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Tag: SMU

  • 29 Year Old SMU Accountancy Graduate Jobless For 2 Years, Losing Hope

    29 Year Old SMU Accountancy Graduate Jobless For 2 Years, Losing Hope

    By: Ivan

    I am a graduate of SMU, and have trouble finding a job for 2 years.

    I am wondering if there are any opportunities here because I have been looking on craigslist, indeed, jobsdb, regionUP, all for jobs but I suspect most of them are fake or just recruiters trying to collect resumes for the companies which are not even hiring.

    I have a Bachelor’s in Accountancy and Finance from SMU.

    At 29 years of age, I don’t see much opportunities in the PMET sector especially for males.

    I don’t know why. But I think employers generally prefer females in the accountancy sector because they will not shout out as loud as males, and are generally perceived as more meticulous than men.

    I am deeply worried that my 2 years of unemployment gap will affect my future career (if it even exists now).

    Right now, I am feeling that local government do not support unemployed workers, and just cover it up with the news saying that unemployment is low. Truth is many people are underemployed.

    I tried approaching friends and family, but none of them have opportunities for me. Instead they keep telling me supposedly helpful advice like “have you tried this… or that” etc.

    Almost implying that it’s my fault that I did not hang on to my previous job.

    Also, I don’t have much faith in the governmental national job bank. Seems to be touch and go in this pro-business government.

    Globally, I do sense restructuring trend affecting many young people like me, especially in Spain, Greece and other cities. In some cities like NY or London, people at my age are being paid peanuts or working for free as interns, just to get a foot into the door of corporations.

    In fact, one may argue that Singapore has real jobs but only as casino croupiers and waiters.

    That is not a career many want, yet they do it just to get by. This is highly unhealthy for the economy to keep ‘pushing down’ the burden to the young. Singaporeans are smart and good, why should they be ‘cheap’ and devalued by our own government?

    If businesses are so powerful already, why is the government not empowering the people to balance this?

    Why is the employment market ‘rosy’ in Singapore when there are so many people complaining on your website?

    I feel the government has failed us all. Especially my generation who graduated in the post-recession.

     

    Source: http://theindependent.sg

  • Cost Of Singapore University Education To Rise

    Cost Of Singapore University Education To Rise

    The cost of a university degree in Singapore is set to rise, according to a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

    Released yesterday, the study projected that a four-year degree will cost 70.2 per cent of an individual’s average yearly income in 2030, up from 53.1 per cent in 2015.

    Since 2010, tuition fees at local universities have gone up every year for most undergraduate courses, mainly due to rising operating costs.

    For instance, a local undergraduate entering the National University of Singapore’s faculty of arts and social science this academic year (2016) would pay $8,050 annually, up from $7,950 last year (2015).

    Another projection showed that Singapore’s education spending will dip from 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product last year to 2.7 per cent in 2030, largely due to falling birth cohort sizes and a growing population aged over 60 years.

    The study, known as the Yidan Prize Forecast, Education to 2030, was released today (May 22) at a press conference held at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong.

    It was commissioned by the Yidan Prize Foundation, a global education foundation based in Hong Kong and named after its founder Charles Chen Yidan, a Chinese Internet philanthropist.

    The EIU study, conducted from January to March, looked at future trends in education across 25 economies including Hong Kong, the United States, Germany, and Japan.

    It focused on five indicators: public expenditure on education, youth unemployment, affordability of education, number of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) fields and the access to Internet in schools.

    Historical data was collected from sources such as the Unesco Institute for Statistics, the World Economic Forum, EIU income data, as well as university rankings.

    For each of the five metrics, the EIU derived results based on econometric models that would forecast how these trends would continue in the next 14 to 15 years.

    For instance, the affordability of a university degree was based on factors such as inflation rates, analyst feedback and research.

    According to projections, Singapore’s proportion of Stem graduates in its labour force will grow slightly to 0.4 per cent in 2030, from 0.3 per cent last year.

    Mr Chris Clague, editor of the EIU report, said this forecast could be worrying, depending on Singapore’s priorities and if its job market will need Stem skills, as this might mean a skills mismatch.

    The report also cited a separate 2015 study by the US National Science Foundation which noted that Stem knowledge and skills are used in more occupations than traditionally thought of, including finance, and sales and marketing.

    Such a trend is likely to intensify in the next 15 years and beyond as technology becomes more central to different jobs, it said.

    Meanwhile, Singapore’s youth unemployment rate is projected to remain low – from 10.9 per cent last year to 10.8 per cent in 2030.

    The Republic is also among the top performers for having Internet access in schools in 2015, coming in joint second with Finland with a 6.4 on a scale of 1 to 7, with the latter being the best.

    This improves to 6.5 in 2030, although Hong Kong, Finland and Norway are expected to surpass that level by then.

    Yesterday’s event also saw the launch of the Yidan Prize – the largest education award of its kind in terms of monetary value.

    There will be two awards each year, – one recognising education research and the other initiatives that promote development in education. Each winner will receive a cash prize of HK$15 million (S$2.67 million) and a fund of HK$15 million based on the principle of impact investment, to be distributed in three instalments over three years to fund research or projects.

    Nominations for the prize will open next month (June). Individuals such as teachers, academics, and policymakers, among others, from around the world including Singapore can apply. The first winners will be announced in September next year (17).

    Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Mr Chen, who funded the prize, said education is close to his heart as he sees the potential of university education in helping people discover themselves.

    “The prize recognises and supports agents of change whose work transforms education in a sustainable way, and encourages innovative approaches to education research and development,” he said.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Local Undergraduates Expect $4,000 As Starting Salary

    Local Undergraduates Expect $4,000 As Starting Salary

    According to a poll by STJobs, one in five local under/graduates expects no less than $4,000 as their starting pay.

    This contrasts sharply with the average starting pay for a bachelor’s degree (without honours) at $2,741, according to an earlier report last month.

    In view of realistic market payouts, some soon-to-be graduates seem to be asking for the sky.

    In February, STJobs.sg conducted a survey among close to 200 fresh graduates and undergraduates across a wide variety of academic disciplines in local tertiary institutes to find out what their salary expectations are.

    12 per cent of all respondents expected to receive less than $2,500 per month while 70 per cent of them expected to be paid up to $4,000 per month. The remaining 18 per cent felt they should receive more than $4,000 in remuneration.

    When asked why they felt they deserved their expected salary, half of the respondents said it was because they would be graduating from a recognised university.

    This reasoning seems to align with an earlier mypaper report whose survey findings – conducted and compiled by a HR consultant firm – found that one in five employers placed an average premium of $214 per month for local university graduates over those with degrees from overseas.

    Jerry Wee, Director of JRT Recruitment, agrees that employers tend to prefer fresh graduates from a recognised local university compared to private tertiary institutions, and would even be willing to pay them 10 to 15 per cent more.

    “The tightening of EPs for employment, coupled with rising costs and difficulty of hiring experienced qualified locals will put fresh grads in good stead to compete in the job market,” he said. However, he also cautioned that fresh grads need to be realistic in their expectation on remuneration.

    Yu Lan, 26, a student from Nanyang Technological University, is one of them who thinks that her starting salary should be at least $4,000 as she has “strong analysis skills and trouble-shooting ability”.

    On the other hand, 25-year-old Samuel Tan expects to be paid up to $4,000 in starting salary as other jobs he has applied to offer similar payouts. Other reasons cited include “I have the required abilities and good work ethics and experience from my part-time jobs”.

    Interestingly, 1 in 5 fresh graduates admitted that they had no clue about the usual starting pay of the job they are looking for and thought up a random figure for their expected remuneration.

    Most of them said they decided on their expected salary after consulting with friends who worked in a similar industry (46 per cent) or assumed that the industry or organisation they wanted to work in would be willing to pay them their expected salary (23 per cent).

    Among those surveyed, 79 per cent are from local universities, 11 per cent from local polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and the remaining from private institutions.

    The fresh grads also comprised of Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Residents (61 per cent) and foreigners (39 per cent), and 9 in 10 fresh grads are aged between 20 to 27 years old.

     

    Source: http://business.asiaone.com

  • Part-time UniSIM Degree Not Recognized

    Photo Credit: The Straits Times
    Photo Credit: The Straits Times

     

    Dear R1C,

    I used to work in the public sector and several years ago I graduated with a UniSIM degree. After an extremely long wait and several email exchanges with the HR department, they finally got back to me with the news.

    Yes, I was not given any upgrade and remained as a junior officer.

    I recall Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in the National Day Rally 2012, announced that Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and SIM University (UniSIM) will become the republic’s 5th and 6th universities. Both institutions will participate in the Government’s plan to increase the number of publicly funded full-time university places.

    As we already know SIM collaborates with foreign universities in some of their degree courses. UniSIM also confer their own degrees and I obtained my degree from there.

    It appears that there is no standardization in the public service. I asked around and found that only certain stat boards and ministries fully recognized UniSIM degrees. Not all stat boards or ministries share the same vision as PM Lee, let alone ready to offer better remuneration package to those who managed to graduate from their part-time degrees.

    For people like me who wanted upgrade themselves and take up part-time degrees from so called recognized universities like UniSIM, it takes a lot of perseverance, sacrifices and determination. I have two young children, the youngest is 7 months old and another one in primary school. Besides juggling work commitments and studying, I have to be a father and husband. Not forgetting, that I have to manage my relationship with my parents who are old and unwell.

    At that time, my wife also wanted to pursue her part-time degree but she had to put that plan on hold until I completed my studies. This is to ensure that the children don’t feel left out or neglected when our other half is busy studying. Alhamdulillah, my wife is currently pursuing her part-time degree in UniSIM.

    Except for several ministries and stat boards, UniSIM graduates working in public service are offered lower starting pay as compared to NUS/NTU/SMU graduates. Some I heard are offered upgrades but no jump in pay or change in career progression.

    I really enjoyed what I did in the public sector. Unfortunately, I cannot find any more good reason to continue this path. I found a job opportunity in private sector which offered me the same pay but better career prospects. As the cost of living is increasing in Singapore, I need to think about my family and our future. No one can make the change except ourselves.

    I do hope that part-time graduates will be treated more fairly especially in the government sector.

    Not just lip service.

     

    Authored by Mohd Syahrizan

     

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