Latest news with #graduateemployment
Independent Singapore
7 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Unemployed graduates rose 130% in 3 years, says Redditor citing government data
SINGAPORE: After a local Reddit user did the math related to recent graduates finding jobs, they wrote that there was a 130 per cent increase in unemployed public university graduates from 2021 to 2024. After SkillsFuture Singapore published the data from the latest Private Education Institution Graduate Employment Survey on May 26, u/ PretentiousnPretty wrote that they decided to look up the graduate employment surveys from the past years to see if they could find any trends. ' With reference to the graduate employment survey in the article above, and this article , I've extracted the following employment statistics for autonomous (public) universities. Proportion of graduates in the labour force who were unemployed: 2021-5.6%, 2022-6.2%, 2023-10.4%, 2024-12.9%.' The post author focused on the significant increase in this number from 2021 to 2024, adding, 'Why then, is it, that some people are still in denial about this phenomenon, why do they refuse to look at the causes, consequences and solutions?' they asked, inviting fellow users on the platform to weigh in with answers. See also After a year of rain Indorse is ready to enjoy the sunshine A commenter who said they help young people as they start out with their careers replied by citing the proportion of graduates in the labour force who were unemployed previous to 2020, which tells another story. While in 2020 the figure had been 6.4%, from 2016 to 2019, it ranged from 9.3% to 11.1 per cent. ' Okay, so it seems like 2024's figure isn't that much higher than the pre-Covid years? I'm not saying that fresh graduates aren't facing many challenges today. But the situation isn't as dire as your tone seems to be suggesting,' the commenter wrote, adding that the figures the post author had cited had been 'significantly distorted' by the pandemic. 'This was a time when the share of non-Singaporeans working in Singapore was overwhelmingly low. People wanted to go home to their country of origin, and there just weren't enough workers to go around,' they added. As for the reasons why new graduates are having a hard time landing jobs today, the commenter listed three things that contribute to this: technological advancements, with AI taking over many tasks; earlier mass layoffs, especially in the tech sector; and the imposition of tariffs, which is likely to have caused companies to put a pause on expansion. See also Understanding Online Community Members 'I can assure you that we have graduates who are very, very hungry. But we also have students and graduates who can be over-ambitious. I've spoken with students who want a $10K a month role straight out of graduation, but do not even know the requirements or skills they need to bring to the table to command those salaries straight out of the gate,' they added. /TISG Read related: Weaker hiring demand meant fewer private uni grads found full-time jobs in 2024
Malay Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Graduating from a Singapore university? Survey shows private grads lag in jobs, pay gap widens
One in four private university graduates working part-time or jobless Nearly 80 per cent of public university graduates landed full-time jobs within six months Median monthly pay for full-time employees at S$3,500 in 2024, compared to S$3,400 in 2023 Best earners are IT graduates with a median salary of S$4,080 (RM14,280) SINGAPORE, May 27 — Fewer than half of private university graduates in Singapore secured full-time jobs this year, reflecting a cooling job market despite marginally better pay. Only 46.4 per cent landed full-time work in 2024, down from 58.7 per cent last year, The Straits Times reported today, citing findings from the Private Education Institution Graduate Employment Survey by SkillsFuture Singapore released on April 26. More took on part-time or temporary roles, rising to 24.2 per cent from 18.9 per cent in 2023. Freelancing dipped to 4.2 per cent, while overall employment – including part-time and freelance – fell to 74.8 per cent, from 83.2 per cent last year. Salaries inched up, with the median monthly pay for full-time hires at S$3,500 (RM12,250), compared to S$3,400 (RM11,900) in 2023. Graduates from Parkway College and ERC Institute earned the most at S$4,000 (RM14,000), followed by SIM grads at S$3,600 (RM12,600). But they still lag far behind their peers from public universities like the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who earned a median of S$4,500 (RM15,750). Nearly 80 per cent of public university grads secured full-time jobs within six months, with just 1.6 per cent freelancing. Polytechnic graduates saw a salary bump to S$3,000 (RM10,500) after serving in Singapore's national service, from S$2,963 (RM10,370) last year. The survey covered 3,500 graduates from 27 private institutions, including James Cook University and PSB Academy. Of these, 2,300 were in the labour force, defined as working or actively job-hunting. A worrying 28.3 per cent were either unemployed or stuck in involuntary part-time or temp jobs – far higher than the 10.7 per cent rate for public university graduates and 7.2 per cent for polytechnic graduates. Engineering graduates from private institutions fared best, with 55.3 per cent in full-time roles, followed by science graduates at 51.8 per cent. Information and digital tech graduates earned the highest median salary at S$4,080 (RM14,280), followed by those from the humanities and social sciences at S$3,500 (RM12,250).
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
I'm a Cambridge student. Rachel Reeves has made job hunting impossible
This time last year, in my final term at Cambridge, wondering anxiously what life after exams would hold, I started to panic. My last outstanding job application had just come back with a rejection. With horror, I pictured myself returning to my childhood bedroom in failure, living off my parents' pity and charity until I finally converted my English degree into some sort of employment. Now I know what you're thinking: what did you expect when you chose an English degree? But my looming unemployment was not for want of trying. I spent my summers doing any kind of internship or work experience I could find. I had ploughed almost every free moment during term into working at the student newspaper, which I had assumed would burnish my CV. The fact is that for the students I know, whatever subject they study, whichever career they want to pursue, finding a job is always a Herculean task. A friend with a first-class computer science degree from Durham described his job hunting experience as only a bit better than medieval torture – and that was before Rachel Reeves raised employers' National Insurance contributions. This year, things are even worse. In the 12 months to April, there were just 794 graduate schemes advertised, down from 1,224 a year earlier. Now, the students applying for 50 jobs alongside studying for finals don't blame Rachel Reeves for their predicament. But the economics is straightforward: if you tax labour, employers will consume less of it. Today's revelation that the pool of grad schemes is shrinking should not be a surprise. I swerved unemployment by spending another year at Cambridge, this time studying business instead of the humanities. And after another gruelling round of applications, assessment centres, and interviews, I finally received a job offer. On my new course, I was awed by how dedicated some of my fellow students were to playing the graduate labour market – and impressed at the results their efforts received. Nonetheless, just because a barrier can be overcome doesn't mean we should ignore its existence. The people who suffer the most from the graduate labour market's brutality are the creative, wonderfully intelligent people I meet every day at Cambridge who just aren't sure what they want to do yet. These are people from whose talent we should all benefit as they find their way in the world. Instead, I see them cowed into putting off reality by taking on even more debt to study for a master's degree. Or, worse still, I see them pursuing careers they are manifestly unsuited to, because they can't justify chasing the job they really want while the economy is so hostile. Finding your path after university is hard – even, it seems, with multiple qualifications under your belt. After investing so much in young people's education, you would expect the Government to try to help graduates make a success of their entry into the labour market. Instead, by raising National Insurance, the Chancellor appears to be doing the very opposite: turning their hopes into failure.
Mail & Guardian
15-05-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Prof Linda du Plessis rebukes Dawie Roodt's university closure comments
Prof Linda du Plessis. South Africa has too many public universities and most of them should be closed. Furthermore, only 10% of the population should pursue a university education, 'while there is a big shortage at other skill levels'. These are some of the comments recently made by economist Dawie Roodt, who also labelled South Africa's primary education sector as one of the worst in the world, arguing that the quality of state-owned universities has declined and that universities should be more selective when admitting students. He also proposes that South Africans should receive educational vouchers to spend at whichever institution they want. This begs the question: Do South Africa's 19 public universities and seven universities of technology still have a significant role to play in the country's education sector, or does the future – as Roodt argues – increasingly lie in private universities? According to Prof Linda du Plessis, vice-principal and deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning at the North-West University (NWU), Roodt's statements fail to consider all the facts. 'Roodt's argument oversimplifies a complex educational and socio-political landscape. South Africa produces high-quality graduates across numerous fields, and his sweeping statements fail to acknowledge the significant strides made in research, teaching, learning and community engagement. Given a graduate employment rate below 10%, compared to a youth unemployment rate exceeding 40%, a degree remains a sound investment,' she says. According to her, Roodt's focus is almost exclusively on the shortcomings of a handful of public universities, without acknowledging the many achievements in various disciplines. 'These include globally recognised researchers and world-class programmes, substantial high-quality, widely cited research output and critical contributions to public health, science and national policy. His narrative is one-sided and overlooks the essential fields that underpin the country's functioning, such as law, accountancy, engineering, nursing, social work and teaching. Of particular concern is the ongoing underperformance of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and the persistently low enrolment numbers. He barely addresses this or the fact that TVET students are part of the post-school education system and receive NSFAS funding. 'Moreover, public universities are not merely educational institutions; they are engines of social mobility, redress and transformation. Suggesting that only 10% of the population should attend university disregards the national imperative to expand access to higher education, as set out in the National Development Plan (NDP).' She also notes that Roodt compares the performance of public and private institutions without providing empirical evidence or comparative data on student outcomes or employment rates. 'Most private universities in South Africa do not engage in significant research, offer limited post-graduate opportunities and cater to a small segment of the population. They also often lack the research infrastructure necessary for impactful academic work. By contrast, public universities, despite their challenges, have made significant progress in establishing research networks, international collaborations and strategic partnerships with national funding bodies such as the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The proposal to introduce vouchers lacks clarity on how they would make a meaningful difference. Students already have the freedom to choose their institution of study. Roodt overlooks critical issues such as planning, accommodation and transport, which are integral to the student experience. The current NSFAS funding model is determined by government policy, not by public universities. One of its greatest benefits has been the promotion of more equitable access to education. Roodt's argument does not address how a privatised system would avoid exacerbating existing inequalities. It might be more appropriate to explore alternatives, such as converting NSFAS to a partial loan scheme, with repayment linked to academic performance – an idea that could merit further economic analysis. The suggestion to 'level the playing field' between public and private universities assumes that they operate under similar mandates and constraints. They do not. Public universities have a constitutional mandate to serve the public good and advance social justice. These are roles that do not align with the profit-driven models typical of private institutions. Ultimately, Roodt's assertions lack a solid evidentiary foundation. While the public university sector has areas requiring improvement, a blanket call to dismantle it in favour of private alternatives reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the sector's role in society and its broader impact,' Prof du Plessis concludes. To return to the question of whether the country's public universities still have a significant role to play in the country's education sector, the answer seems to be an unequivocal yes. Follow the link to the article here:
