Singaporeans on pursuing higher education | What Do You Think? - video Dailymotion

AsiaOne

Is a degree really necessary in today’s job market? And is higher education really an important step towards ‘adulthood’ or ‘success’?  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

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00:00Honestly, students' kids have a lot more options than my time.

00:04Without a bachelor's degree, you can't earn much in Singapore,

00:06especially the livelihood is so expensive now.

00:09It's very hard to compete with people who have a higher qualification.

00:12Education versus experience.

00:14Which do employers really prefer?

00:17Based on the Ministry of Manpower's labour force in Singapore 2023,

00:21around 42% of residents in the labour force are degree holders.

00:25And among residents aged 25 to 29,

00:27degree holders from both local universities and private institutions

00:31had a slightly higher employment rate

00:33as compared to those with a local polytechnic diploma or ITE certificate.

00:37The median gross monthly income inclusive of employer CPF contribution

00:42from employed residents of that same age range also saw a variance

00:46as degree holders from local universities threw $5,850

00:51while local polytechnic diploma and ITE certificate holders

00:54threw $3,726 and $2,958 respectively.

01:00We wanted to find out if Singaporeans felt that pursuing higher education is worth it.

01:05Asia 1 recently did a survey which received 1,189 valid responses.

01:11Less than half of the respondents agreed that pursuing a bachelor's degree

01:14is worth the cost today regardless of it being from a public,

01:17private or overseas university.

01:20Respondents who were bachelor's degree holders or higher

01:22were more likely to agree or strongly agree

01:25that a bachelor's degree from a public university in Singapore

01:28is worth the cost today.

01:30There was also a stark difference in perspectives

01:32on which are the most useful aspects of a bachelor's degree

01:35between bachelor's degree holders

01:37and those who are planning to or are currently pursuing one.

01:40Securing their first job, career advancement

01:42and building professional networks saw the largest difference.

01:46More than 60% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed

01:49that there are now more pathways to grow one's talents

01:52and build a successful career compared to 10 years ago.

01:55Younger respondents were also more likely to disagree or strongly disagree

01:59that the education system in Singapore prepares its students well for the future.

02:03To expand on our findings,

02:04we headed out to find out if Singaporeans found bachelor's degrees useful.

02:08I have a diploma in architectural technology and building services from TP.

02:14A doctorate in philosophy.

02:16Postgrad diploma.

02:18My N levels.

02:19A levels.

02:19I have a masters.

02:20I studied the HR for postgrad diploma with SHRI

02:24but related to my work, not really

02:27because I'm actually a personal assistant.

02:28Interestingly, it's not

02:30but it's something that I felt that would value add to

02:32the skills that's required for me to do my job.

02:35It is not exactly related to my field of work.

02:39I did engineering so currently I run my own

02:42I guess AI IT company, that's why it's relevant.

02:45Actually not really because my degree from NUS is accounting

02:49but currently I'm not in an accounting firm.

02:52In terms of monetary value, can't really comment on that

02:56but I think it helps in shaping the person's values.

03:00At a certain point in time in your career,

03:01you might need to choose pursue a bachelor degree

03:05but whether you do it before you start work or after, I mean it's really up to you.

03:09I feel like it's worth it because I can find a better job.

03:12I think having a degree is crucial, especially in Singapore

03:16because almost everything requires a degree.

03:20Without a bachelor's degree, you can't earn much in Singapore

03:23especially the livelihood is so expensive now.

03:26Honestly, today whether it's a degree necessary to succeed,

03:29I personally don't think so.

03:32I know people who doesn't have a degree that do amazingly well in life.

03:37Knowledge is practically free.

03:38It's just how motivated you want to find that knowledge.

03:41Firstly, it depends on what do you want to do in the future

03:45and secondly, it depends on which industry as well.

03:48I believe it's very worth it, especially in Singapore

03:51because some people have diplomas, some people have degrees

03:54so it's very hard to compete with people who have higher qualifications.

03:57Work experience also matters a lot,

03:58so some people may choose work experience over the degree.

04:01Yes and no.

04:02Yes, in the sense that it gives us the foundation

04:05to be able to pursue a higher education downstream.

04:09No, because what we study may not be directly relevant.

04:13More would need to be done to ensure that

04:17whatever is being taught in school stays relevant

04:20especially so when the world is changing at a fast pace.

04:26Singapore also encourages like CCAs and stuff

04:29so students are not just book smart, so they get to learn other skills.

04:34I believe yeah, especially because they have you attend workshops

04:37like for like career workshops all in secondary school.

04:39In diploma also they have like career workshops on.

04:42I feel like everyone has the opportunity to pursue whatever they're interested in.

04:46Honestly, students' kids have a lot more options than my time.

04:51A lot more options today.

04:52You can pursue different and diverse interests.

04:54Now whether they prepare the kids really for the market,

04:58again it boils down to the fact that

05:01whether kids are motivated to find what really is of interest to them.

05:05Of the people we interviewed, half of the respondents were employed

05:08and four out of these five said that what they studied was not related to their field of work.

05:13All of the respondents agreed that pursuing a bachelor's degree is worth it

05:17and if you can, you should look to pursue it

05:19although it isn't necessarily a must-have to be successful.

05:22More than half of the respondents also said that

05:25Singapore's education system prepares students well for the future

05:28with the others of the view that while it is slowly changing and adapting,

05:32more still needs to be done.

05:34So, what do you think?

Singaporeans on pursuing higher education | What Do You Think?

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