Standard Chartered Foundation announces $6 mln investment to boost youth employability in Singapore, ASEAN

Standard Chartered Foundation on Thursday announced a $6 million investment to create and fund programs that will help young people in Singapore and ASEAN secure employment and improve their long-term economic prospects.

The investment is a firm demonstration of the bank’s longstanding commitment towards improving the economic opportunities and access for youth, specifically young women, in markets where it operates.

Standard Chartered leaders made the statement at a client networking event on Wednesday night which was attended by Chee Hong Tat, Minister for National Development and Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Supporting a thriving blue economy sector in ASEAN

The majority of this investment will be funded through the foundation towards developing a program to explore possibilities in creating a thriving blue economy to help sustain coastal ecosystems and improve the economic livelihoods of different communities in ASEAN.

Globally, 282 million youth are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). This includes 19 million young people in ASEAN alone, where young women are 1.5 times more likely to be unemployed compared to men.

To help address this issue, Standard Chartered Foundation, which has helped to enable more than 100,000 jobs for young people around the world since 2019, will explore potential blue economy-related jobs during the program’s initial phase, which will also include a landscape assessment to understand untapped potential and opportunities ahead of defining the program detail.

Catalyzing philanthropy and sustainability through partnerships

The second part of the investment will see the foundation partner Community Chest, the philanthropy arm of the National Council of Social Service, and Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT) to rollout a “Youth Employment for Success” (Y.E.S.) program to help young women, aged between 18 and 35 years, from lower-income communities.

The Y.E.S. program will run until 2028, during which the women will receive job-readiness and well-being related training to help them build confidence and improve their employment prospects.

Von Leong, DOT’s board president, said, “Standard Chartered’s commitment to empowering young women aligns perfectly with DOT’s mission to break cycles of poverty through long-term employment. Through this partnership, we hope to support women to not only find jobs, but also build meaningful, sustainable livelihoods for them and their families.”

Patrick Lee, CEO, Singapore and ASEAN, Standard Chartered, said, "As an international bank present in most markets in ASEAN, we are privileged and uniquely positioned to be able to catalyze philanthropy and sustainability. The flagship ASEAN blue economy program funded by Standard Chartered Foundation, together with our industry partners, holds immense economic potential that we hope can translate into tangible job opportunities that will uplift youth employability in this vibrant region."

"Similarly, our partnership with DOT reinforces the bank’s SG60 commitment, as we continue to make a positive impact on the community, together with our employees in Singapore,” he added.