By Yang Huiwen

THE Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) yesterday announced the official launch of a recruitment programme to search out fresh and recent graduates keen to build a career with the agency.

Candidates can apply to join under the Young Professionals Programme (YPP), a scheme that replaces the Associates Programme which was started in 2006 to recruit entry-level staff.

'We have done two things differently this time in the search for talent,' said Dr Tony Tan, GIC's deputy chairman and executive director, at a ceremony to welcome the YPP's pioneer batch of 12 candidates.

The YPP has expanded its search for talent from soon-to-be graduates to include young professionals who have been out of university for no more than four years.

GIC has also been clearer on the type of candidates it is looking for for the long term, said Dr Tan.

'We have looked for candidates on the basis that they are, first of all, joining GIC as the place they want to be, and only subsequently do we address the question of where they are going to work within GIC,' he said, adding that flexibility and fit within GIC are important.

The YPP is structured in a way which will allow candidates to 'develop the instincts for the whole of GIC and you are flexible enough to grow into jobs that we cannot as yet foresee', said Dr Tan.

The year-long programme starts with five weeks of intensive classroom training in finance, economics, investment analysis and GIC's businesses.

Candidates then undergo three job rotations, each lasting about two months, followed by a trainee stint in one of the departments that best suit their aptitude and interests.

They will be appointed as associates once they complete the programme.

The candidates in the incoming batch, aged 24 to 27, were selected from about 2,000 applicants.

Yesterday's ceremony also saw the last batch of candidates under the Associates Programme celebrating their official graduation.

'The inaugural YPP underlines GIC's strategy to continually seek talent for the long term, no matter whether the economy is up or down,' said GIC in a statement.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.