Parents, teachers should guide students towards internships in neighbouring countries

I agree with Dr Jeremy Lim’s views in his commentary “In venturing abroad, S’pore students should not look too far” (Oct 30), that young people are aiming too far when it comes to internships.

I offer a six-month graduate internship programme in my business consultancy’s Yangon office in Myanmar, which has strong support from universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.

Our firm is listed in the top two Google search results for the keywords “Myanmar internship”, so it is easy for final-year students or fresh graduates from anywhere in the world to find us.

Looking at the nationality of the graduates who applied for the internship over the past one and a half years, in terms of their hunger and willingness to take risk, I would rank Singaporeans behind Indians, Chinese, Britons and Australians.

A graduate from India, who must compete with the five million other graduates each year for jobs and everything else, looks at risk differently. There is great motivation to move out, take risks, and find new and less-crowded markets.

Maybe the comfort factor is driving young graduates in Singapore to seek internships in the United States, Europe or South Korea. Maybe the effect of Hollywood or Korean movies makes these countries look more familiar and attractive.

I am sure many of these graduates want to take a photo of themselves at the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower or while shopping in Dongdaemun Market and post it on Instagram or Facebook. However, not many think it is cool to take a picture at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon or in the Cu Chi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City.

Maybe it is habit and a lack of guidance from teachers and parents that leads students to make mediocre decisions. Maybe the teachers and parents do not know any better, as they too grew up in comfortable Singapore.

As the saying goes, the apple never falls far from the tree. Many a time our choice is framed by those around us; what they think is right and cool.

Many Singaporean graduates do not know that it would be hard to differentiate themselves in the US, Europe or Australia. They would be just another foreigner in a sophisticated economy that is experiencing anaemic growth.

In an emerging market such as Myanmar, they would be seen as educated and upright due to the Singapore branding and aura.

The Myanmar economy is growing by 8 per cent annually, on average and for the foreseeable future, so there is an influx of foreign investment; everyone is spending and making money.

But the Government cannot possibly tell young people to venture into our neighbouring countries when their hearts are not in it.

Parents and teachers play a big part in helping them to frame their questions properly and to consider more options before reaching a conclusion. We owe it to the next generation to ensure that they make the right choices.