The document discusses whether a university education leads to better job prospects and quality of life. It notes that while a degree has traditionally been viewed as important for success, there are some notes of caution: - While graduates on average earn more over their lifetime, the types of degrees and universities matter, and past performance does not guarantee future outcomes. - Increasing graduate numbers could lead to oversupply in some fields or time periods, as seen in countries like South Korea. - Digital Taylorism has standardized some white-collar jobs, allowing them to be done by lower-paid workers overseas or in emerging economies. - This globalization of skills has weakened the link between education level and earnings potential for many

1. í Can a university education
better your job prospects and buy
you the good life?
THE answer to this question is
simply “yes”. To a large extent, a
university degree is and will be
considered by most people as the
holy grail of education.
No wonder, desiring parents
lauded Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong’s National Day Rally an-
nouncement last year that the
number of university places
would be increased. Some even
suggested that his target, to ab-
sorb 30 per cent of each student
cohort by 2015, seemed low; they
wanted enough places to soak up
40 per cent.
After all, most feel that a de-
gree is the minimum requirement
for strong job prospects and a
higher quality of life.
A committee set up by the
Education Ministry to study the
feasibility of more places and path-
ways in higher education has
noted that more places are indeed
needed: first, to accommodate the
rising calibre of students, and
second, to prepare manpower
needed for a more diversified Sin-
gapore economy.
But this committee has not
specified the new cohort participa-
tion rate (CPR) – the percentage
of Singaporeans in each Primary 1
cohort who will gain entry to local
universities – that it may aim for
after 2015.
The current rate is 27 per cent.
This means that only a quarter of
each Primary 1 cohort are offered
places at local universities.
By 2015, more places will be
added across the Singapore Insti-
tute of Technology, the Singapore
University of Technology and De-
sign, the Yale-National Universi-
ty of Singapore liberal arts college
and the Nanyang Technological
University’s medical school, rais-
ing the CPR to 30 per cent.
The figures do not take into ac-
count the 5,000 to 8,000 stu-
dents who head to universities
overseas or pursue full-time de-
gree studies at more established
private schools here. Taken to-
gether, the rate would be closer to
50 per cent.
But simply upping the number
of places at universities here ad-
dresses only one part of the ques-
tion. What actually happens be-
yond graduation – and whether
those degrees translate into better
lives – is another matter.
To address the issue, we must
consider if university graduates
here earn more in their lifetime,
and enjoy good job prospects.
Extensive research conducted
in other parts of the world sug-
gests that in deciding whether to
invest in a degree, considering a
pessimistic short run in which uni-
versity graduates move into a
shaky job market is short-sighted.
Recent figures released by the
US-based Pew Research Centre
showed that despite a weak econo-
my in the United States, people
with an undergraduate college de-
gree still earn, on average, in ex-
cess of US$1 million (S$1.3 mil-
lion) more over their lifespan than
those without one.
Although figures here are not
as up to date, a 2007 study on the
returns on higher education by
the Manpower Ministry (MOM)
showed that every extra year of
schooling enhances a worker’s
earnings by 13.7 per cent. The rate
of return is also higher for tertiary
education.
This means that a graduate
with more years invested in aca-
demics generally earns more.
This study also found that as
the economy shifts towards high-
er value-added and knowledge ac-
tivities, demand for more educat-
ed workers will rise, thus enhanc-
ing the returns on higher levels of
education.
When drilling down to differ-
ences between graduates and
non-graduates, like polytechnic
diploma holders, the former also
generally enjoy better outcomes.
When the Singapore economy
hit a speed bump three years ago,
diploma holders fared better than
graduates.
An MOM report for the third
quarter of 2009 showed that
among those unemployed, about
6 per cent were diploma holders
while 22 per cent were degree
holders. The same pattern was
seen for redundancies, with fewer
poly graduates laid off than univer-
sity graduates.
Recruiters explained that poly
students cost less to hire and re-
tain, and possessed more practical
skills that employers valued, espe-
cially in a downturn. Retrenched
poly graduates were also more
willing to take lower-paying jobs.
Nonetheless, in the subsequent
upswing, the odds favoured uni-
versity graduates.
Job prospects and salaries of de-
gree holders recovered, and even
overtook that of diploma holders.
An MOM labour force report in
2010 showed that unemployment
was 3.7 per cent for degree
holders compared to 3.9 per cent
for diploma holders.
The rosier picture for gradu-
ates, however, needs to be exam-
ined with some circumspection.
For one, past data on graduate per-
formance does not necessarily re-
flect future outcomes.
The opening up of more places
might lead to a glut of graduates,
particularly at times when job mar-
kets are unable to absorb them all.
South Korea, with an advanced
economy like Singapore’s, is a
classic example. According to the
Asian Sentinel, fewer than half of
those who graduated in 2010 had
found full-time jobs by the end of
last year.
On another front, it is fairly ob-
vious that not all college degrees
are created equal. Returns on de-
grees in accountancy and law, as
well as the sciences and engineer-
ing, are higher compared to those
in social work, psychology and
English.
Employers, including the civil
service, also make a distinction be-
tween different types of institu-
tions.
So far, employment prospects
of graduates from publicly funded
universities have remained on
par, but the same cannot be said
for graduates of private schools.
The first employment survey
carried out by the Singapore Insti-
tute of Management released re-
cently showed that while its gradu-
ates receive multiple job offers,
they are typically paid several hun-
dred dollars less each month than
their peers from the publicly fund-
ed universities.
All these notes of caution lead
to one thing: as the quantity of
graduates increases, so should
their quality. Only then can that
piece of paper lead to better out-
comes.
Beyond the paper chase
THE issue before the Government
is not merely expanding universi-
ty places, but offering more choic-
es and high-quality education to
students.
So while all universities must
turn out graduates with deep
knowledge and useful skills, they
should also place as much atten-
tion on innovating and cultivating
in them an X factor.
Take the Singapore Manage-
ment University (SMU), which at
its outset in 2000 introduced
American-style admission, curric-
ulum and teaching in Singapore.
Four years later, employers receiv-
ing its first graduates noted an
“SMU difference” – they were
more polished and well-spoken.
Now, the university review
committee looking into setting up
a fifth university has been study-
ing different university models in
Europe, Asia and the US, to arrive
at one that will serve students and
the needs of the Singapore econo-
my.
Its main target: polytechnic
graduates, several thousand of
whom head overseas or attend pri-
vate schools to top up their diplo-
mas with degrees.
The 15-member committee
headed by Minister of State for Ed-
ucation Lawrence Wong is rightly
looking at universities which put a
premium on hands-on learning
and applied real-world research,
namely those in Hong Kong, the
US and Germany.
Drexel University, a private in-
stitution in Philadelphia, was of
special interest for its unique co-
operative education programme.
All its undergraduates are re-
quired to combine job internships
with studying for their degrees,
graduating only after five years,
rather than the typical four, hav-
ing completed up to 18 months of
relevant work experience.
This system has been found to
give them a much-needed edge
over other fresh graduates in a
tough job market.
On another recent visit to
study Germany’s applied universi-
ties and work-study programmes,
Mr Wong said his committee was
definitely leaning towards a prac-
tice-oriented university that
could offer close links to industry,
as well as programmes that com-
bine work and study.
This model would build on the
strengths of poly-trained gradu-
ates, who are notably more
hands-on workers and attuned to
the practical needs of industry
and business.
To be sure, making room for
such diversity in higher education
is a step towards improving the
quality of graduates.
Preparing graduates to be
adaptable and to stay relevant to
market needs will also ensure that
the degree is not just a paper
chase, but continues, over time,
to net positive outcomes in terms
of pay and opportunities.
sandra@sph.com.sg
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Nanyang Polytechnic students on campus. A 2009 MOM report showed that fewer
poly graduates were laid off than university graduates during the downturn, but
in the subsequent upswing, the odds favoured degree holders. ST FILE PHOTO
Think you know it all?
By SANDRA DAVIE
SENIOR WRITER
GREATER standardisation and
computerisation of white-collar
work and an increase in graduate
numbers might be challenging the
notion that “learning equals earn-
ing”.
So say British social scientists
Phillip Brown, Hugh Lauder and
David Ashton in their book, The
Global Auction: The Broken Prom-
ises Of Education, Jobs And In-
comes. Speaking to The Straits
Times, Professor Brown, 55, from
Cardiff University, said a universi-
ty education is better seen as an
opportunity to pursue subjects
students are passionate about and
find intellectually exciting.
Changing how they choose, he
added, “would also offer Singa-
pore a better chance of creating a
new generation of innovators and
inventors who go that extra mile
because they are doing it out of
genuine interest rather than sim-
ply for the money”.
Policymakers worldwide regu-
larly link tertiary education to
individual and national economic
advancement. A knowledge-
based economy, in fact, promotes
the belief that more highly educat-
ed workers are needed to do the
world’s thinking, while workers in
emerging economies are limited
to low-skill, low-wage jobs in
manufacturing or service work,
such as in call centres.
The thinking was this: Going to
college equals writing a cheque
with a lifetime guarantee of a
well-paid job.
Yet underlying assumptions to
this might be flawed. When he
and his fellow authors spoke to
business leaders and policymakers
in China, India and South Korea,
as well as those in the United
States, Britain and Germany, they
discovered there was a global auc-
tion for high-skill, low-wage
work.
Employees may want to in-
crease the value of their labour
and earn higher wages, but compa-
nies wanting to maximise profits
aim to lower their labour costs. So
they will go where they can find
workers with the skills they need,
but who are prepared to accept
more modest wages.
The dampening effect on gradu-
ates’ salaries is exacerbated by
oversupply. In the past 10 years,
undergraduate numbers have dou-
bled. China alone has more univer-
sity students than the US, and “is
also producing more scientists
and engineers, sometimes of a su-
perior quality to those found in
the West”.
At the same time, companies
are now able to make low-cost
products to world-quality stand-
ards. Multinationals, bolstered by
government policies and the local-
ised graduate boom, are placing
R&D facilities alongside factories
in those countries, close to boom-
ing new consumer markets.
All this has expedited Digital
Taylorism. Taylorism refers to the
large-scale, assembly-line manu-
facturing principles laid down by
US industrial engineer Frederick
Taylor. Digital Taylorism occurs
when white-collar work is broken
down into elements. The elements
are standardised and computer-
ised, such that they can be deliv-
ered by low-skilled, low- wage la-
bour.
In addition to outsourcing of
white-collar, back-office jobs
such as data inputting, he ex-
plained: “Now the middle office is
going too. Analysing X-rays,
drawing up legal contracts and
processing tax returns are exam-
ples of skilled jobs going off-
shore.” These developments have
created what he terms “a global
war for talent” for the best and
the brightest. So while a universi-
ty graduate can get a job, “he
would have to work harder, long-
er hours to keep the job”.
What’s more, class distinctions
among graduate workers are also
emerging.
“There will be a cadre of think-
ers and decision-makers at the
top – perhaps 10 per cent or 15
per cent of the total – but the
mass of employees, whether or
not they hold high qualifications,
will perform routine functions for
modest wages.”
Those with elite qualifications
are more likely to be made “think-
ers”, leaving those with gar-
den-variety university degrees to
be “doers”.
In England, this trend has left
about a third of graduates with
outstanding education loans from
as far back as 1998 high and dry –
they have not even reached the re-
quired modest re-payment salary
level. Whether this group eventu-
ally sees a payoff depends on how
well their society delivers new op-
portunities.
To students contemplating fur-
ther education, he says: “Follow
your dreams but also do your
homework.”
Ask hard questions about your
reasons for getting a degree,
which colleges offer high-quality
education and if you can get the
job you want after graduation.
“However you look at it, going
to university gives you more
chances of getting a job, even if it
doesn’t deliver the house, the big
car and holidays that everyone in
professional jobs seems to have in
the movies.”
SANDRA DAVIE
Graduation Day celebrations at NUS last year. While all universities must turn out graduates with deep knowledge and useful skills, they should also place as much
attention on innovating and cultivating in them an X factor. ST FILE PHOTO
Earning might not equal learning
This primer is the sixth instalment of a 12-part
series in the Opinion pages, in the lead-up to
The Straits Times-Ministry of Education
National Current Affairs Quiz.
PRIMER
Grooming
graduates
with an
extra edge
F R I D A Y , J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 1 2 OOPPIINNIIOONN A29