CFA Institute Finds Singapore Graduates’ Outlook on Careers is Confident Despite Pandemic

SINGAPORE – Media
OutReach – 14 October 2021 – CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals,
today releases results from a survey conducted on the career outlook of more
than 15,000 current university students and recent graduates aged 18 – 25 years
old from 15 markets, including Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, and
Singapore in the Asia Pacific region. The results find that globally, 58
percent of respondents still feel confident about their future career prospects
in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings also indicate
that traditionally stable fields, such as finance, remain attractive for
graduates navigating these uncertain times. In fact, respondents across all 15 markets
ranked finance as one of the top five most valuable majors for finding a
career. Overall, graduates felt that medicine/science was most stable and
attractive, followed by healthcare and education.

Nick Pollard, Managing
Director, Asia Pacific, at CFA Institute, said, “Graduating and starting a career amid the COVID-19 pandemic
requires a mindset shift to be workforce-ready. While some graduates don’t feel
prepared or willing to jump into the job market where it’s currently at,
others, ironically, are going to be better suited to the new normal of hybrid
workplaces, video conferencing, remote working and flexible hours. With a job
market that will likely remain somewhat distorted for the foreseeable future,
it is clear there is value in developing skillsets that are adaptable,
flexible, and ready to pivot at any time.”

Graduates have a positive
outlook overall, despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing them to reassess their
career paths.

A majority of graduates
believe their future career will be as good or better than their parents’
generation, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings showed that those studying
accounting and finance were particularly confident, with 80 percent believing
their prospects are as good or better than their parents’ generation, compared
to three quarters (75 percent) of respondents overall.

Despite this overall
confidence, nearly half (45 percent) of the Asia Pacific respondents reported
they are reassessing their career paths in light of the pandemic — their top
concerns now include feeling
underqualified for the job they want (24 percent); low pay in their preferred
sector (23 percent), wage reductions as a result of the pandemic (22 percent)
and lack of jobs in their preferred sector (22 percent). 46 percent of
respondents in Asia Pacific said their perceptions on career prospects,
desires and expectations have changed since the pandemic outbreak, and 41
percent of respondents said they have had to reassess the sector they want to
go into after the pandemic.

Further education is key in the
volatile job market

Another primary concern for
students is developing work-related skills during degree programs and after
graduating. Those surveyed in Asia Pacific shared personal insecurities about
this, with one in five respondents (20 percent) saying they feel the lack of
career progression in their preferred sector and that they do not feel ready
for the working world.

When approaching the current
complex job market, students and graduates see value in further education. 85
percent of respondents in Asia Pacific feel that upskilling and post-graduate
qualifications are important in the current job market, and more than half of
respondents (51 percent) believe postgraduate qualifications/professional
certification will give them an edge when looking for a job. Particularly in
Singapore, 83 percent thought that upskilling and professional and/or
postgraduate qualifications were valued by recruiters.

This is causing a significant
uptake of further studies, with more than 40 percent (42 percent) of graduates
planning to prolong their time in education. In Singapore, 38 percent of
respondents indicated plans to do so until the job market recovers.

“As
more students and recent graduates choose to further their studies, the
pandemic may end up yielding a more highly skilled workforce. Alongside public and private sector efforts to nurture
strong financial talents in Singapore, especially amongst individuals who can
help build capacity in FinTech and Environmental, Social, and Governance, as
well as experienced wealth managers, the preference for further education bodes
well. To meet this demand, higher education and credentialing institutions need
to ensure their offerings can help graduates enhance their professional skills
and boost their job prospects,” Pollard said.

Graduates want to make a
positive impact

Working in an industry that
makes a positive societal and environmental contribution ranks very important
to recent graduates, with 84 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific saying it’s
an important part of their career choice. Worryingly, only 9 percent of
respondents see being an investment professional as a career in which they
could make positive environmental and societal impact. This finding shows that,
to retain talent, the sector must do more to educate students around the
positive impact they could have by a career in investment. 

Key findings in Singapore

• Lack of jobs causing them to abandon their
  preferred sector is the biggest fear with regards to respondents’ career
  prospects (22 percent); followed by feeling underqualified for the job they
  want (21 percent)
• 39 percent of respondents said they feel their
  career prospects are better than their parents’ generation; 36 percent said the
  career prospects are about the same
• Close to 40 percent (38 percent) said they plan
  to prolong their time in education while the job market is still volatile
• The top three things that respondents feel would
  give them an edge in the current job market include, skills acquired, the
  reputation of their course or universities, and networks and contacts
• 83 percent of respondents said upskilling and
  professional/post-graduate qualifications are important in the current job
  market
• Respondents are equally split in their top
  three preferences for working location including the ability to work abroad (28
  percent), a return to city life (28 percent) and the option to live away from
  major employment city hubs (28 percent)

Note to Editors

The research, conducted by Censuswide, surveyed
15,186 students studying for a bachelor’s degree or higher, or have graduated
with a bachelor’s or higher within the last 3 years. The respondents were from
the UK, US, Canada, India, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Germany, South
Africa, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico. The full results of the Graduate
Outlook survey can be viewed here. For further
information, please contact [email protected].