Students in Singapore have recently been facing some tough times. The national education budget has been cut for years now and a significant percentage of students are being pushed into the workforce. More and more, students need to find part-time work in order to supplement their incomes, but it is not easy finding reliable jobs in Singapore with the current influx of new companies opening up every year.
Part-time work is not considered a suitable career option in Singapore, which creates an ultimatum for many students: go back to school or have a lower income all your life. This has led to a lack of potential new graduates, who are unwilling to take on entry-level jobs. This has been the case even after we achieved a high job market, so one might wonder how to solve it.
As a nation, we find ourselves in difficult times and we need to come up with new solutions to address this demand. Singapore must develop new measures that will decrease the unemployment rate of youth and allow them to contribute to our workforce. Since Singapore has more available jobs than suitable candidates, an increase in the participation rate will affect both employers and employees.
Where to Find Work
Singapore has an increasing number of job openings even after the high growth in GDP (5.7% in 2010, with job openings up to 3.2%), as well as new companies opening up every year. The number of students graduating has been steadily increasing since the early 2000s and this trend has continued since 2009. This means that fewer people are available to fill the current jobs, creating a gap between demand and supply that needs to be met through innovative solutions. The National Youth Council is currently discussing ways in which they can help raise the participation rate, especially for students on a full-time basis (with relevant work experience).
The number of job openings has increased significantly and this trend is expected to continue in the future. According to statistics from the Ministry of Manpower, there were, at the end of 2011, a total of 2.6 million jobs, with a net inflow of 453 thousand over 4 months. The quarterly data shows that approximately 8-9%* of new jobs go unfilled each quarter. Being small and efficient, there are companies that have been able to fill up the jobs faster than others. For example, Q-PACE Technologies Group’s workforce climbed by 300% in one year through their innovative hiring system that is customized for each company.
While the number of jobs available is increasing constantly, the number of students being graduated each year is on the rise. The National Youth Council interviewed graduates from 2012 and around half of them said that they are looking for a job. During the time between graduation and job-hunting is when most students start considering part-time jobs in order to have money flowing into their bank accounts during this “no income” period.
Because there are an increasing number of students graduating and only half of them have found jobs, there is another gap that needs to be filled by an innovative solution.
The majority of students who have found jobs are currently working in administrative, clerical, sales and marketing, and educational services. More than half of the graduates already working are employed as sales workers, clerks, or secretaries.
Although government agencies and offices still employ a large number of young people, competition for these jobs is tough due to the many qualified applicants who wish to work for the government.
