Speech by NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng at NTUC Youth 21st Anniversary Homecoming Dinner on 19 August 2026

NTUC President, Sister K Thanaletchimi,
SPS Sister Goh Hanyan,
Chairman, Young PAP, Brother Alvin Tan,
Fellow NTUC Central Committee Members,
And all my dear young friends and future NTUC members


Welcome to this event!

I’m delighted to join all of you to celebrate NTUC Youth’s 21st year. And I notice that the title is about “homecoming”. It is very apt because homecoming does bring a sense of warmth especially as you celebrate 21 years of influencing young lives, and bringing them back now to their NTUC roots. It is really something special.

I see many of you that are young. I see some of my fellow CC members that once were young, but they were nevertheless Young NTUC before, and I'm glad that you have succeeded over 21 years to influence lives.

Indeed, over the last 21 years, NTUC Youth has been such a home for many generations of leaders, with some having graduated for now to be in the Central Committee. Well done!

So once again, for all the folks that have been part and parcel of this journey, thank you so much for making this happen.

NTUC is not just an organisation that comes along to create some ecosystem of fun, but over longer periods of time, they have influenced generations of Singaporeans in their transition:

a. From school to their first job;

b. From being young activists to now – leaders;

c. And from aspirations to NTUC Youth coming alongside to take action to making impactful changes to society and our workforce.

It is something to behold and treasure.

When I was talking to some of the young ones, the really young ones just now – 17 years old, 22 years old – they were telling me their personal stories in this current chapter of Young NTUC. They tell me that they not only have fun, but that NTUC Youth is alongside to inject in them confidence, to give them some structure to discover their purpose. And very importantly, NTUC and NTUC Youth create a platform for them to exercise their leadership in practice, maybe make a few mistakes along the way, but always developing the friendship and the support to launch them into the new chapters.

So importantly, I hope that I will continue to hear such wonderful stories in my time with you as I celebrate your 21st anniversary.

NTUC has been doing this for 21 years, supporting and empowering generations of young Singaporeans who care for each other, grow up together and help each other succeed.

So to all the current and former youth leaders, committee members, all our volunteers, activists, I know many of you have contributed quietly, organised activities that supported fellow youths, served our community and strengthened the bonds that hold our Labour Movement together.

On behalf of NTUC and my fellow Central Committee members, I sincerely thank each one of you for making a difference in our youths.

To our unions, employers and mentors, partners across the whole of NTUC family, thank you for believing in investing in our youths and participating in our many projects. This is what holds and nurtures the future of Singapore’s leaders.

When I look at the homecoming title, I was also thinking of a parallel track or thought.

Homecoming, on the one hand, brings warmth. But when I was 21 years old, I also remember the sense of adventure – that now I’m independent of my parents and am about to be launched into new possibilities.

So tonight, besides the warm feeling of homecoming, can I encourage NTUC Youth to also cast your vision forward. Dream, Dare, Do, and make new possibilities happen for yourselves and for our Singapore.

It is great to see this comradeship and capability that we hold together.

Because even as we were celebrating just now some of you were really telling me that jobs for the youths are a little bit harder to come by, especially for the younger ones coming into the workforce.

For Isaac Neo, our Youth leader of 33 years old, he was also sharing about he has a good job, the cost of living is also somewhat of a challenge.

While we have all these challenges, can I encourage NTUC Youth to build upon the good foundation of 21 years and launch forward to be even better for future generations of youth in Singapore?

Just last week, the International Labour Organisation reported that the biggest rise in youth unemployment were in higher-income countries, where young people are increasingly expressing fear that their jobs will be replaced by technology.

But even so, can I encourage all the youths in this room – that while all these challenges are real, the technologies like artificial intelligence will bring new possibilities, new business models, new industries, and new forms of growth that Singapore is well-placed to embark on.

And you, being one of the world’s best educated youngsters are the best placed to seize these opportunities.

If you look at Singapore in the last two years, emerging out of COVID-19, entering a world of tumultuous upheavals where tariffs came in out of the sudden and caused a great disruption in the world economy last year, the Iran war happening this year that caused the oil prices to go up to $120, some projecting maybe even to $150.

Amidst all those anxieties, guess what? Our Singapore has emerged with more resilience and may we also be more confident in this uncertain world, that so long as we do the right things, continue to invest in our youth, continue to invest in tripartism, we can emerge stronger.

In 2024, we had five per cent or so growth. 2025 – amidst tariffs when the stock markets crashed in April and everybody was pessimistic, including our Government, we emerged – five plus per cent.

With the Iran war that I just described to you, I was the most worried. Worried for my partners in industries – whether the business can survive the shock. But yet, by now, half year, we are growing at 6.1 or so per cent. Quite amazing. Therefore, in Singapore, we do have strength.

Interestingly, because of our Singapore brand, where there are uncertainties around the world, people bringing their investments to Singapore. People put their money in Singapore because we can be trusted.

Because we have a good Government. Because we have a good workforce discipline, are innovative, and always having a big picture in mind even as we champion for workers' rights. We have the big picture in mind to make sure that the pie grows and distribute the pie value in our society.

So if you NTUC Youth can instill these values in our youngsters across all the different possibilities that you are championing, the different platforms. Keep this big picture in mind as we develop different programmes to engage our youths.

In the last few years under Wendy Tan and Natasha Choy’s leadership, I’m very happy that NTUC Youth has progressed tremendously. They have created platforms for youths to seize new opportunities through different possibilities.

One of which I'm most proud of is the NTUC Starter Awards. In the first year, we were very tentative. We were thinking whether it will succeed.

We brought this scholarship, we went to the schools, and had 43 awardees out of maybe about 80 or 90 people who applied. By the second year, we awarded close to a hundred, and the number of applicants was multiple-fold.

This year, we intend to award to 150. So you can see the good work, and NTUC is moving into the Institutes of Higher Learning.

And it is not just a normal school club. One of the key things that many of the awardees, when they were chatting with me, said that they really appreciate was NTUC bringing them to Shenzhen.

So we put our NTUC money where our beliefs are and brought all 43 of them to Shenzhen to visit Huawei; and the 92 this year, will go to different companies to see for themselves the different possibilities in a fast-advancing technological world. So they can know the technology, get comfortable with some of the setup, and open the horizons in learning beyond the classroom.

We intend to scale this even further.

Ultimately, NTUC wants to bring all these possibilities to youngsters coming into the workforce. Not just in terms of the scholarships, but in terms of also practical things to answer to some other anxieties that you have had given as feedback to NTUC.

In July alone, we conducted three youth-focused job fairs, bringing 50 or more companies into these job fairs, with 300 or so job roles, with 900 plus vacancies. And these are not unknown companies too.

I recall visiting the job fairs, talking to many of the youths. We had Huawei, Seatrium, ST Technologies all opening up, welcoming youths with new jobs, to answer to some of the anxieties that we see in society.

So I hope that NTUC Youth will continue in your chapter 21 and beyond to go forward, to be able to add value to the youth.

And we will do more likewise in NTUC to support NTUC Youth. To really help all to succeed as we chart the new chapter forward.

Whether it is in internship development, whether it is community engagement, whether it's mentorship or networking, I hope that you will give us feedback, especially so that we can develop more useful programmes for all of you. That is my promise.

And I’m sure that my Director, Natasha Choy, will gladly receive all these feedback so that we can do right and do better for all of you.

So I encourage all the young people in the audience today to see opportunities beyond the challenges in our day-to-day life.

Know that you are not alone in your journey. There are communities around you. There is NTUC youth alongside you to lend you not just encouragement, but practical support in your transition from school to work, to be a first jobber or to progress in your career.

I hope that all of you have benefited. And I know quite a few familiar faces from our programmes in NTUC not only to be a beneficiary, but in your time, in your own way, be a catalyst to encourage, empower and encourage friends around you, so that they can also continue to make better lives for themselves.

Join NTUC, join NTUC Youth, enjoy the benefits, and be the leader that our Labour Movement needs you to be.

So in closing, 21 years ago, NTUC Youth started this journey out of nothing. And in the next 21 years, can I just leave a simple message to all of you?

You may not need to remember all the things I've said tonight. But may you remember 3 ‘D’s in your journey ahead: Dream, Dare, Do. I hope these 3 words will resonate with all the youth here:

a. Dream your dream.

b. Dare to take the first step forward even if the waters seem unchartered and you have anxieties. Take it with your friends. Take it with NTUC alongside you if required.

c. Do – take action to realise beyond ideation and make it happen for yourselves, for your family, and for beloved Singapore.

NTUC Youth, thank you for the good work. May you launch into the next chapter with confidence and may you be able to inject dynamism beyond the Dream, Dare, Do, into all that you do.

Because Every Youth Matters. You are our future and NTUC will invest and be alongside you.

Thank you very much.