{"id":520998,"date":"2025-10-23T01:44:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/520998\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T01:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:44:30","slug":"job-outcomes-for-polytechnic-graduates-in-2025-comparable-to-past-years-gan-siow-huang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/520998\/","title":{"rendered":"Job outcomes for polytechnic graduates in 2025 \u2018comparable\u2019 to past years: Gan Siow Huang"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINGAPORE \u2013 Employment outcomes for the graduating cohort of polytechnics in 2025 are \u201ccomparable\u201d to past years based on preliminary findings, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang on Oct 22. <\/p>\n

\u201cEmployment rates, as well as job vacancies, remain high,\u201d she said, without providing figures. The Straits Times has asked the Ministry of Education for the preliminary data. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the current economic climate, it is understandable that some of our graduates may feel some anxiety and uncertainty about the job search,\u201d said Ms Gan on the sidelines of Singapore Polytechnic\u2019s (SP) annual Career and Further Education Fair. <\/p>\n

She added that some companies have indicated plans to slow down hiring. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that we really put all our efforts together to help our graduates in finding the jobs and the training opportunities that they need,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The latest Graduate Employment Survey<\/p>\n

<\/a>, which collected data from the graduating cohort of 2024 from the five polytechnics, showed that 54.6 per cent of them were in full-time permanent jobs in 2024. <\/p>\n

In 2023, almost 60 per cent were in full-time permanent jobs, and in 2022, the figure was 59 per cent. <\/p>\n

The median gross monthly salary of polytechnic graduates in full-time permanent employment grew to $2,900 in 2024, up from $2,800 in 2023. <\/p>\n

In 2024, there were 10,045 fresh polytechnic graduates.<\/p>\n

Held at SP\u2019s campus in Dover on Oct 22 and 23, the fair is open to all students and members of the public. About 3,000 participants \u2013 including students, alumni and employers \u2013 are expected to visit the fair.<\/p>\n

More than 500 job roles, internship and training opportunities across 57 organisations, including Mediacorp, Singtel, SMRT, UOB and the Singapore Armed Forces, are available at the fair. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually very heartened that employers and our institutes of higher learning are coming together to support our students, whether it\u2019s in career coaching, providing internships, and also helping our students navigate the job landscape,\u201d Ms Gan said, adding that there are employers still looking to hire fresh graduates, even though there are uncertainties.<\/p>\n

This comes as the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) programme,\u00a0a government-funded initiative for fresh graduates to gain industry experience and enhance employability, was launched at the start of October.<\/p>\n

The programme offers up to 800 traineeship positions in various growth sectors, lasting three to six months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Gan said the programme has drawn \u201cquite healthy\u201d demand, without giving the number of application figures. About 50 companies have indicated \u201cstrong interest\u201d to participate and offer internship opportunities in a variety of sectors, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that traineeships like this will be able to complement the job market and help our graduates land suitable jobs in time to come, and in the meantime, pick up new work networks and new skills, and clarify their career goals,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

SP is one such organisation participating in GRIT, offering nine traineeship positions as at Oct 16. It also recently set up an Employment Support Office to support students and fresh graduates.<\/p>\n

For 20-year-old Cherilynn Chua, who chose to take a gap year after graduating from SP earlier in 2025, taking time to find the right path meant more than \u201cworking for the sake of it\u201d. <\/p>\n

She had applied for university admission and received acceptance letters, but the food science and technology graduate realised that she wanted to try something different from what she had studied.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang (right) in a conversation with Ms Cherilynn Chua during Singapore Polytechnic\u2019s annual Career and Further Education Fair on Oct 22.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: GIN TAY<\/p>\n

Ms Chua worked for three months as a food technician, but felt that it was not a good fit. <\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the whole job process, I definitely learnt a lot about myself \u2013 what I like and what I look for in a job,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

She was apprehensive about taking a gap year to discover her interests, she said. \u201cI always thought that I had my route and life planned out, but suddenly changing from working full time to taking a gap year, or considering furthering my studies, was a confusing period.\u201d<\/p>\n

But her anxiety eased after speaking with career guidance counsellors from SP, and Ms Chua is now determined to spend her gap year building a portfolio to pursue media or marketing-related studies, having dabbled in video editing. She is also working part-time as a barista. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, a job should come with purpose,\u201d she said. \u201cI would rather take a gap year and figure things out on my own terms, than rushing to find a job for the sake of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Chua said she felt a bit of pressure as her peers were already studying or working. \u201cBut I think reminding myself that I\u2019m only just 20, and I still have time to figure things out, makes it a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE \u2013 Employment outcomes for the graduating cohort of polytechnics in 2025 are \u201ccomparable\u201d to past years based…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3092],"tags":[51,897,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-520998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115420952874953507","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}