Dip in private school graduates employed within 6 months, after number rose previous 2 years

SINGAPORE — After rising for two straight years, the percentage of fresh graduates from private education institutions (PEI) here who found jobs within six months has fallen, a survey has found.

Released by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) on Thursday (April 25), the survey found that 83.2 per cent of those who graduated between May 2022 and April 2023 from full-time bachelor’s level external degree programmes found employment within six months.

This was a slide of more than three percentage points from 86.5 per cent in the previous 2021/2022 batch and 85.3 per cent in the 2020/2021 survey.

Graduates of PEIs who found full-time employment also dipped, from 60.9 per cent for the 2021/2022 batch to the latest 58.7 per cent.

The survey looked at the employment outcomes of 2,400 economically active fresh graduates from 26 PEIs in Singapore. 

Graduates from autonomous universities did markedly better than their PEI peers again in the latest survey although these figures also slid markedly from the previous batch.

SSG said nearly nine in 10 or 89.6 per cent of graduates from the universities secured jobs within six months of graduation, with 84.1 per cent of them securing full-time employment.

This was down from 93.8 per cent of university graduates who gained employment within six months and 87.5 per cent who obtained full-time employment a year earlier.

These figures were from the 2023 Joint AU Graduate Employment Survey published in February this year, involving those who graduated in May 2023.

Figures for post-National Service polytechnic graduates were also higher at 95.1 per cent for overall employment and 65.2 per cent for full-time employment within six months, SSG said.

The survey also showed that the median gross monthly salary of PEI graduates in full-time employment was S$3,400.

This was about S$900 lower than that of university fresh graduates at S$4,313. The median gross monthly salary for post-NS polytechnic graduates was S$2,963.

The proportion of PEI graduates who were either unemployed and looking for jobs or in involuntary part-time or temporary employment was 19.4 per cent.

This was well above the corresponding figure of 7.9 per cent for fresh university graduates and 3.8 per cent for post-NS polytechnic graduates.

Overall employment for PEI graduates was at its lowest at 80.7 per cent in the 2019/2020 employment survey, while the full-time rate was lowest in the 2020/2021 batch at 46.4 per cent. The economy faced turbulence over this period due to Covid-19.

In comparison, the latest survey findings reflect that the overall employment rate of autonomous university graduates is the lowest since the 2019/2020 survey, while full-time employment was at its lowest in 2019/2020 at 69.8 per cent.

Commenting on the findings, Ms Angela Tan, director-general of private education at SSG, said, “There are various avenues for learning accessible to Singaporeans today to support their pursuit of their career goals and aspirations.

“The PEI GES equips prospective students with relevant information and insights to help them make informed decisions on their learning and career options.”

The survey findings did not include fresh graduates who are not economically active, part-time students, mature learners as well as international students working or seeking employment overseas.

It also indicated that the employment outcomes of the PEI graduates varied considerably across the different institutions and prospective students are encouraged to review the employment outcomes for specific institutions before making their decisions.