23 April 2018
A recently released survey by Singapore’s private education regulator, the Committee for Private Education, revealed that less than half of private school graduates got full-time work six months after finishing their studies. However, such figures have not dampened demand at major private schools such as the Singapore Institute of Management, Kaplan, Management Development Institute of Singapore, James Cook University and PSB Academy.
Many private school students continue to believe that a degree is the key to job mobility and promotions. Experts agree that although private degree-holders start on a lower footing, a degree can help break through some glass ceilings.
Mr Ong Ye Kung, Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills), has stressed the importance of being armed with the relevant skills to find jobs in the current age of disruption, instead of chasing degrees.
Nonetheless, the perception is that degrees, not skills, matter more in the civil service.
“If young people continue to have the mindset that a degree offers a better job prospect, then it will lead to an oversupply of graduates,” says Mr Zainal, an assistant secretary-general with the National Trades Union Congress.