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Oral Answer by Mrs Josephine Teo Second Minister for Manpower to Parliamentary Question on University Graduates

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1076 OF 2018 FOR THE SITTING ON 27 FEBRUARY 2018

QUESTION NO. 1842 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar

To ask the Second Minister for Manpower of the number of university graduates aged 40 years and above in 2016 who had left their jobs or were retrenched in that year, how many have managed to secure employment thereafter in (i) the same industry they were in or (ii) a different industry respectively as a result of the SkillsFuture movement.

Answer

  1. Data on the number of employees who left their jobs (but who were not retrenched) is not available. There were about 5,000 retrenched local PMETs aged 40 and above in 2016. About one-third of those who subsequently found jobs re-entered the same industry, while the rest took up jobs in a different industry.
  2. Singaporeans looking for a new job or career can tap on the Adapt and Grow initiative to supplement their own efforts. In 2017, more than 6,000 PMETs aged 40 and above found jobs through career matching services or programmes such as the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) and Career Support Programme (CSP), which provide training and wage support to bridge mismatches in skills or wage expectations.  This is an increase of almost 50% compared to 2016.

  3. Individuals also have access to a wide range of courses and initiatives under SkillsFuture to enhance or acquire new skills to stay relevant as the job market evolves.