Mentors are valuable co-pilots in today’s turbulent job market

THE job market has evolved into a highly competitive arena. Retrenchments last year more than doubled from 2022, and employment growth slowed.

It is therefore unsurprising that most professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) surveyed in the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) taskforce reports cited career progression as a key need or worry.

Amid increasing job insecurity, it is more realistic to focus on career security. Seasoned professionals must continually reshape their skill sets based on their needs and priorities in life, which could change as well.

Young professionals, meanwhile, may face significant gaps between their career aspirations and their existing skill sets.

The rapid evolution of industries can outpace traditional education, worsening the skills mismatch.

In the highly competitive technology industry, for example, rapid developments in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are creating persistent skill gaps even for those already in the field.

Those who can successfully close the gaps can look forward to high salaries and bonuses, but there are many who may stumble inadvertently at various points in their jobs or careers.

Changes in technology may very quickly render entire teams redundant, as was the case in tech companies Google and Amazon.

Despite – or because of – the plethora of career information and training courses available, what is crucially needed is help to navigate and contextualise the information, particularly against an objective appraisal of one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

All this points to a need for a personalised and trusted guide for professionals feeling their way through the job market and economy.

This guide is important to both youths who are just entering the workplace, as well as any mid-career professionals seeking career progression or pivots.

Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, in his recent Budget speech, recognised the need to support workers to upgrade themselves, as skills learnt many years back may well be outdated.

The top-up of SkillsFuture credits, which are government subsidies for training programmes, will go some way to support continuous learning.

Even the use of these credits, however, would be better optimised by individuals who have guidance from mentors.

What is mentorship?

Mentorship is a form of long-term guidance in which an experienced mentor provides holistic support to a mentee in his overall development.

It differs from coaching, which is more goal-oriented and task-focused. The coach assists individuals in achieving specific objectives through structured techniques over a shorter time period, whereas mentors may perform a wider range of functions.

In the Young NTUC Youth Taskforce Report, 19.3 per cent of the 2,758 youths engaged through surveys and focus group discussions listed industry mentorships as the top-ranked resource they felt would help with their career progression.

Mentorship also emerges as a solution for professionals to successfully navigate and overcome a highly competitive job market.

In the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce Report, 55 per cent of mature PMEs said having a mentor would improve their employability.

There are career guidance tools in the market, including government frameworks and platforms such as the recently announced job search site CareersFinder.

These provide helpful links and resources to jobs and skills requirements, possibly even at a personalised level.

Navigating a career switch, however, entails more than just acquiring a new skill set; it requires a profound understanding of the industry’s nuances, established networks, and the unwritten rules that shape success within it.

A mentor with years of experience and extensive networks can give good advice to mid-career professionals who wish to switch careers.

As a mentor myself, I have encountered many workers who transitioned from other sectors to a career in tech.

Change is never easy, but I noticed that the soft skills and domain knowledge one carries over from previous work experience are often valuable assets in addition to technical or coding skills alone.

A mentor can help you position your unique strengths to be an advantage in your career choices.

Most importantly, a mentor is like a guiding light – providing you with shared experiences and advice to avoid pitfalls and encourage you onward, and a compassionate ear and strategic insights.

For young professionals, mentorship will provide emotional support, coping strategies, and a realistic perspective on achieving work-life harmony.

The pursuit of success, coupled with job market uncertainties, can lead to deteriorating mental health in the form of stress, anxiety and, in extreme cases, burnout.

The World Health Organization has flagged that we are experiencing an epidemic of stress.

In such cases, the personal relationship becomes just as or even more important than industry knowledge.

National efforts in mentoring

Mentoring SG was launched in 2022 by a national-level office. It will introduce a course accredited by national accreditation body Workforce Skills Qualifications to train mentors, promote best practices and set a foundation for national efforts in this space.

In September last year, NTUC piloted an Executive Mentorship Programme for job seekers and mid-career individuals seeking to make career transitions.

Professionals from various industries with a passion for mentoring volunteered for the pilot programme.

One of my fellow mentors, a professional from the Risk and Insurance Management Association of Singapore, wanted to “step up, pay it forward and help the mentees joining the industry”.

He hoped to “bring doors of opportunities” and a “shoulder to lean on” to help jobseekers move to the next phase of their career.

Other mentors shared similar motivations: to provide a sense of empowerment and confidence to their mentees who were taking a bold step to transit to a different industry.

Mentors themselves could benefit as well, learning from mentees, widening their network and potentially scouting new talents.

After the mentorship, we were heartened by the impact we made on the mentees, who are now clearer about the industries they want to join, including the gaps in skills and knowledge they still face.

Most importantly, many mentees felt they had made a new friend. Apart from the knowledge and skills, the assurance and confidence that we as mentors felt we provided to our mentees was to us an important objective.

A recent article in The Business Times covered the many retrenchments in the technology sector, including among big names such as Meta, Amazon and Salesforce.

For mentees facing anxiety and instability in such situations, mentors will be able to help map and guide practical solutions for employment opportunities and training. Most importantly, they can be a friend in times of difficulty.

The Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB), an affiliate association of NTUC for all information and communications technology (ICT) professionals in Singapore, has also initiated a community support platform to complement NTUC’s mentorship programme.

The TTAB Career Conversation programme facilitates conversations between members and ICT industry leaders on technological trends, innovation, project possibilities and career advice for ICT career paths.

In this turbulent market, working professionals may wish to take the first step by participating in any of the available programmes.

Mentorship is a start, though. Mentees must take ownership to follow up on the directions they gleaned from their mentors.

The writer is founder and chief executive of identity verification software provider Gtriip and vice-president of Tech Talent Assembly