Poly Fresh Grads in S’pore Drawing Higher Pay & More Grads Found Job Within 6 Months

A new survey on paygrades has recently made the whole nation rejoice (and the potted plants in office corners sigh in relief): apparently, fresh polytechnic graduates in Singapore are drawing higher paychecks.

The latest Graduate Employment Survey (GES) results, held six months after graduation, also shows that 60% of fresh polytechnic graduates in 2023 snagged full-time permanent jobs.

This marked a slight increase from the previous year, indicating a positive trend in the employment landscape.

Overall, an impressive 92.7% of graduates found permanent, freelance, or part-time employment within six months of graduation or completing full-time national service.

According to the survey, the median gross monthly salary for graduates in full-time permanent employment jumped from $2,600 in 2022 to a dazzling $2,800 in 2023. Now let’s hope private degree holders get the same treatment as well.

Surprisingly, graduates from health sciences, humanities and social sciences, and information and digital technologies emerged as the top 3 earners.

The unemployment rate for fresh polytechnic graduates also dropped, from 8.2% in 2022 to a considerably more palatable 7.3% in 2023.

The polytechnics – Singapore, Temasek, Ngee Ann, Nanyang, and Republic – didn’t just throw graduates into the deep end of adulting.

They armed them with career guidance, job matching, and personalized coaching.

They also leveraged their connections with industry partners to secure fitting job placements and apprenticeship prospects for graduates.

This includes initiatives like the SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme, where graduates are paired with positions aligning with their diplomas, engaging in a comprehensive 12-month or 18-month training program.

The SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme is available in all local institutes of education but is only limited to a few courses. Nevertheless, experience is experience.