Youth Link is an initiative of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and administered by the National Youth Council (NYC). It is a pilot programme to help develop the potential of school dropouts and truants. Besides re-admission to school, the Youth Link programme will explore more vocational training and employment as alternatives for school dropouts or truants who are not ready to return to school. This programme is subsidised by MCYS.
1 Source: 'Help for dropouts to get back to school', published in Straits Times on 4 Dec 06.
Through Youth Link, we aim to:
- Retain truants or re-admit school dropouts back into mainstream schools, with the goal of completing at least their ‘N’ levels ;
- Engage school dropouts in non school-based education, vocational learning and trainings with the goal of completing at least some recognised certification or diploma ;
- Assist older school dropouts to obtain gainful employment ; or
- Encourage early NS enlistment for male school dropouts
Youth qualify for Youth Link if they are:
- A Singapore citizen or permanent resident;
- Aged between 12 and 17, i.e. eligible for Secondary One to Secondary Five education;
- For school dropout, the student must:
- Be identified by the school to attend the school exit interview
or - Have dropped out of school for the past 6 months.
- A registered student who has been staying away from school without permission (with less than 50% attendance rate) for more than 1 month to less than 1 year.
- Be identified by the school to attend the school exit interview
- For school truant, the student must have played truant for the past month (achieving less than 50% attendance for that month) or the last 12 months.
Please refer to the School Referral Process for OSYs and truants for the referral process.
- Emigrate;
- Study overseas;
- Continue education at another local institution;
- Undergo vocational training; or
- Be on probation or participate in a legal case handled by the courts.
Youth Link is a one year programme with the following programme components:
- School Exit Conference/Case Referral Meeting
School exit conference will be held for OSYs who have been identified by school authorities to be de-registered. Case referral meetings will be held for truants who have been missing from school but are still registered with the school, and students who have already been de-registered from school. The school exit conference/case referral meeting ensures the proper handover of the OSY/ truants to the agency. It is compulsory for the social worker to be present at the school exit conference/case referral meeting. - Individual Casework Management
Individual casework sessions include outreach to participants, assessment, implementation and intervention plans. - Family Work
Family work sessions include an introductory family meeting followed by quarterly updates and review on the progress of the participant. - Life Skills, Group Work and Rapport Building Activities
The incorporation of life skills is the first step in enhancing the participants’ self-esteem and self-perception. Coupled with a positive self-perception, group work and rapport building activities will help develop the participants’ social skills. - Community Service Project
The objectives of the community service project are for participants to develop a sense of civic responsibility to the community and re-integrate into the community.
| Agency | Address | Contact Person | Contact Information |
| Malay Youth Literary Association | Blk 606 Bedok Reservoir Road #01-716 Singapore 470606 | Ms Norsalha Mohamad Youth Worker | Tel: 6242 6381 salha@4pm.org.sg |
| Project 180 (Youth Services) | Blk 145 Simei Street 2 #01-06 Singapore 520145 | Ms Charlene Heng Social Worker | Tel: 6787 1125 ext. 110 charleneheng@fycs.org |
| Yayasan MENDAKI | Wisma MENDAKI 51 Kee Sun Avenue (off Tay Lian Teck Road) Singapore 457056 | Mr Mohd Bakhtiar Anang Youth Development Executive | Tel: 6245 5779 bakhtiar@mendaki.org.sg |
| YMCA Project Bridge | Blk 892B Woodlands Drive 50 #01-177 Singapore 731892 | Mr Isaac Lim Assistant Manager | Tel: 6362 0700 / 6362 0900 isaaclim@ymca.org.sg |
| TOUCH Youth Limited | Blk 162 Bukit Merah Central #05-3555 Singapore 150162 | Ms Lily Chu Manager Ms Samantha Poh | Tel: 6317 9949 lily.chu@touch.org.sg Tel: 62735568 |
For further information, please refer to the Youth Link website at www.nygr.org.sg/youthlink/.