More polytechnic students found jobs within 6 months of graduation with recovery of Singapore’s economy

SINGAPORE: More than 92 per cent of polytechnic graduates found jobs within six months of graduation or completing National Service in 2021, a higher proportion compared to the 87.4 per cent in 2020.

This is according to the latest polytechnic graduate employment survey released on Thursday (Jan 13).

Of those who were employed, 58.1 per cent were in full-time jobs, an increase from 52 per cent in 2020.  

Responses were gathered from 7,566 polytechnic graduates. The yearly survey is jointly conducted by Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic. 

The median gross monthly salary of those in full-time employment increased from S$2,400 in 2020 to S$2,500 in 2021. There was previously no change in these figures between 2019 and 2020. 

Graduates from the Health Sciences and Information and Digital Technologies courses have seen median gross monthly salaries that are “consistently higher” than the overall median figure, survey results showed. 

PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT

As for graduates in part-time employment, the proportion fell from 31.6 per cent in 2020 to 29.4 per cent in 2021. 

Among them, about 2.2 percentage points were students on SGUnited Traineeship programmes.

The programme was launched in June 2020 to help job seekers find traineeships or attachments with host companies. Under the programme, traineeships last for up to 12 months. Trainees also get a monthly training allowance, of which 80 per cent is funded by the Government.

The proportion of involuntary part-time employment also dropped from 3.8 per cent in 2020 to 1.8 per cent in 2021, survey figures showed. 

However, the proportion of students in voluntary part-time employment remained about the same, with a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points. 

The portion of graduates who remained unemployed six months after graduation dropped from 12.6 per cent in 2020 to 7.8 per cent in 2021. 

Of these, the proportion of those unemployed and still looking for a job dropped from 9.6 per cent in 2020 to 5.3 per cent in 2021. 

“The increase in the employment rate of polytechnic graduates, in tandem with the recovery of Singapore’s economy, testifies to the industry-relevant training our students receive,” said the principal of Temasek Polytechnic Peter Lam, speaking on behalf of the polytechnic graduate employment survey committee. 

“Despite the many uncertainties faced in the past year, the median salaries for both fresh and post-National Service graduates have increased, clearly reflecting employers’ confidence in our polytechnic graduates’ skills and knowledge.”