理工學院畢業生失業率達12.5％？！新加坡教育部預警2025年就業逆風期

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2025年2月4日，新加坡教育部長陳振聲在國會口頭答覆阿裕尼集選區議員畢丹星有關2025年理工學院畢業生就業前景評估的情況。

以下內容為新加坡眼根據國會英文資料翻譯整理：

畢丹星（阿裕尼集選區議員）詢問教育部長：基於2024年最新畢業生就業調查顯示全職就業率下降，教育部對2025年理工學院畢業生就業形勢有何評估？

陳振聲（教育部長）：議長先生，請允許我在回答這項國會質詢（PQ）時，一併回答文佳禮博士、徐錦莉女士、梁文輝先生、連榮華先生、畢丹星先生和胡美霞女士的國會質詢所提出的事項。如有需要，我請這些議員在我回應後要求澄清。

議長：請繼續。

陳振聲（教育部長）：議長先生，就業率受多重因素影響。例如經濟及勞動力市場情況。每年出現㆒些波動是意料㆗的事情。更重要的是，除了羅短期的週期性波動外，我們必須繼續監察和應對可能影響畢業生就業能力的較長期趨勢。

雖然 2024 年的勞動力市場仍趨緊，職位空缺仍然高於大流行前的水平，但與 2023 年相比，2024 年的招聘需求減少，職位空缺減少，這將有助於2024年的調查結果。根據五所理工學院進行的 2024 年畢業生就業調查，約45%的畢業生進入勞動市場。與2023年相比，這一群體中的全職長期就業率有所下降，失業率有所上升。

對不同專業的影響也不均衡。一些專業，如健康科學、人文和社會科學，繼續取得強勁的就業成果。而工程學、資訊和數字技術等專業的畢業生失業率較高。這可能是由於週期性的行業變化造成的，比如科技行業的不景氣也影響了招聘需求。

我們還注意到，一些畢業生收到了全職崗位的邀請，但出於各種原因拒絕了，包括認為工作與生活缺乏平衡，或所提供的薪酬不符合他們的期望。我們將繼續監測這一趨勢是否持續，以及是否會對畢業生的就業結果產生長期影響。

理工學院將繼續與行業夥伴緊密合作，為學生提供必要和緊缺的技能和能力，以確保我們的課程與不斷變化的就業市場需求保持相關，併為學生提供高質量的實習機會。作為課程的一部分，理工學院還為學生提供教育和職業指導，包括簡歷撰寫和麵試技巧培訓。在找工作方面需要更多支援的學生，還可以利用新加坡勞動力組織（Workforce Singapore）和全國職工總會（NTUC）的就業與就業能力研究所（Employment and Employability Institute）提供的職業配對服務和數字資源。

至於2025年，鑑於全球經濟前景不明朗，我們將繼續與理工學院和業界夥伴密切監察就業形勢。

議長：有請畢丹星先生提問。

畢丹星（阿裕尼集選區議員）：謝謝議長先生。我只是想向部長澄清一下，我想他在答覆的前言中提到，我在以後的會議上還有一個附加問題。我在以後的會議上沒有任何問題。這是唯㆒㆒個問題。陳振聲（教育部長）：是的。畢丹星（阿裕尼集選區議員）：議長先生，我有兩個問題。其一，根據《2024年理工學院畢業生就業調查》，應屆本科生的失業率從2023年的7.3%上升至2024年的12.5%，與COVID-19大流行時的數字相當。部長是否對理工學院畢業生就業不足的前景感到擔憂，他是否會指示理工學院在今後的畢業生就業調查中跟蹤就業不足的資料？

據我所知，教育部在決定大學為不同學生（例如計算機科學專業的學生）提供多少名額時，也會關注就業不足的問題。我想知道理工學院是否也有類似的問題，以及申請理工學院課程的學生人數。部長在他的回答中提到，工程學、資訊和數字技術相關課程的學生人數似乎較多，因此，這裡的就業不足問題也同樣令人擔憂。

我的第二個問題是，自從國會就教育部的《理工學院與工教院應用學習強化計劃（ASPIRE）進行辯論以來，已經過去了近十年時間，該計劃旨在加強理工學院和工教院（ITE）的應用教育。教育部對該報告所提建議的進展情況有何評估，這些建議旨在使理工學院畢業生具備以下條件：第一，紮實的技能基礎；第二，與工業界建立聯絡，以幫助加強課程設定，從而確保我們的理工學院畢業生取得良好的就業成果？

陳振聲（教育部長）：議長先生，請容許我一併回答議員的問題，並參考一些已討論過的資料。長期趨勢顯示更多理工學院畢業生選擇升學而非直接就業（2024年僅45%進入職場），需動態理解就業率波動。這一點很重要。

在全職就業的人群中–這就是我們這次調查所討論的–從長期的世俗趨勢來看，更多的理工學院畢業生在進入就業市場之前立即繼續深造。從某種意義上說，這是一個積極的趨勢。而在這 45% 的畢業生中，去年的失業率有所上升，約佔這 45% 的 5%。這就是第一點。

第二點是關於畢丹星先生提出的衡量就業不足的問題。這並不是一件容易的事情，因為不同的部門和看法對就業不足的定義各不相同，從國際勞工組織（ILO）到全國職工總會（NTUC），甚至人力部，他們都有不同的衡量方法。這也取決於你問的是誰。如果你問學生他們是否就業不足，我認為答案與你問老闆他們是否認為自己的員工就業不足是完全不同的，尤其是對於應屆畢業生而言。因此，我認為我們所能做的有一定的侷限性。

儘管如此，我們必須認識到的更大問題是，我們如何確保我們的理工學院畢業生，或者ITE畢業生，甚至是我們的大學畢業生，不僅在入職時，而且在整個職業生涯中，都能找到能為他們賺取高薪的滿意工作？我們必須在幾個方面做到這一點，這也是對我們在 ASPIRE 報告方面取得的進展的回應。

我們需要做的第一件事是，我們必須非常緊密地加強行業與理工學院、行業與工教院以及行業與大學之間的合作。因為我們需要兩到三年的時間才能培養出一名畢業生，我們必須能夠與業界一起預測需求，不僅僅是在數量上，而是在幾年後所需的技能型別上。這絕非易事，因為即使是行業也知道，兩三年後，所需的技能型別和最適銷對路的技能型別可能會發生變化，並可能隨著時間的推移而演變。但我們首先要確保與各行業、貿工部密切合作，預測需求。

第二件事是，在一個瞬息萬變的世界裡，我認為沒有人能夠說：“我所學的課程在兩三年後能很好地適應某項工作”。我們需要讓學生掌握的不僅是某項工作的技能，還包括相鄰的能力，使他們能夠轉向我們所說的相鄰工作或互補性工作，這將使他們更容易就業。其中有些是硬技能，有些是軟技能。其中一些技能使他們能夠與不同國籍的其他夥伴合作，這樣我們就能為他們拓寬市場機會，使他們能夠轉行，不一定只是在開始的時候，而是在整個職業生涯中。

因此，我們必須繼續努力，確保我們的課程與行業相關，同時讓我們的學生掌握互補、可替代的技能，讓他們有更廣泛的選擇，而不是被狹隘地歸類或孤立於特定行業。這正是 ASPIRE 報告所要做的，並將繼續在這些方面取得進展。

議長：有請畢丹星先生髮言。

畢丹星（阿裕尼集選區議員）：謝謝議長先生。我注意到部長關於理工學院畢業生轉入學位課程的觀點，這是可以理解的。我想，在過去的十年裡，教育部也曾設想過進入大學的學生群體參與率會有所上升，而現在與以前相比已經達到了42%。當然，另一個因素是我們現在也有了應用學習型大學，這本身可能對 ASPIRE 報告起到積極的推動作用。

但是，關於那些沒有直接升入大學的學生人數，在應用學習方面，部長是否看到了可以改進的差距和問題，從而使學生，特別是理工學院畢業生的就業前景能夠抵禦其中的一些世俗趨勢？

陳振聲（教育部長）：議長先生，我只想就畢丹星先生的補充問題談兩點看法。是的，確實如此。為了確保我們的課程與時俱進，我們一直在努力。我們的學生所學到的技能也是與時俱進的。我們必須確保每年都會更新課程。即使是同樣的課程，我們也必須根據行業的意見和我們在市場上的感覺來更新課程，這樣我們才能滿足長期的世俗需求和長期趨勢，而不僅僅是週期性的短期趨勢。因此，這是我們要做的一件事，而且必須繼續做下去。

第二件事是，我們越來越多地推出了所謂的“工讀文憑 ”（Work-Study diploma）或“工讀學位”（Work-Study degree）。這些都是與行業合作的應用學習課程。這也是我們的另一個有力機制，確保我們的課程具有相關性，能夠滿足行業的及時需求。我們希望能夠擴大 “勤工儉學 ”計劃的數量，因為這將使其更加切合當前的需要，不僅適用於職前培訓，也適用於繼續教育和培訓。這是我們加強前沿商業實踐與學術界之間聯絡的最佳途徑，這樣我們才能培養出具備行業所需技能的學生。

我們必須繼續雙管齊下：既包括“工讀文憑/學位”計劃部分，也包括行業與教育機構之間的緊密聯絡。

議長先生，我們的提問時間已經過半，但我們只提出了第 4 個問題。因此，我只限已提出補充質詢的議員提出補充質詢。

以下是英文質詢內容：

Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Education what is the Ministry's assessment of the employment landscape for polytechnic graduates in 2025 in view of the results of the latest Graduate Employment Survey 2024 which showed that fewer graduates secured full-time permanent jobs.

The Minister for Education (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission for my response to this Parliamentary Question (PQ) to also cover matters raised in the PQs by Dr Wan Rizal¹, Ms See Jinli Jean, Mr Leong Mun Wai², Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Pritam Singh and Ms Foo Mee Har³, which are scheduled for the Sittings on and after 4 February 2025. And if need be, may I invite these Members to seek clarifications following my response, please.

Mr Speaker: Please go ahead.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, employment rates are affected by various factors such as the economic and labour market conditions. Some fluctuations from year-to-year are to be expected. More importantly, we must continue to monitor and respond to the longer-term secular trends, beyond the shorter-term cyclical fluctuations, that may affect the employability of our graduates.

While the labour market remained tight in 2024, with job vacancies remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels, 2024 saw lower hiring demand and fewer vacancies compared to 2023, which would have contributed to the survey findings for 2024. Based on the 2024 Graduate Employment Survey conducted by the five polytechnics, about 45% of graduates were economically active. Among this group, there was a decrease in the full-time permanent employment rate and an increase in the unemployment rate as compared to 2023.

The impact was also uneven across course clusters. Some course clusters, such as health sciences, and humanities and social sciences continued to see strong employment outcomes. Graduates from course clusters, such as engineering, and information and digital technologies had higher unemployment rates. And this could be due to cyclical sectoral changes, such as the downturn in the tech sector, which also affected hiring demand.

We have also observed that some graduates have received full-time permanent job offers but have declined them for various reasons, including a perceived lack of work-life balance, or the offered pay not meeting their expectations. We will continue to monitor if this trend persists and if it has a longer-term impact on graduates' employment outcomes.

The polytechnics will continue to equip students with the necessary and in-demand skills and competencies by working closely with industry partners to ensure that our curriculum remain relevant and responsive to the evolving job market demands, as well as to provide quality internship opportunities for students. The polytechnics further support students by providing Education and Career Guidance as part of the curriculum, which includes resume writing and interview skills training. Those who require more support in finding a job can also tap on the career matching services and digital resources offered by Workforce Singapore's and the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) Employment and Employability Institute.

For 2025, given global economic uncertainties, we will continue to monitor the situation closely together with the polytechnics and industry partners.

Mr Speaker: Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just to clarify with the Minister, I think that in his preamble to the reply, he mentioned that I had an additional question in future Sittings or so. I do not have any questions for future Sitting. This is the only one.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Yes.

Mr Pritam Singh: I have two questions, Mr Speaker. One, according to the Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey 2024, the unemployment rate for fresh undergraduates rose from 7.3% in 2023, to 12.5% in 2024, comparable to the numbers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Is the Minister concerned about the prospect of under-employment amongst polytechnic graduates, and would he direct the polytechnics to track under-employment data in future iterations of the Graduate Employment Survey?

I understand that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is concerned about under-employment, when it determines how many places are open in universities for different students, for example, for computer science. And I am wondering whether there is a similar concern at the polytechnics and the number of students who apply for polytechnic courses. The Minister mentioned in his reply that the numbers seem higher for engineering, and information and digital technologies-related courses, and hence, the concern would also apply with regard to under-employment here.

The second question I have is that almost 10 years have passed since this House debated MOE's Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) report, which sought to strengthen applied education at polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). What is the Ministry's assessment of the progress made in the ASPIRE report's recommendations in equipping polytechnic graduates with: one, strong skills foundation; and two, sector linkages with industry to help enhance programme offerings, so as to ensure good job outcomes for our polytechnic graduates?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may answer the Member's questions together and put in context some of the data that has been discussed.

Over time, we have seen the following trends. The first is that the number of polytechnic graduate students that are continuing further studies has increased. So, the base of the people that are going into full-time employment directly has decreased. So, this is an important point.

Within the group of people who are going into full-time employment – this is what we are talking about in this particular survey – the long-term secular trend, more polytechnic graduates go on to study immediately before they enter the job market. That is, in some sense, a positive trend. Then, those who go directly into work are the remainder 45% or so, and within this 45%, that is where we get the uptick of last year, about a 5% of this 45%, in change in the unemployment. So, that is the first point.

The second point to Mr Singh's question about measuring under-employment. This is not something that is easy to do because the definition of under-employment varies across different sectors and perceptions, from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to NTUC and even the Ministry of Manpower, they have different ways of trying to measure it. It also depends on who you ask. If you ask the students whether they are under-employed, I think the answer is quite different than if you ask the boss whether they think their employee is under-employed, especially for fresh graduates. So, I think there is some limitation in what we can do.

Having said that, the larger issue that we have to appreciate is how do we make sure that our polytechnic graduates, or for that matter, ITE graduates, and even our university graduates, can get fulfilling jobs that earn them a good salary, not just at the entry point, but also throughout their career? We have to do this on a few fronts – and this is also in response to the progress that we have made on the ASPIRE report.

The first thing that we need to do, is that we need very close industry-and-polytechnic, industry-and-ITE, and industry-and-university collaborations. Because it takes us two to three years to produce a graduate and we must be able to work with the industry to forecast demand, not just in terms of numbers, but the type of skills required in a few years' time. This is by no means an easy job, because even the industry will know that in two to three years' time, the type of skillsets that are required and are most marketable may change and may evolve over time. But the first thing is for us to make sure that we work closely with the industries, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, to forecast the demand.

The second thing is that in a fast-evolving world, I think nobody will be able to say, "My course will fit nicely into a particular job in two to three years' time". What we need to equip our people with are not just the skillsets of a particular job, but also adjacent competencies that allow them to pivot into what we call adjacent jobs or complementary jobs that will make them much more employable. Some of these are hard skills, some of these are soft skills. Some of these are skills that allow them to work with other partners across different nationalities so that we can widen the market opportunities for them, so that they can pivot, not necessarily just at the beginning, but also throughout their career.

So, this is how we must continue to work to make sure that our courses are relevant with industry input and at the same time, equip our people with the skills that are complementary, fungible, that they can have wider options, rather than be narrowly type-cast or siloed into specific sectors. And that is what the ASPIRE report has tried to do and will continue to progress on these fronts.

Mr Speaker: Mr Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I note Minister's points about the transit of polytechnic graduates into degree courses and understandably so. I think in the previous decade, MOE had also envisage the cohort participation rate for students entering universities to be on the increase and it is 42% now compared to previously. And of course, the other factor is we have got applied learning universities now as well and that may in itself be a positive fillip with regard to the ASPIRE report.

But in regard to the numbers of students who are not transiting to the university directly, on the applied learning front, does the Minister see gaps and issues that can be improved so that the employment prospects of students, polytechnic graduates specifically, can withstand some of these secular trends?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, just two comments in response to Mr Singh's supplementary questions. Yes, indeed. This is always a work in progress to make sure that our courses are relevant. The skills learnt by our students are also relevant and current. We have to make sure that every year, we have to refresh the curriculum. Even if it is the same course, we have to refresh the curriculum with the industries' input, with what we sense in the market, so that we can meet the longer-term secular needs, longer-term trends beyond just a cyclical short-term trends. So, that is one thing that we do and we must continue to do.

The second thing that has come through here is also, increasingly, we have what we call the Work-Study diploma or Work-Study degree. These are applied learning programmes in collaboration with the industries. This is also another strong mechanism for us to make sure that our courses are relevant and are able to meet the just-in-time demand of the industries. We hope to be able to expand the number of Work-Study programmes, because this will make it more current, not just for the pre-employment training, but also for the continuing education and training. This is the best way for us to tighten the nexus between frontier business practices and academia, so that we can churn out students with the skillsets that the industries need.

We must continue on both fronts – both the work-study part, and the tight nexus between industry and the education institutions.

Mr Speaker: We are more than halfway through Question Time and we are only at Question No 4. So, I am going to confine supplementary questions to only those who have filed PQs.