Debated in Parliament on 16 Oct 2024.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry tracks the number of graduates who are unable to find jobs within six months of graduation; and (b) whether job opportunities for new graduates have reduced or improved over the last three years.
Mr Speaker, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) track the employment outcomes of their respective graduates six months after graduation through the annual Graduate Employment Survey. Amongst fresh IHL graduates who are looking for jobs, the employment rate has remained high and stable over the past three years. About 90% of the 2023 cohort were employed within six months of graduation, comparable to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
May I ask the Minister of State whether she has specific statistics rather than just 90%? So, 10% cannot find jobs within six months, but how many is that in absolute terms? Does the Ministry of Manpower have the figures for 2022 and 2021, that is, last three years?
I thank the Member for the supplementary question. They are also about 90% for the past three years. So, that variation has not been significant.
The Member might be concerned about the availability of jobs for fresh graduates. I would like to say that statistics on job roles for fresh graduates as a group, are not available as it would be in breach of workplace fairness if employers were to specify that certain job roles are intended for fresh graduates only. But a good proxy is the published ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons as a proxy for the availability of job opportunities for all workers. This ratio has remained stable at 1.67 in June 2024 and this is an indication that our fresh graduates should still be able to find jobs.
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