48 more career guidance counsellors
According to the Channel NewsAsia news report “Each polytechnic, ITE to get 6 full-time career guidance counsellors” (Jan 8) – “All polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) will get six full-time education and career guidance counsellors by the end of the year,
A total of 48 officers will be recruited, and they will help students make a more informed choice in their education and career decisions … The move is in line with the recommendations made by the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee, which called for more support and career guidance for ITE and polytechnic students.” - According to the Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics2014 (page H30) – the median gross monthly starting salary of graduates in full-time permanent employment was $1,400, $2,000 and $2,750 in 2007 and $1,743, $2,250 and $3,050 in 2013, for ITE, poly and university graduates respectively.
Poly graduates real starting salaries decreased by -11.7% last 6 years
This means that their starting salaries increased by 24.5, 12.5 and 11.1 per cent respectively in the last six years.
Since inflation was 24.2 per cent from 2007 (CPI 91.3) to 2013 (CPI 115.8) – in real terms – their starting salaries grew by 0.3, -11.7 and -13.1 per cent in the last six years.
University graduates real starting salaries decreased by -13.1% last 6 years
What’s the point of increasing the number of career guidance counsellors and having a host of recommendations from the ASPIRE Committee, when real salaries has been declining?
Committee and media pretend don’t know?
Neither the committee or the media has mentioned this obvious “problem” that needs to be addressed.
Caused by foreign labour
To what extent has our liberal foreign labour policies contributed to this decline?
If include unemployed, part-time, non-permanent – even worse
Also, the above statistics exclude those graduates who are unemployed, working part-time or in non-permanent employment. The real starting salaries must be even worse if we include such graduates.
Win battles lose war
TRS Contributor