Hired after internships
Many SIT students go on to work for firms they interned at under school scheme
On Monday, Miss Teo Jia En, 22, started work at international trade fair company Koelnmesse.
It came days after she graduated with the pioneering batch of hospitality business students from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) last Friday.
Miss Teo interned at Koelnmesse for eight months last year, during which she was flown to Macau to help with Siggraph Asia 2016, an annual regional tech conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques.
Out of 19, she is one of the 12 hospitality graduates who received job offers from companies they interned at during the school's mandatory Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP).
As part of the programme, SIT students take up job attachments for eight to 12 months.
Miss Teo's experience in Macau involved the coordination of Siggraph's programmes and helping with on-site registration.
Said Miss Teo: "(When) you see people come, talk and have fun, that is when you have done it. The event was successful, everyone was happy and the client might come back again."
Work experience is essential in an industry such as hospitality, said SIT's Hospitality Business Assistant Professor Eliver Lin.
PASSIONATE
Said Prof Lin: "While fulfilling the industry needs of Singapore's hospitality sphere, we want students (who are) passionate about contributing positively to the industry and (who)become competitive, forward-looking graduates with strong operational skills anchored in solid theoretical knowledge."
Added SIT president, Professor Tan Thiam Soon: "The real work undertaken through IWSP has enabled our students to understand the challenges in the current fast-changing economy and develop skills of adaptability, creativity and innovation while adding value to the workplace."
Mr Kelvin Tay, 24, also landed a job offer with "Big Four" accountancy firm KPMG before he graduated last week as part of SIT's second batch of accountancy students.
Out of 96 students in his batch, he is one of 83 who received priority job offers.
Mr Tay spent eight months at KPMG as part of his IWSP.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy with Honours and as valedictorian of his batch.
His advice to other students? "Don't relax, don't stop now."
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