92.3% of SMU's 2023 fresh graduates hired within 6 months of finishing final exams - Singapore News

Source: The Independent
Author: Anna Maria Romero

SINGAPORE: The latest Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) has shown that over 9 in 10 fresh graduates from Singapore Management University have been launched well into their careers.

An impressive 92.3 per cent have found employment and are receiving good starting salaries across all seven of the university's degree programmes within six months of completing their final examinations, SMU said in a Feb 22 media release.

Even more impressively, 68.4 per cent of fresh graduates were offered full-time permanent jobs even before they graduated, and SMU noted that over half (52.5 per cent) were offered jobs during the course of the required internships they took.

"Approximately half of our graduates obtained job offers from internships, and we take pride in being the pioneer university in Singapore to mandate internships as a graduation requirement," said Professor Timothy Clark, SMU Provost.

The survey, jointly conducted by SMU and other autonomous universities, was participated in by 76.1 per cent or 1,717 of the 2,257 SMU alumni who graduated last year.

However, another survey finding shows that median and mean gross monthly income have remained the same since 2022, which are S$4,500 and S$4,890, respectively.

The top three industries where SMU graduates found jobs are:

"In spite of a challenging economic landscape due to the weaker outlook in 2023, we are delighted to observe the continuing high demand for SMU graduates, who have once again achieved notable success in securing employment opportunities.

This underscores the value employers place in our comprehensive and interdisciplinary educational approach, alongside a co-curricular programme which fosters values and essential skills critical in the professional arena," added Professor Clark.

Among the SMU graduates surveyed, nearly all (98.4 per cent) said that their experience at the university had a positive impact and that they underwent personal growth at the school.

Almost the same number (97.3 per cent) expressed that their experience at SMU allowed them to grow their interpersonal and collaboration skills.

Meanwhile, 97.7 said their communication and engagement skills grew during their time at SMU, and 95 per cent said the school allowed them to be well-prepared for work readiness and the ability to persevere and adapt in the face of challenges.

"SMU allowed me to grow as an individual and a leader. Through the small class sizes, I was able to build up my confidence and felt comfortable asking questions in class, which helped to facilitate my learning.

Additionally, taking up leadership positions through co-curricular activities allowed me to learn how to manage a varsity club and people management skills.

I believe that this has allowed me to be prepared for the real world and to have a better understanding of others, in my job and personal life," SMU quotes graduate Alyssa Almas Mohamad Shamsuri as saying. /TISG