Graduate Employment Survey

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms See Jinli Jean, Nominated Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in light of the 2023 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey, whether the Ministry plans to (i) discover why, when compared with their university peers, the arts, design and media graduates have poorer employment and salary outcomes and the health sciences graduates have poorer salary outcomes (ii) engage graduates of such courses on how to improve their employment outcomes and (iii) engage the relevant sector agencies and stakeholders to take steps to narrow the employment and salary outcome gap.

Response

1.Arts, Design and Media (ADM) graduates have seen stable employment outcomes and wage increases over the years. in the last 10 years, the average employment rate for ADM graduates was around 88% and the starting salary increased about 3.4% every year. The employment rate and salary level for fresh graduates in this sector are typically lower compared to their peers who join other sectors such as Engineering, Built Environment and Business. This is reflective of the economic demand and the labour market conditions of each sector. The nature of work and business structures in the ADM sector also mean that there is a higher proportion of freelancers and Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) compared to other sectors.

2.Under Our SG Arts Plan (2023 - 2027), the National Arts Council (NAC) is taking active steps to grow capabilities and excellence in the arts sector, and support the training and development of SEPs. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) have also been working closely with the universities and key industry partners to provide our graduates with a good education and relevant, in-demand skillsets to take on good jobs and thrive in the workplace. Dsg also facilitates partnerships between universities and companies, such as through the Design Education Advisory Committee to enhance industry exposure and internship opportunities for our students.

3.As for Health Sciences graduates, while the growth in median salaries over the past ten years has been lower than the other graduates from the universities, it increased by 6% in 2023, which was higher than the average increase for university graduates in general. The Ministry of Health (MOH) continues to work with healthcare clusters to review the starting salary and salary package of healthcare workers on a regular basis, to ensure that the salaries remain competitive. MOH also provided funding support to the community care sector over the last few years to uplift salaries, and most recently put out salary guidelines for the sector.

4.To support all students and graduates as they enter the workforce, our universities organise career fairs and have career coaches to provide mentoring and workshops. Graduates can also approach Workforce Singapore's Careers Connect or NTUC e2i's career centres if they require support in their job search. At the same time, we encourage our students to consider longer term factors such as career progression, salary and growth opportunities in the sector as they pursue their passion and decide on the course of study in the university.

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