Fresh polytechnic graduates found it harder to get jobs last year amid a reduction in hiring caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was revealed in the latest graduate employment survey released on Tuesday (12 January).
According to the annual Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey, which was conducted by the five polytechnics in Singapore, 87.4 percent of graduates managed to find permanent, freelance or part-time jobs within six months upon graduation last year – down from 90.7 percent in the previous year and 89.5 percent in 2018.
Detailing the findings, the report also noted that 52 percent of graduates had full-time jobs, a drop from 61.1 percent in 2019.
However, the percentage of graduates who got part-time jobs increased from 25.5 percent in 2019 to 31.6 percent in 2020.
As for the proportion of polytechnic graduate who were unemployed, the percentage increased to 12.6 percent last year, compared to 9.3 percent in 2019 and 10.5 percent in 2018.
The survey also noted that the median gross monthly salary for graduates in full-time permanent jobs remained at S$2,400 last year, which is the same in the year earlier. In 2018, the wage was S$2,350.
In the last three year, the survey also stated that the median gross monthly wages of graduates in industries such as engineering, health sciences, and information and digital technologies have consistently been higher than the salaries for all graduates.
“This year’s polytechnic graduates are entering the job market in an unprecedented time. COVID-19 has had a major impact on our economy. We are glad that many of our polytechnic graduates have been resilient and managed to secure job despite the challenging times,” said principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic Clarence Ti in a statement.
Even though the pandemic has caused disruption, but there are opportunities for graduates in the healthcare, infocomm technology, cybersecurity and e-commerce sectors, he said on behalf of the Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey committee.
“The polytechnics will continue to provide career guidance and support to graduates to help them find a job in the area of their training or pivot to the new job roles that are being created,” Mr Ti added.
