Job Market Challenges for Singapore Graduates

This assignment requires you to delve into the current job market situation for graduates in Singapore. Examine the difficulties they encounter in securing full-time positions, considering factors such as economic conditions, industry demands, and competition. The analysis should also propose potential solutions to help graduates overcome these challenges and successfully transition into the workforce.

Running Head: GRADUATE LABOR MARKET 1
GRADUATE LABOR MARKET
AUTHORS NAME
UNIVERSIT OF AFFILIATION

GRADUATE LABOR MARKET 2
1.0 Graduate labor market in Singapore
Based on statistics on employment released by manpower ministry in Singapore, the job market
in 2016 was unwelcoming particularly for graduates, majorly degree holders. There have been
more employees layoffs since 2010, with the total layoff of 19179 in 2016 as compared to 2015,
which had a total of 15580 (MOM.,2012c).The report on the ministry of manpower made it clear
that graduates who have been long-term unemployed in 2016: This to mean that they were
unable to find work for at least 5 weeks, was highest in from 0.8 percent in 2015 (Loh,
2017).According to experts in Singapore, given the country economic situation that is considered
weak, the trend is no surprise at all. Expert in human resource said that the rate of unemployment
graduates curtailed from the increase in the rate of layoffs (Loh, 2017).
1.2 What will be the Salary range for graduates in Singapore?
Based on a survey conducted by National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
Management University (SMU) and Nanyang Technological University(NTU) (YANG,
2017),the graduate salary ranges from $3360 per month from $3300 from 2015.89.7 percent of
graduates found employment within the six months of completing their study.80.2 percent of the
graduates safeguarded jobs as full-time workers, this was a decline from 83.1 percent in the year
2015 (YANG, 2017).
1.3 What will be the unemployment rate in Singapore?
The graduate unemployment rate has shown a decline in the year of 2017 in June by 3.3 percent
contrasting that of March 2017 of 3.5 percent. However, the unemployment rate still remains
higher than the previous year. The cutback of employees has shown a decrease as opposed to the
previous year (SEOW, 2017) with the fluctuation of the economic condition in Singapore that is
uncertain; this poses a threat to the employment of graduates. This is because companies tend to
downsize during slow economic growth as they are not ready to incur losses through extra
expense. A contrast statement from the ministry is that, despite the dip in permanent employment
on a full-time basis, the rates for employment for the graduates remain healthy, though the
ministry will still keep a close eye on the situation (Mokhtar, 2017).
1.3.1 What is the employment rate?

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Based on a survey conducted on the employment of fresh graduates from the universities in
Singapore, there has been an increase of 50 % in the unemployed graduates preferring part-time
jobs in order to make ends meets. The percentage of the graduates taking the part-time
employment has increased to 9.5% in 2016 as opposed to 6.4 % in 2015.Singapore Institute of
technology has registered an increase of 12 % in 2017 from 7.6% part-time graduates employees
(Statestimesreview.com, 2017).
After growth of 2300 total employment in labor market, it decreased by 6800 in the first quarter
of 2017.This has been caused by the decrease in the workforce by a foreigner since they have
less work permit holders in the construction and production industries. Nevertheless, there has
been an increase in the employment of the following sectors, personal services and community,
insurance services and financial services (MOM.,2012c).
1.4 How many University in Singapore and each University got how much graduates and which
Universities is bigger?
Singapore has a total of twenty two universities. Six public universities and sixteen private
universities. The national university of Singapore is accorded the oldest and the biggest national
university in Singapore. The university has a great history of development. The university has
also been ranked the top in the university 2017 rankings (Times Higher Education (THE), 2017).
Singapore has graduates from the university and polytechnic each year. Based on 2015 statistical
data the university graduates sum up to 15510 and polytechnic graduates sum up to 26,010.This
sum up to a total of 41520 graduates each year (Singstat.gov.sg, 2017).
2.0 Ways of seeking job
2.1 Job fairs
Job seekers should use job fairs so as to create a first impression that is positive and learn more
about the organization and what it takes to work for the organization. Face to face meeting with
the recruiters plays a critical part in the process of searching for a job. The career fairs do offer
job seekers the opportunity to make connections that are personal which are impossible to make
during online submission of the resume. Job fairs in some organization do require a little

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entrance fee. However it presents the job seeker with opportunities to access many employers,
the job seeker also gets to meet the organization representatives and the experts of the
organization. If the graduate has a proper self-organization, through having the right attitude, job
fairs can lead to the value generation of social network contacts. Despite few people obtaining
employment during job fairs, sometimes recruiter do conduct serious interviews at the moment.
It is advisable for the job seeker to spend quality time on the organization that does interest them
rather than those that they don’t find interest in. The job seekers should make an attempt at
getting the list of companies that will attend the event before the job fair (Yate, 2017).
2.2 Networking
Graduates should not neglect career network while searching for a job. This is of significance
during the career job search and during the growth period of the graduate's career. Career
networking make use of the professional, academic and personal contacts to help in the search
for a job. Networking is the best way to get to know about the available job opportunities in a
company. Some organization in Singapore does hire the recruitment agency to find the suitable
candidate for the certain post. Some of the recruitment agencies in Singapore include Adecco,
Hudson, Michael page and recruit express. During the search of the job online, the graduate will
notice that most jobs are only posted for Singapore to apply. This is due to the quota granted to
the employers from the ministry of manpower labor regarding foreigner’s .Through the network,
the graduate can hire a resume consultant to help them in coaching and advise them accordingly
to the right path. To start looking for a job as a graduate in Singapore, it is of significance to
make use of social media and networking services. To begin the process of job search it is
important to take note of the job portals that are available online that offer a lot of information
about the job search. Some of the portal comprises of, JobsCentral.com.sg, s.g.JobStreet .com.
The newspaper also contains an advertisement for a various job vacancy in the country. Some of
the newspaper that does publish jobs includes the Straits time which publishes executive
appointments and classified jobs. This newspaper does publish the vacancy advertisement every
Saturday. The list does contain wider job opportunities range. (Doyle, 2017).

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2.3 Referrals
Having a referral boost the chance of the human resource manager to look at the applicant
resume. When the job seeker declares in the cover letter that he /she was referred to the job, this
creates a built-in recommendation. This process gets to another level when the graduate referee
takes time to personally mention the applicant to the manager in charge of recruitment. Referrals
are majorly given the upper hand in the recruitment, this is because it is believed that they do
perform their task to the organization expects and they do stay longer in their position. Any
moment the job seeker gets their application tagged as referrals; this boosts their chance of
securing the job. Having referral can make it easy to find a job in Singapore. It is important to
ensure that the person the graduate is using as referrals likes them. This is because, referrals can
make an employer hire the graduate or break the employer decision in hiring the graduate.
Referrals are used for an outside perspective by the employers. The employer will trust the
people the job seeker stated as their referrals opinion more than the jobseekers opinion. It is
important for the graduate to ensure that the people they request to be their referral do have an
extensive knowledge about the graduate not the person with the best skills. Some of the question
that the graduate should have in mind while requesting anyone to be their referral comprises of;
can the referee give a good description of the graduate as a person? As a colleague? For how
long have they known you? (White, 2017).

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3.0 personal portfolio
Student’s name
P.O BOX || Tel: || Email:
Summary
A highly resourceful, service and result oriented Accountant professional with significant
knowledge and some experience in accounting field. Maintains a high level of confidentiality
and customer satisfaction. Demonstrates innate ability to create and manage teams train and
support and lead as well as follow.
I am keen-to-details in handling every accounting duties to ensure reliability and high quality
results to ensure accountability and maximum productivity hence, seeking a position with an
organization that will allow me to fully utilize my knowledge and skills in ERP support thus
supporting the organization in functioning effectively whilst adhering to correct procedures and
customer service guidelines.
Personal Details
Year of birth: Nationality: Singaporean Marital Status: Single Languages:
English
Education
 Bachelor of Business Information Technology – University of Murdoch, August 2013-
May 2017
Key Skills and Competencies Acquired
 Functions well within a team of other developers and consultants.
 Skilled and passionate in auditing of business Systems.

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 Highly creative and able to work independently.
 Excellent interpersonal skills.
 Adept in data analysis, using both primary and secondary data, software applications
including: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access,
SPSS.
 Skills in processing large datasets through quantitative and qualitative statistical analyses
 Good organization, planning and follow up skills
 A team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills
 Ability to work long hours, with minimal or no supervision and be able to meet
deadlines.
Work History
;
Intern;
Accountant,
Intsoft (K) Ltd,
May 2017 to Date
Duties and Responsibilities:
 Preparation of asset and capital account entries through compilation and analysis of
account data.
 Financial action a recommendation through analysis of options available in accounting.
 Reconciliation of financial discrepancy through the collection of and account information
analysis.
 Financial information security through back up of the databases.
 Documentation of financial transaction through the accounting data entering into the
system.
 Maintains confidence in the customer and operations protections through keeping
information confidential on finance.
 Installation, Configuration & Troubleshooting of Software Components.

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 Evaluation of client requirements.
 Designing, developing and maintaining reports used by technical staff and ERP systems
users.
 Post production support
 Preparing daily and weekly reports for the supervisor.
Intern;
Underwriter –
Famkal Insurance Agency,
July to December 2011:
Duties and Responsibilities:
 Preparing motor certificate for motors vehicle
 Calculating premiums
 Keeping of financial record after receipting premium payment
 Issuing reminder notice to clients whose insurance covers is due for renewal
Membership and Training
 Certificate; Executive Certificate of Proficiency in Insurance, College of Insurance
Interests and Hobbies
Socializing, writing essays, reading novels, traveling,
Referees
N.B KINDLY INSERT REFEREES CONTACTS HERE

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4.0 References
Doyle, A. (2017). Top 7 Career Networking Tips. [online] The Balance. Available at:
https://www.thebalance.com/top-career-networking-tips-2062604 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
Loh, R. (2017). Jobless graduates highest since 2004. [online] AsiaOne. Available at:
http://www.asiaone.com/jobless-graduates-highest-2004 [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017]
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) (2012c). Working in Singapore. [online] Available at:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/working-in-singapore/Pages/default.aspx
[Accessed 26 Dec. 2012].
Mokhtar, F. (2017). Fresh grads finding it harder to land full-time jobs: Survey. [online]
TODAYonline. Available at: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tougher-job-market-
fresh-graduates-2016 [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017].
SEOW, J. (2017). Labour market shows slight uptick in first half of 2017: Manpower Ministry.
[online] The Straits Times. Available at: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/labour-
market-shows-slight-uptick-in-first-half-of-2017-manpower-ministry [Accessed 15 Dec.
2017].
Singstat.gov.sg. (2017). Statistics Singapore - Latest Data. [online] Available at:
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
Statestimesreview.com. (2017). 50% jump in jobless Singapore fresh graduates turning to part-
time – States Times Review. [online] Available at:
http://statestimesreview.com/2017/10/24/50-jump-in-jobless-singapore-fresh-graduates-
turning-to-part-time/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].

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Times Higher Education (THE). (2017). Best universities in Singapore. [online] Available at:
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-
singapore#survey-answer [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
White, M. (2017). This Is How Much the Right Referral Can Help Your Job Search. [online]
Money. Available at: http://time.com/money/3994858/job-search-referral/ [Accessed 15
Dec. 2017].
YANG, C. (2017). Fresh grads' starting pay hits new high. [online] The Straits Times. Available
at: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/fresh-grads-starting-pay-hits-new-
high [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
Yate, M. (2017). How Job Seekers Should Use Job Fairs. [online] Forbes.com. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/07/08/how-job-seekers-should-use-job-
fairs/#4980b7266985 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].