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Singapore News
SNEF says there are jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 06 November 2008 1846 hrs
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SNEF says there are jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Job creation in Singapore's labour market may be moderating, but the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said there are jobs for fresh graduates.
SNEF president Stephen Lee told Channel NewsAsia on Thursday that a survey of 100 companies by the federation last week showed that about half of them were still hiring.
Another 40 per cent of the respondents had frozen their recruitment plans and the rest were reducing their workforce either through retrenchment or natural attrition.
Hozefa Aziz and his friends, who are currently in the University Scholars Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS), often discuss about their future job prospects, and their concerns are growing stronger with the present economic downturn.
"They are worried about the types of jobs they can get and whether the jobs will pay enough to lead a generally comfortable life," said Hozefa, a Life Sciences undergraduate.
Tan Mei Shi, a Business-Finance undergraduate, NUS, said: "Right now in my industry, we have a lot of retrenched investment bankers from Singapore and other countries who are looking for jobs everywhere, and you are competing with these retrenched people who have years of industry experience. It is very hard for you as a graduate to make that mark."
The recent SNEF survey showed that jobs are being offered by accounting firms as well as service, IT and healthcare companies.
The SNEF chief said there are still job opportunities out there for new graduates, but they will probably have to moderate their salary expectations. In most cases, starting salaries are expected to remain the same.
Mr Lee also noted that between the first and third quarters of this year, job creation has been at a healthy level, although it has moderated by about 20 per cent.
"In Q1, we saw job creation of 73,000 going to 58,000 in Q3. Going forward, we expect this moderation to continue. But let me just add that at 58,000 for Q3, it is still a fairly respectable job growth," he said.
Fresh grads are advised to take up job offers even if the salaries offered are slightly lower than what they are expecting. Mr Lee also said there should be no let-up in the hiring of older workers.
"We should not let a short-term economic downturn interrupt our longer term policy," he said, adding that the rate of hiring older workers may moderate with the needs of the job market.
Singapore News
SNEF says there are jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 06 November 2008 1846 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Related Videos
SNEF says there are jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Job creation in Singapore's labour market may be moderating, but the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said there are jobs for fresh graduates.
SNEF president Stephen Lee told Channel NewsAsia on Thursday that a survey of 100 companies by the federation last week showed that about half of them were still hiring.
Another 40 per cent of the respondents had frozen their recruitment plans and the rest were reducing their workforce either through retrenchment or natural attrition.
Hozefa Aziz and his friends, who are currently in the University Scholars Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS), often discuss about their future job prospects, and their concerns are growing stronger with the present economic downturn.
"They are worried about the types of jobs they can get and whether the jobs will pay enough to lead a generally comfortable life," said Hozefa, a Life Sciences undergraduate.
Tan Mei Shi, a Business-Finance undergraduate, NUS, said: "Right now in my industry, we have a lot of retrenched investment bankers from Singapore and other countries who are looking for jobs everywhere, and you are competing with these retrenched people who have years of industry experience. It is very hard for you as a graduate to make that mark."
The recent SNEF survey showed that jobs are being offered by accounting firms as well as service, IT and healthcare companies.
The SNEF chief said there are still job opportunities out there for new graduates, but they will probably have to moderate their salary expectations. In most cases, starting salaries are expected to remain the same.
Mr Lee also noted that between the first and third quarters of this year, job creation has been at a healthy level, although it has moderated by about 20 per cent.
"In Q1, we saw job creation of 73,000 going to 58,000 in Q3. Going forward, we expect this moderation to continue. But let me just add that at 58,000 for Q3, it is still a fairly respectable job growth," he said.
Fresh grads are advised to take up job offers even if the salaries offered are slightly lower than what they are expecting. Mr Lee also said there should be no let-up in the hiring of older workers.
"We should not let a short-term economic downturn interrupt our longer term policy," he said, adding that the rate of hiring older workers may moderate with the needs of the job market.
