Private school grads face more difficulty in finding employment, Skillsfuture suggests

SINGAPORE: According to the latest Graduate Employment Survey by SkillsFuture, more than 83% of fresh graduates from private education institutions (PEIs) in Singapore secured employment within six months of graduation.

The survey highlighted that most PEI graduates who found employment within six months of graduating secured permanent positions.

Of those employed, approximately 59% found full-time permanent roles, 19% were employed in part-time jobs, and about 6% pursued freelance work.

The median gross monthly salary for fresh graduates with full-time permanent employment was $3,400.

Despite these positive outcomes, a significant portion of PEI graduates faced employment challenges. The survey found that 19% of fresh graduates were either unemployed, actively seeking work, or working in involuntary part-time positions.

“The employment outcomes of PEI graduates varied considerably across the different institutions,” stated the report.

SkillsFuture Singapore urged prospective students to review the employment outcomes for specific institutions before pursuing full-time Bachelor’s level External Degree Programmes (EDPs).

The survey data also indicated that autonomous university graduates and post-National Service polytechnic graduates had higher chances of securing jobs than their PEI counterparts.

Autonomous university graduates reported a nearly 90% overall employment rate, with about 84% having full-time permanent employment and a median gross salary of $4,313.

Only 8% were either unemployed, seeking jobs, or temporarily employed.

The employment rate for post-National Service polytechnic graduates was even higher, with over 95% employed overall. About 69% found full-time permanent jobs, earning a median gross salary of $2,963.

The unemployment rate among this group was low, with just 4% either unemployed, job-seeking, or working part-time.

The survey involved responses from 9,100 full-time Bachelor’s level EDP graduates across 26 PEIs, with 41% of the surveyed group responding. Out of these respondents, 2,400 were economically active.

These findings suggest that while PEI graduates generally find employment within six months of graduation, the outcomes can vary significantly depending on the institution and type of employment.

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