NTU should not be faulted for exclusive job fair
Mr Ethan Chong's letter has brought some pragmatism into the emotive elitism debate (GPA represents undergrads' hard work over long period of time; Oct 13).
Why must Nanyang Technological University (NTU) succumb to populist pressure and apologise for holding a job fair exclusively for students with top grades?
Was it the one and only job fair organised by NTU and were there no other fairs that were open to all? Why can't NTU organise both general and targeted job fairs?
Who is to tell employers whom they should and should not target and what weight they should give to grades?
Employers live with the consequences of their decisions and know their needs best.
If they tell NTU that there are certain vacancies for which they would like to consider only students with top grades, should NTU be barred from providing such a service to employers?
If all job openings must be open to all students, then shouldn't headhunters be banned and all openings mandated to be openly advertised?
Employers all over the world regularly target certain students for certain jobs.
Some have even established relationships with professors so that they can be tipped off on graduating bright students, whom they then approach well before these students graduate.
Should professors be banned from recommending students based on criteria spelt out by employers?
Mr Ethan Chong's letter has brought some pragmatism into the emotive elitism debate (GPA represents undergrads' hard work over long period of time; Oct 13).
Why must Nanyang Technological University (NTU) succumb to populist pressure and apologise for holding a job fair exclusively for students with top grades?
Was it the one and only job fair organised by NTU and were there no other fairs that were open to all? Why can't NTU organise both general and targeted job fairs?
Who is to tell employers whom they should and should not target and what weight they should give to grades?
Employers live with the consequences of their decisions and know their needs best.
If they tell NTU that there are certain vacancies for which they would like to consider only students with top grades, should NTU be barred from providing such a service to employers?
If all job openings must be open to all students, then shouldn't headhunters be banned and all openings mandated to be openly advertised?
Employers all over the world regularly target certain students for certain jobs.
Some have even established relationships with professors so that they can be tipped off on graduating bright students, whom they then approach well before these students graduate.
Should professors be banned from recommending students based on criteria spelt out by employers?
We had better grow up, or we will be left behind in the global quest for talent.
Yes, NTU could be faulted for organising a job fair for top students in a manner not sufficiently sensitive to the feelings of the general student body.
But it does not follow that universities should either organise fairs open to all, or not at all.
In recent years, the legitimate call for inclusiveness has many a time slipped dangerously into anti-talent political correctness.
This spells disastrous consequences for a country like Singapore, which has nothing to rely on except people and talent.
Cheng Shoong Tat
ST Forum, 17 Oct 2018
But it does not follow that universities should either organise fairs open to all, or not at all.
In recent years, the legitimate call for inclusiveness has many a time slipped dangerously into anti-talent political correctness.
This spells disastrous consequences for a country like Singapore, which has nothing to rely on except people and talent.
Cheng Shoong Tat
ST Forum, 17 Oct 2018
GPA represents undergrads' hard work over long period of time
With the recent shift away from exams and assessments at primary and secondary school levels, it would seem intuitive to conclude that NTUtopia's somewhat linear screening criteria are "elitist" and "unfair" (Invite-only career fair for top NTU students draws flak; Oct 7).
But are they really?
A grade point average (GPA) for an undergraduate in his final year is not a one-shot wonder. It is a weighted average measurement of the final scores the undergraduate has achieved for each painstaking semester he has completed.
A good GPA can only be achieved through constant hard work, sacrifice and, to be entirely honest, a small dose of luck.
It disregards the colour of your skin, the language you speak, the wealth of your family or the kind of connections you have.
While imperfect, it remains very much a proxy of the individual's efforts, if not abilities.
Is it unfair for an undergraduate who has dedicated three to four years of his life to his academic achievements to be given some form of a head start in employment?
Should it be considered elitist for employers to have the first pick at undergraduates who have, through ability, hard work and sacrifice, earned every bit of academic success that is represented via the GPA, compared with the undergraduates who have not?
It is convenient to associate every form of exclusive reward for hard work with elitism rather than recognise it for the fundamental meritocracy our society is built on.
I agree wholeheartedly that academic results indicate only a fraction of what one can achieve.
Through my personal experiences in the hiring process at my firm, I cannot begin to emphasise how much we value all-rounded individuals and how much such individuals have contributed in their capacities, often over and above their academically inclined colleagues.
It remains, however, impractical and logistically impossible for employers to truly know how "all-rounded" a candidate is and can be simply through the screening of his resume.
Until such time otherwise, employers will continue to use an undergraduate's GPA as a preliminary screening tool.
Ethan Chong
ST Forum, 13 Oct 2018
With the recent shift away from exams and assessments at primary and secondary school levels, it would seem intuitive to conclude that NTUtopia's somewhat linear screening criteria are "elitist" and "unfair" (Invite-only career fair for top NTU students draws flak; Oct 7).
But are they really?
A grade point average (GPA) for an undergraduate in his final year is not a one-shot wonder. It is a weighted average measurement of the final scores the undergraduate has achieved for each painstaking semester he has completed.
A good GPA can only be achieved through constant hard work, sacrifice and, to be entirely honest, a small dose of luck.
It disregards the colour of your skin, the language you speak, the wealth of your family or the kind of connections you have.
While imperfect, it remains very much a proxy of the individual's efforts, if not abilities.
Is it unfair for an undergraduate who has dedicated three to four years of his life to his academic achievements to be given some form of a head start in employment?
Should it be considered elitist for employers to have the first pick at undergraduates who have, through ability, hard work and sacrifice, earned every bit of academic success that is represented via the GPA, compared with the undergraduates who have not?
It is convenient to associate every form of exclusive reward for hard work with elitism rather than recognise it for the fundamental meritocracy our society is built on.
I agree wholeheartedly that academic results indicate only a fraction of what one can achieve.
Through my personal experiences in the hiring process at my firm, I cannot begin to emphasise how much we value all-rounded individuals and how much such individuals have contributed in their capacities, often over and above their academically inclined colleagues.
It remains, however, impractical and logistically impossible for employers to truly know how "all-rounded" a candidate is and can be simply through the screening of his resume.
Until such time otherwise, employers will continue to use an undergraduate's GPA as a preliminary screening tool.
Ethan Chong
ST Forum, 13 Oct 2018
NTU 'regrets' holding career fair targeted at top students
By Jolene Ang, The Straits Times, 9 Oct 2018
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said yesterday that it "regrets" holding a career fair last month mostly for top-performing students, adding that it will open the event to the entire graduating cohort next year.
From next year, regardless of grades, students will be allowed to submit their resumes in advance by posting them on a website for employers to consider. The employers taking part in the NTUtopia career fair will then draw up a shortlist of students to be invited to the event.
NTU said this would be a change from the format of the event last month, in which the university shortlisted the invitees based on their academic results and co-curricular activity (CCA) records. About 3,600 students, or 60 per cent of the graduating cohort, were eventually invited.
Some students told The Sunday Times, which first reported the controversy, that the event had exclusively targeted those from scholar programmes or with a minimum grade point average of 3.75 out of 5.
The criteria sparked an outcry among students, including those invited to the event, with many saying it was unfair to limit participation based on grades.
Others also criticised the move.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Education chairman Denise Phua said: "Academic results are only one proxy indicator to determine the suitability of an applicant. These days, there are jobs that require skills, experiences and attributes not related to one's academic scores."
Mr Daniel Soh, managing partner of executive headhunting firm Leadership Advisory, felt that career fairs are meant for employers to meet a diverse slate of candidates, regardless of academic results.
Mr Paul Heng, managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group, said: "To have a targeted career fair spells elitism, which is what we are supposed to be moving away from.
"From a human resource perspective, to be able to perform a job well, you need many more qualities than academic performance - what about soft skills or communication skills?"
A spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MOE), which was among 45 participating employers at NTUtopia, told The Straits Times earlier that organising exclusive career fairs could "send the wrong message, and our education institutions should avoid that".
On Sept 28, MOE announced a slew of changes to exams and assessments at the primary and secondary school levels. Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said the motivation was to move away from a narrow focus on grades and help students discover the joy of learning.
In a statement yesterday, Professor Tan Ooi Kiang, NTU's associate provost (undergraduate education), expressed regret over the controversy.
He said: "We acknowledge that by making NTUtopia selective on the basis of academic achievements and CCA records, it may have sent an unintended message about employability factors."
He added: "Moving forward, NTU will encourage employers to look at a broader set of criteria, such as CCA involvement and leadership, internship experience and overseas exposure."
By the end of this month, all NTU graduating students will be invited to upload their resumes on a website that major employers, including the 45 that participated in NTUtopia, can access.
NTU School of Social Sciences final-year student Hee Yu Quan, 24, who was invited to the fair, praised the "prompt and appropriate" action by NTU.
"I feel it treats the feedback loop quite seriously," he said.
By Jolene Ang, The Straits Times, 9 Oct 2018
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said yesterday that it "regrets" holding a career fair last month mostly for top-performing students, adding that it will open the event to the entire graduating cohort next year.
From next year, regardless of grades, students will be allowed to submit their resumes in advance by posting them on a website for employers to consider. The employers taking part in the NTUtopia career fair will then draw up a shortlist of students to be invited to the event.
NTU said this would be a change from the format of the event last month, in which the university shortlisted the invitees based on their academic results and co-curricular activity (CCA) records. About 3,600 students, or 60 per cent of the graduating cohort, were eventually invited.
Some students told The Sunday Times, which first reported the controversy, that the event had exclusively targeted those from scholar programmes or with a minimum grade point average of 3.75 out of 5.
The criteria sparked an outcry among students, including those invited to the event, with many saying it was unfair to limit participation based on grades.
Others also criticised the move.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Education chairman Denise Phua said: "Academic results are only one proxy indicator to determine the suitability of an applicant. These days, there are jobs that require skills, experiences and attributes not related to one's academic scores."
Mr Daniel Soh, managing partner of executive headhunting firm Leadership Advisory, felt that career fairs are meant for employers to meet a diverse slate of candidates, regardless of academic results.
Mr Paul Heng, managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group, said: "To have a targeted career fair spells elitism, which is what we are supposed to be moving away from.
"From a human resource perspective, to be able to perform a job well, you need many more qualities than academic performance - what about soft skills or communication skills?"
A spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MOE), which was among 45 participating employers at NTUtopia, told The Straits Times earlier that organising exclusive career fairs could "send the wrong message, and our education institutions should avoid that".
On Sept 28, MOE announced a slew of changes to exams and assessments at the primary and secondary school levels. Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said the motivation was to move away from a narrow focus on grades and help students discover the joy of learning.
In a statement yesterday, Professor Tan Ooi Kiang, NTU's associate provost (undergraduate education), expressed regret over the controversy.
He said: "We acknowledge that by making NTUtopia selective on the basis of academic achievements and CCA records, it may have sent an unintended message about employability factors."
He added: "Moving forward, NTU will encourage employers to look at a broader set of criteria, such as CCA involvement and leadership, internship experience and overseas exposure."
By the end of this month, all NTU graduating students will be invited to upload their resumes on a website that major employers, including the 45 that participated in NTUtopia, can access.
NTU School of Social Sciences final-year student Hee Yu Quan, 24, who was invited to the fair, praised the "prompt and appropriate" action by NTU.
"I feel it treats the feedback loop quite seriously," he said.
Invite-only career fair for top NTU students draws flak
Undergrads upset as only those with GPA of at least 3.75 or from scholar programmes invited
By Jolene Ang, The Straits Times, 7 Oct 2018
So the idea of an invite-only fair did not sit well with many Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students.
Last month, the university held NTUtopia, which undergraduates said exclusively targeted those from scholar programmes or with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.75 out of 5.
In an e-mail invitation seen by The Sunday Times (ST), NTUtopia congratulated the students on being "selected" for a "premium by-invitation event for top employers to engage and recruit our brightest final-year students".
While the criterion was not explicitly stated, some undergraduates who did not fall in the categories said they were not aware of this event until their friends who received the e-mail spoke about it.
However, Professor Tan Ooi Kiang, NTU's Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education), said about 3,600 students, or 60 per cent of the graduating cohort, were invited to the fair based on their achievements in academic or co-curricular activities.
Some undergraduates who wrote in on their own accord and some who turned up at the event also joined the fair, he added.
At the fair, students were allowed to pass their resume to participating employers from both the public and private sectors.
NTUtopia said in the e-mail: "It means you may even get a chance to secure a job way before your graduation... This will definitely help you get ahead of other candidates to increase your employability."
Among the participating employers from the public service were the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
A final-year NTU undergraduate with a GPA of 4.37 who went for the career fair told ST that organisers checked resumes and GPAs at the door.
The student, who declined to be named, said: "I asked (the organisers) why they set a minimum GPA and was told that they wanted to ensure the students were of a certain calibre. If it's a career fair, everyone who's graduating should be allowed to go... I don't think GPA is a good reflection of your quality of work."
Prof Tan said: "We will review students' feedback, including making NTUtopia open to all undergraduates, and the processes around NTU's career events. We'll also work with employers to widen their recruitment criteria to include those with more diverse skills and abilities."
Spokesmen for the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University told ST that they do run smaller-scale career fairs for students from specific faculties and areas of study, but there were no restrictions in terms of grades.
A spokesman for the Public Service Division - the central body dealing with human resource and career development in the civil service - said individual public agencies were responsible for recruiting employees as the agencies better understood their own needs.
In the private sector, companies that participated in NTUtopia, such as OCBC and DBS, said they regularly participated in a wide range of career fairs across universities.
MOE said organising exclusive career fairs could "send the wrong message, and our education institutions should avoid that". It added: "We encourage employers to look holistically, beyond grades, in their hiring decisions and to work with us to broaden the definition of success beyond academic results."
Last month, MOE announced a slew of changes to exams and assessments at primary and secondary school levels.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung had said then that the motivation was to move away from an over-emphasis on grades and help students discover the joy of learning.
In the private sector, companies that participated in NTUtopia, such as OCBC and DBS, said they regularly participated in a wide range of career fairs across universities.
MOE said organising exclusive career fairs could "send the wrong message, and our education institutions should avoid that". It added: "We encourage employers to look holistically, beyond grades, in their hiring decisions and to work with us to broaden the definition of success beyond academic results."
Last month, MOE announced a slew of changes to exams and assessments at primary and secondary school levels.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung had said then that the motivation was to move away from an over-emphasis on grades and help students discover the joy of learning.
Fewer exams for students from 2019 as Ministry of Education announces sweeping changes to reduce emphasis on grades
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