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

Released by government agency SkillsFuture Singapore 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 from 86.5 per cent in the previous 2021-2022 cohort and 85.3 per cent in the 2020-2021 survey.

Graduates of private education institutions who found full-time employment also dipped, from 60.9 per cent for the 2021-2022 cohort to the latest 58.7 per cent.

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

Graduates from autonomous universities did markedly better than their peers in private education institutions again in the latest survey, although these figures also slid markedly from the previous cohort.

SkillsFuture Singapore said that 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 got full-time jobs a year earlier.

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

Figures for post-NS 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, SkillsFuture Singapore said.

The survey also showed that the median gross monthly salary of graduates from private education institutions holding full-time jobs 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-National Service (post-NS) polytechnic graduates was S$2,963.

The proportion of private education institution 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 private education institution 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 the Covid-19 pandemic.

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 SkillsFuture Singapore, said: “There are various avenues for learning (that are) accessible to Singaporeans today to support their pursuit of their career goals and aspirations.

"The private education institutions' graduate employment survey 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 private education institution graduates varied considerably across the different institutions and prospective students are encouraged to review the employment outcomes for specific institutions before making their decisions.

Dr Betsy Ng, an education research scientist at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education, said that the dip in employment rates of private education institution graduates could be due to the advancement of automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

"For instance, the advancement of AI is moving so quickly such that it is able to reduce the number of employees in the labour market," Dr Ng said.

Another reason could be that some employers may have different perspectives on private education graduates and graduates from autonomous universities here.

On the high proportion of private education institution graduates who were either unemployed and looking for jobs or in involuntary part-time or temporary employment, Dr Ng said that it could be due to a shift in the perspectives of graduates.

"They may prefer to have work-life balance and (would) rather choose a part-time job. It could also be that they are exploring other career options before they decide to take up a full-time job of their choice," she said.

Dr Ng added that this shift encompasses many factors which include their purpose in life, having a fulfilling career or differing career goals.