Recent inaugural employment survey suggested tough job hunt for new private school grads. According to the poll, six in ten graduates from private education institutions found full-time jobs within six months after graduating and received an average starting monthly salary of $2,550.
This proportion was lower than statistics from other autonomous universities, such as the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Singapore Institute of Technology.
The latest employment surveys from these universities noted that 80 percent of their graduates found jobs within six months after graduation, with the average starting salary of S$3,325. Meanwhile, fresh polytechnic graduates earned about S$2,517 per month.
On the other hand, overall employment rate among the private education institution graduates, including part-time, freelance, and contract jobs, was at 84.3 per cent. Of 40 private schools surveyed, the ERC Institute had the highest full-time employment rate (71.4 percent), followed by Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) Global Education (61.6 percent), and Curtin Education Centre (58 percent).
In terms of starting salary, fresh graduates from TMC Academy drew the highest number with S$2,650 per month. Those from SIM earned S$2,600 per month on average, while those from ERC Institute drew S$2,550, Today Online reports.
See: Job Seekers Reject Stale Job Offers that Take Long Hiring Process: Survey Findings
The survey, which was initiated by SkillsFuture Singapore and the Committee for Private Education (CPE), was among the measures to better protect prospective students by providing more transparent information. It polled 3,521 graduates from July to September 2017. Of the group surveyed, 2,109 were from SIM, as compared with 50 from Curtin Education Centre, 14 from ERC Institute, and 12 from TMC Academy. They made up about a third (32 percent) of the alumni who graduated from full-time degree programmes between May 2015 and April 2016.
Regarding to the survey findings, SkillsFuture Singapore’s Director-General for private education Brandon Lee said that considering to the wide range of publicly-funded and private upgrading options available in Singapore, every student should assess their needs carefully before deciding on the pathway they would like to pursue.
“The (CPE) will also continue to review its requirements periodically to ensure that consumers’ interests are protected and (private education institutions) meet minimum standards.”
SkillsFuture Singapore chief executive officer Ng Cher Pong added that the survey results can help students weigh the employment outcomes in relation to the cost involved in pursuing external degree programmes. However, students should exercise caution when interpreting the results, given that some of the institution-level data was based on small sample sizes.
“The survey is not intended as a comparison of the quality or value of the respective institutions, and should not be interpreted as such. Instead, our objective is to enable prospective students to make better informed decisions about their education and career choices, with the key findings,” said Mr Ng.
Read also: NUS Grads Ranked 16th as the Most Employable in the World: Survey
