Fewer young adults want to go for further studies: Survey

SINGAPORE - 69.6 per cent of young working adults intend to pursue further education, according to a 2011 survey by online jobs portal JobsCentral.

This is a decline from previous years' findings, where 71.4 per cent (2010)and 79.3 per cent (2009)indicated that they wanted to further their studies.

Many also expect a pay rise after obtaining their higher qualifications.

According to the survey, 70.3 per cent of the respondents expect a pay increase of at least 25 per cent. 1 in 5 respondents (22.8 per cent) indicated that they expect to be paid 50 per cent more.

Commenting on the relationship between pay increment and further education, Mr. Lim De Shing, CEO of JobsCentral Group says, “For most employers, pay raise decisions are usually made based on job performance improvement, increased job responsibility or increased scope of work.

"As such, professionals who expect pay raises simply because of higher educational qualifications may find themselves disappointed if they do not take on more work and responsibility at the same time."

A total of 3,413 respondents took the 2011 JobsCentral Learning Rankings & Survey, which was conducted online from August to September this year.

The survey respondents were predominantly young working adults aged 21 to 40 years old.

SIM Global Education is the most popular private education institution

For the third year in a row, SIM Global Education was voted the most preferred private education institution by respondents.

Kaplan Singapore is the second most popular, while PSB Academy ranked third.

The results reflect the AsiaOne People's Choice Awards* for Best Private School last year, where SIM came in tops among private institutions in Singapore.