Nanthini M., Recruiter, Shell Singapore, and Hosea Lai, Head of Social Impact APAC, LinkedIn. While their sharing focused on the evolving landscape of the working world, questions from the audience also honed in on topics such as what are the skills students need to develop to thrive in the workforce. Some of these skills include adaptability, problem-solving skills and communication skills.

This further reinforces our belief that by creating an encouraging and supportive environment, we can build confidence in students. This would allow youths to develop a growth mindset towards situations, become more willing to think out of the box and try new things.