Fresh grads should ‘stay calm’ in job search; uptick in hiring seen: Tan See Leng
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The employment rate for the 2025 university graduating cohort was 51.9 per cent in June, which is 4 percentage points higher than the June 2024 rate.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Follow topic:
- Manpower Minister Tan See Leng advises graduates to persist with job searches, citing an improvement in the employment rate.
- 2,400 immediate entry-level vacancies were available in the public service.
- NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng highlighted skills, expectation, opportunity and experience gaps faced by job seekers.
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SINGAPORE – Fresh graduates should press on with their job search, even if the future appears uncertain, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.
The employment rate for the 2025 university graduating cohort was 51.9 per cent in June, he said, which is 4 percentage points higher than the June 2024 rate.
“I would really appeal to graduates and parents to stay calm. We have taken a more granular and careful look at the data on jobs and graduate employment this year. While it is still early days... we do see some silver lining in the data,” Dr Tan told a Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce press conference on July 10.
“If you compare June 2025 with June 2024, actually, the employment rates have gone up,” he added, noting that many graduates may still be in the early phases of their job hunts.
“Rest assured, the Government, our tripartite partners, will continue to support you and walk every step with you.”
Dr Tan also urged businesses to invest in young graduates who will be future leaders of the workforce.
He added that the number of entry-level vacancies in Singapore has remained steady.
Within the public service, there were around 2,400 immediately available entry-level jobs, spanning across roles such as engineers and software developers, Dr Tan said.
Graduates can learn more about these opportunities at the public service career fair in August, the Careers@Gov job portal, or social media, he added.
More broadly, employers in the health and social care industries, as well as the sustainability sector, were looking to grow their headcounts.
This comes on top of a hiring push in teaching, technology, financial and insurance services, as well as professional services.
Closer attention has been given to young job seekers during this time of global uncertainty, said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng.
He said they face four main challenges when looking to enter the labour market:
A skills gap, where they would need to acquire technical or soft skills.
An expectation gap, where employers and job seekers have different expectations on matters like work-life balance.
An opportunity gap, as global instability and artificial intelligence could change the nature and availability of jobs.
An experience gap, where some employers may prefer candidates with prior industry experience for entry-level jobs.
The experience gap puts first-time job seekers at a disadvantage, as they need a job to gain experience, but may not be able to get a job without work experience, Mr Ng said.
Considering this, he urged young graduates to keep an open mind.
“As Minister Tan has highlighted, the labour market remains resilient today. There are job opportunities for our young,” he said.
“We do encourage our young workers, our youth to keep an open mind, consider all the different possibilities and the job offers available, even when they may not feel that the job checks every box. These jobs can open the first doors to experience, networks and potentially new directions,” Mr Ng added.
(From left) Singapore National Employers Federation president Tan Hee Teck, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Singapore Business Federation chairman Teo Siong Seng and Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo at a press conference on July 10.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
On the labour movement’s part, Mr Ng said he is looking to scale up the NTUC Youth Excel programme, which offers job search, skills training, networking and mentorship opportunities. Around 12,000 youth have benefited from this and other NTUC initiatives since 2017.
He also asked youth to consider signing up for an NTUC Starter membership, which provides access to career programmes that include one-on-one mentorship.
These add to a slate of measures targeted at entrants to the workforce as well as current workers.
Earlier in the day, a national initiative, Career Health SG
A new one-stop website, Career Health SG, was also unveiled. It offers both workers and employers an overview of the available support measures, to help with career and workforce planning.
Job security was heavy on the minds of graduates
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that the NTUC Youth Excel programme benefited 12,000 youths. NTUC has since clarified that the 12,000 figure refers to youth who benefited from the programme and other initiatives.
