Singaporeans who pursued further education more likely to be employed: reports

Employees in Singapore who pursued continuing education and training (CET) and obtained post-graduate diplomas were more likely to be employed, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

The MTI's report found that those who pursued these programmes were more likely to be employed by up to eight percentage points that those who did not, The Independent Singapore reported.

They also received higher monthly wages by 4.6% to 10.8%, which are equivalent to an additional $300 to $540 monthly salary hike.

According to MTI, these findings demonstrate that CET programmes are effective in boosting the competitiveness of Singapore's workforce and delivering benefits on employment and wage levels.

The ministry also reiterated the government's commitment to investing in skills upgrading and retraining initiatives in light of these results.

The findings stem from the MTI's data analysis on local workers who pursued professional diplomas at polytechnics between 2011 and 2019, The Independent Singapore reported.

In addition to the benefits, the analysis also found that the enrolment numbers in polytechnic graduate diploma courses surged from 79 in 2011 to 3,847 in 2019.

Nearly 70% of the total enrolments were in the fields of medicine, information and communication, engineering, business management, and education and training, according to the MTI.