Private graduates from Singapore earned S$2,650 in 2018, vs S$2,550 in 2017

In the six months following their graduation in 2017/18, one in two private education institution(PEI) graduates (48.2%) found full-time permanent employment - up from 47.4% in 2016/17.

In contrast, the full-time permanent employment rate of graduates from autonomous universities was 81.2%, as seen in the 2018 Joint Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) released in February. At the same time, the median gross monthly salary of PEI fresh graduates was S$2,650 (2017: S$2,550), compared to the S$3,500 earned by fresh graduates from autonomous universities.

This was revealed by the latest PEI Graduate Employment Survey (GES) 2017/18 released by the Committee for Private Education yesterday (10 April), which focused on the employment outcomes of about 2,800 economically active fresh graduates.

Note: As defined in a press release, 'economically active graduates' are those who are working, or not working but actively looking and available for a job.

On the other hand, the survey also revealed a part-time/temporary employment rate of 26.8% in 2017/18, a dip from 27.9% previously observed in 2016/17. Of the 26.8%, 16.1% involved voluntary part-time/temporary employment while 10.7% was involuntary.

In terms of unemployment, there was also a slight drop in the rate - from 21% in 2016/17 to 19.3% in 2017/18. Out of this, 2.8% of respondents were unemployed but starting work soon while 16.5% were unemployed and still looking for a job.

When it comes to freelancing, there has been an increase in the proportion of fresh graduates in freelance (5.7% in 2017/18 vs 3.7% in 2016/17), a testament to the rise of the gig economy.

View the infographic with the highlights of the survey below:

About the survey

The survey involved graduates who had completed their full-time external degree programmes in 27 PEIs between May 2017 and April 2018. There was a total response rate of 39.5%, out of 10,176 full-time graduates from these PEIs.

The PEIs participating in the survey were:

• Air Transport Training College
• Amity Global Institute
• Auston Institute of Management
• Curtin Education Centre
• Dimensions International College
• East Asia Institute of Management
• ERC Institute
• First Media Design School
• FTMSGlobal Academy
• Informatics Academy
• ITC School of Laws
• James Cook University
• Kaplan Higher Education Academy
• Management Development Institute of Singapore
• Nanyang Institute of Management
• Ngee Ann Academy
• Parkway College of Nursing and Allied Health
• PSB Academy
• Raffles College of Higher Education
• S P Jain School of Global Management
• SAA Global Education Centre
• SDH Institute
• Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Singapore Institute of Management
• Singapore Raffles Music College
• TEG International College
• TMC Academy

Lead photo / iStock Infographic / Committee for Private Education and Skillsfuture Singapore