For those who want to refine and learn new job skills, look no further than the Inclusive Careers Fair

In the lead up to Pink Dot is Pink Fest, a commercial festival celebrating Pride Month in in Singapore. One of Pink Fest’s main events is the Inclusive Careers Fair, happening on the 22nd of June at WeWork, Collyer Quay.

Pink Fest includes a series of events and discussions to engage the LGBTQ+ community, allies, and inclusive businesses, as part of a larger goal: to foster a supportive and inclusive society in Singapore, fostering an inclusive society in Singapore, with this event targeting the job market where those from minority groups tend to be disadvantaged.

The Inclusive Careers Fair is organised by Xpointo Media, a marketing agency in Singapore. It is a platform that allows individuals of various backgrounds — particularly those from underrepresented groups, such as people who are neurodivergent, from racial or ethnic minorities, or the LGBTQ+ community — to interact with businesses and community organisations. 

Reaching for equality 

As part of the organiser’s efforts, the fair boasts a number of sponsors, like WeWork, and exhibitors. These exhibitors will have the opportunity to connect directly with job-searchers from minority groups, allowing job-searchers to find out more about a variety of companies and their roles, and companies to meet interested candidates. 

Exhibitors include companies of various fields, including tech giants like Google and Oracle, investment banks like J.P. Morgan, and media companies like Warner Brothers Discovery. 

In addition to the fair itself, there will also be panels and workshops. 

One panel that may interest The Peak readers is called “Changemakers: Catalysts for Good,” which features senior executive leaders Maisie Chong, head of Transaction Banking, Singapore, and head of Trade and Working Capital, ASEAN & South Asia for Standard Chartered; Corinna Lim, Executive Director of AWARE; Gavin Ottery, Executive Director, at Wells Fargo; and Ting-Ting Zhang, CEO of Singapore Fashion Council. 

These leaders discuss why their companies decided to represent themselves at the Inclusive Careers Fair, how their companies build an inclusive workplace culture, and how diversity and inclusion benefits their businesses. 

Up-skilling

For job-searchers, a number of workshops occur throughout the day for individuals to refine or learn new skills that will be useful in the workforce. 

To improve one’s presentation skills, there is the Show Up Workshop led by actor Hossan Leong. The workshop is sponsored by Equinix, and focuses on vocal techniques and movement strategies for presentations, as well as practical tips for an engaging presentation, making it useful for professionals and students alike.

Other workshops are focussed on more practical skills for professionals, like the Brush Up Workshop. Hosted by Nomura, this workshop helps individuals engineer their resume  for individuals to develop their resumes, and improve their interviewing skills, so that they are better able to secure the job roles that they want. 

The closing workshop of the event brings a more spiritual aspect to the event. The Own Up Workshop is hosted by Cathy Johnson, a Career Coach. She will focus on helping individuals find their authentic self, so that their personal confidence is improved, allowing them to form better working relationships.

Besides workshops, individuals can also get professional headshots taken at the fair’s photography studio, sponsored by Canon. The studio is equipped with professional photography equipment, and also has a wardrobe rack for participants to draw from.

The resulting photos will be provided digitally for job-seekers to use. 

And of course, networking 

No work-oriented event is complete without an activity specially for networking, and the Inclusive Careers fair is no exception. The fair has an Inclusive Mentoring Circle, where mentors will have 10 minute 1-on-1 conversations with mentees over a two hour period.

These mentees will be able to meet with 4 mentors during the time period, and will be able to consult with them about mentors’ various workplaces and careers. There will be two rounds of the Inclusive Mentoring Circle, each with ten mentors.

The large number of participating companies and sponsors indicates how these organisations highly value diversity among their workforce. Being present at the Inclusive Careers Fair is also a strategic investment by these companies to directly speak to these underrepresented groups, allowing them to better understand how to attract diverse talent.

Individuals who participate are given unique opportunities to network and upskill, and consult directly with those in the industry, giving them greater opportunities to be represented in the workforce. 

The fair will happen on Saturday, the 22nd at WeWork, 21 Collyer Quay.