Meet the Generation17 Young Leaders: The Story of Mock Yi Jun
While struggling to find his career calling, Mock Yi Jun realized the broader need for better career guidance. Today, he and his friends are helping young Singaporeans make more informed choices about their future.
Yi Jun is a member of Generation17, a partnership between Samsung and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), empowering young people around the world who are contributing to the Global Goals.
Like most kids, Mock Yi Jun dreamed of what he would be when he grew up.
Once he was old enough, he did internships and attended various career events. It was an “eye opening experience,” he recalls. He learned the value of real-world exposure to a variety of professions.
Most young people, Yi Jun realized, didn’t have opportunities to connect with the professionals they aspired to be. Career preparedness needed to improve dramatically, and it needed to be more accessible.
Yi Jun hosts an Advisory Singapore panel discussion connecting young people with digital leaders.
Real-Life Insight Into Career Paths
Yi Jun had several friends who felt similarly, so they banded together to start Advisory Singapore. Launched in 2016 as a virtual operation, it empowers young Singaporeans to make informed employment and education choices.
“These digital mediums allow us to reach students where they are, no matter which school they come from, no matter where they live.”
Today, Advisory Singapore is a youth-led pro bono charity that provides free support to young people from all walks of life. Participants gain invaluable insight into specific jobs and industries through in-person and virtual mentorship. The organization also offers career guidance through industry panels, in-school education programming, skills development, and its online repository of over 250 interviews with professionals. Advisory Singapore has also provided over 100 educators resources on various careers.
Yi Jun meets with his Advisory Singapore team.
Connecting People Through Tech
Technology was instrumental to the group’s founding. “Our partnership was powered by video calls and virtual communication, as we were all in different continents when we started,” Yi Jun recalls.
And technology has been pivotal to Advisory Singapore’s impressive growth – as an online platform, there are no bounds to its reach. This unfettered accessibility has enabled the organization to connect with over 500,000 young people and support over 3,000 mentees through one-to-one mentorship.
“These digital mediums allow us to reach students where they are, no matter which school they come from, no matter where they live,” Yi Jun says.
He and his co-founders want to continue expanding Advisory Singapore’s footprint to support the United Nations Global Goals, advancing quality education (Goal 4), ensuring full and productive employment (Goal 8), and reducing inequalities (Goal 10) on a worldwide scale.
“We believe that everyone deserves to find meaningful work regardless of their socio-economic status, family background, or education,” Yi Jun says.
Jamie Lim, an Advisory Singapore team member and past mentee program participant, meets with her mentor, Marcus Loh.
The Mentorship Difference
Advisory Singapore’s mentorship program includes partnerships with over 30 of the world’s largest companies.
Jamie Lim, a fourth-year student at Singapore Management University, says it opened doors for her and connected her with “a mentor for life.”
The impact of these connections can be profound and far-reaching.
“It’s a way to build a culture of giving back,” Yi Jun says of Advisory Singapore. “A culture of young people who are moving from school into the workforce, who know how beneficial it is to have someone on the journey with them. That guidance helps them to reach their full potential and inspires them to pay it forward.”