More grads in S'pore join jobless queue

A retrenched sales executive was rejected for a temporary job as administrative assistant at a government hospital because he was “over-qualified.”

In his account to STOMP, the Straits Times online mobile print, the disappointed applicant said: “I sincerely hope that recruiters and companies (can) understand the pain we are going through...

“We are all out to earn a living and to put food on the table for our family.”

Last year, unemployed scientist Cai Mingjie, who has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a list of research papers, became a cab driver when he failed repeatedly to land another job. He still cruises the streets of Singapore.

In this land of dream jobs for one million foreigners who have flocked here over the past 10 years, such anecdotes — once considered unusual and rare — are becoming more frequent these days.

White-collar professionals are going through a rough patch certainly.

The wider story is that the changing world economy - aggravated by the mass influx of “cheap foreigners” — is rendering local graduates “over-priced” and “over qualified.”

Economic productivity is in continuous decline, and to survive in this expensive city, higher-educated job seekers are reducing their ambitions to settle for lower-level work.

In a way, Singapore is being penalized for its own success. For years, the government has successfully invested in upgrading its citizens.

Since my early teens, I had been repeatedly reminded that my future depended on getting a degree because it was the key to a successful life.

Some of Singapore's exuberance faded 10 years ago as globalization spread, and unemployment among the highly-educated began to rise.

Nevertheless, a varsity education remains a prized asset. In this competitive age, even a hotel receptionist requires one.

Everyone is upgrading. It has long become a national buzzword.

Up to half the Singaporeans who already have a diploma are flocking to the universities to improve themselves.

Some 18,000 Singaporeans are studying in foreign universities. The education budget is one of the highest, and of this, about 30% goes to tertiary studies.

The result has been a rapid rise in the quality of the work force.

Today, two out of three workers have a university degree (27%) or a diploma (39%), and the goal is to push it to 89% by 2020.

If you throw a stone in this city, it will more likely than not hit a graduate.

In the industrial era — especially before the global downturn — Singapore's professionals were virtually guaranteed a job, often a good one, and this contributed to the state's prosperity.

Today, the majority remains gainfully employed, making up Singapore's affluent middle class. But the guarantee is long gone.

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