Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Dr Wan Rizal, Jalan Besar GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education with reference to the latest Graduate Employment Survey, what measures are implemented to (i) address the challenges that fresh polytechnic graduates face in securing employment, given businesses' cautious hiring practices despite economic growth (ii) enhance job readiness by equipping graduates with the skills required in high-demand sectors such as digital technologies and health sciences and (iii) adapt polytechnic curricula by strengthening industry partnerships to prepare graduates for the evolving job market demands, including skills in artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms See Jinli Jean, Nominated Member of Parliament
Question
To ask the Minister for Education in respect of the Graduate Employment Survey for 2024 by the five polytechnics (a) what are the likely reasons for the rise in unemployment rate of fresh polytechnic graduates by five percentage points; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to respond to this finding
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Leong Mun Wai, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the lower percentage of fresh polytechnic graduates landing full-time permanent jobs in 2024 based on the results of the Graduate Employment Survey by the five polytechnics is an indication of skills mismatch between polytechnic graduates and the job market; and (b) whether any further actions will be taken to improve the ability of polytechnic graduates to secure full-time permanent jobs after graduation
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms See Jinli Jean, Nominated Member of Parliament
Question
To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether young job seekers feeling more pressure to select a fulfilling career and from the job search itself, as reported in the National Youth Council's 'The State of Youth in Singapore 2024', has contributed to the increase in unemployment rate of fresh polytechnic graduates as indicated in the Graduate Employment Survey for 2024; and (b) if so, how does the Ministry plan to help young job seekers to align their expectations with the career propositions of the job marketplace.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Bukit Panjang
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the Ministry's assessment on the employment outlook of fresh polytechnic graduates; (b) what are the reasons for fewer fresh polytechnic graduates landing full-time permanent jobs in 2024 as indicated in the Graduate Employment Survey 2024 by the five polytechnics; and (c) how many fresh graduates pursue further education upon their graduation in 2024.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Pritam Singh, Aljunied GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the Ministry's assessment of the employment landscape for polytechnic graduates in 2025 in view of the results of the latest Graduate Employment Survey 2024 which showed that fewer graduates secured full-time permanent jobs.
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms Foo Mee Har, West Coast GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the latest employment outcomes for fresh graduates from the 2024 cohort of graduates from the Institutes of Higher Learning including the percentage securing full-time permanent jobs within six months of graduation; (b) what has been the trend over the past five years in the proportion of graduates attaining full-time permanent employment within this timeframe; and (c) what measures are in place to address any challenges identified.
Combined Response
1. Mr Speaker, my response will cover the matters raised in the questions by Dr Wan Rizal, Ms See Jinli Jean, Mr Leong Mun Wai, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Pritam Singh and Ms Foo Mee Har, which are scheduled for the sittings on and after 4 February 2025. If need be, I invite these Members to seek clarifications following my response.
2. Employment rates are affected by various factors such as the economic and labour market conditions. Some fluctuations from year to year are to be expected. More importantly, we must continue to monitor and respond to the secular trends, beyond the shorter-term cyclical fluctuations, that may affect the employability of our graduates.
3. While the labour market remained tight in 2024, with job vacancies remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels, 2024 saw lower hiring demand and fewer vacancies compared to 2023, which would have contributed to the survey findings for 2024. Based on the 2024 Graduate Employment Survey conducted by the five polytechnics, about 45% of graduates were economically active. Among this group, there was a decrease in the full-time permanent (FTP) employment rate and an increase in the unemployment rate as compared to 2023. The impact was also uneven across course clusters. Some course clusters, such as Health Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences continued to see strong employment outcomes. Graduates from course clusters such as Engineering and Information & Digital Technologies had higher unemployment rates, and this could be due to cyclical sectoral changes, such as the downturn in the tech sector, which also affected hiring demand.
4. We have also observed that some graduates have received full-time permanent job offers but have declined them for various reasons, including a perceived lack of work-life balance, or the offered pay not meeting their expectations. We will continue to monitor if this trend persists and if it has a longer-term impact on graduates' employment outcomes.
5. The polytechnics will continue to equip students with the necessary and in-demand skills and competencies by working closely with industry partners to ensure that our curriculum remain relevant and responsive to the evolving job market demands, as well as to provide quality internship opportunities for our students. The polytechnics further support students by providing Education and Career Guidance as part of the curriculum, which includes resume writing and interview skills training. Those who require more support in finding a job can also tap on the career matching services and digital resources offered by Workforce Singapore's (WSG) and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).
6. For 2025, given the global economic uncertainties, we will continue to monitor the situation closely together with the polytechnics and industry partners.