Graduates from Singapore Management University continue to secure good employment outcomes despite a more cautious hiring climate, with more than nine in ten securing employment within six months of graduation, according to the latest Joint Autonomous University Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) 2025.
The results suggest sustained employer demand for graduates with industry exposure and applied skills, even as organisations become more cautious amid global economic uncertainty and accelerating automation.
Strong Employment Outcomes in a More Cautious Hiring Environment
SMU graduates remain in demand and continue to demonstrate resilience in a moderated hiring environment. The results were revealed in the annual JAUGES, jointly conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities. Of SMU’s 2,331 graduates in the Class of 2025, 1,710 responded to the survey, representing a 73.4% response rate.
Under the newly introduced secured employment rate indicator – which includes graduates who have accepted a job offer but have yet to commence work, as well as those starting their own ventures – SMU recorded a strong 91.4% secured employment rate, with an overall employment rate of 87.1% and a full-time permanent employment rate of 79.8%.
SMU graduates are also commanding good wages, with the average gross monthly salary rising to $5,116 from $5,057 the previous year, while the median gross salary of our graduates also increased to $4,747 from $4,600. See Annex A for more details.
Nearly Half Received Full-Time Offers Through Internships
A hallmark of SMU’s distinctive education model is its mandatory internship programme. Of graduates in full-time permanent employment,
- 30.9% of full-time permanently employed graduates are working or have worked in the same company where they interned.
- 16.4% reported being offered positions by their host companies but chose not to take up the offer.
Taken together, this indicates that nearly half of SMU graduates were offered full-time permanent employment during or after their penultimate-year internship, a strong endorsement of employer confidence in SMU talent.
For Karttikraj C, a Bachelor of Accountancy graduate now working at Grant Thornton Singapore, his internship became a direct pathway into the profession. After interning with the firm in 2023 as businesses emerged from the Covid-19 downturn, he received an offer to return after graduation.
“As an intern, I was trusted with real workloads and encouraged to ask questions,” he said. “That support made the learning experience very meaningful.”
Karttikraj now works in client service engagements and credits SMU’s broad-based education for preparing him to engage diverse stakeholders.
“SMU exposed me to different perspectives and encouraged me to keep learning. It prepared me to engage people and adapt in the workplace.”
Similarly, Muhammad Syafiq Bin Abdul Rahim, a Business Management graduate specialising in Finance, secured his role at Angsana Molecular and Diagnostics Laboratory after working with the company during an SMU-X course.
During the internship, he developed financial forecasting templates and operational models that were later adopted by the firm’s internal workflows. He subsequently joined the company full-time after graduation.
“I saw clear opportunities to deepen my expertise and contribute more strategically as the company grows,” he said.
SMU’s structured, mandatory internship framework contributes rigour and workplace relevance to students’ applied learning and plays a decisive role in preparing them not just for their first job, but for sustained career success.
Strong Demand Across Professional Sectors
As with previous GES findings, industries such as Finance and Insurance, Legal, Accounting & Auditing, and Information & Communication remained top employment sectors, reflecting sustained employer demand that is aligned with SMU’s disciplinary strengths. 61.4% of full-time permanently employed graduates received employment offers before graduation - a 1.3 percentage point increase compared to the 2024 cohort.
For some graduates, internships also serve as a platform for exploration across sectors before committing to a career direction.
Kylie Oh Yu Ning, a Bachelor of Social Sciences graduate majoring in Politics, Law and Economics, interned across government, technology and fintech organisations including the Ministry of Home Affairs, SAP, Grab and Visa. Her final internship at Visa resulted in a full-time role in the company’s global leadership associate programme even before graduation.
“Each organisation had its own culture, pace and expectations,” she said. “I had to quickly understand new problem statements and navigate ambiguity with confidence.”
She credits SMU’s dynamic classroom environment and industry exposure for shaping how she approaches complex challenges.
“SMU has been a unique environment that constantly pushes me to grow. The dynamic classroom encouraged me to speak up, challenge ideas, and think critically.”
Career Services Remain Available to SMU Graduates
SMU’s Dato’ Kho Hui Meng Career Centre (DKHMCC) will continue to offer lifelong career support to all alumni of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with continued access to a 24/7 jobs portal, and personalised assistance by individual career coaches.
Preparing Graduates for a Rapidly Changing Economy
SMU Provost and Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professor of Inter-Religious Studies and Harmony, Professor Alan Chan, remarked: “While hiring conditions are becoming more cautious as organisations manage uncertainty and accelerate automation, this is precisely where SMU’s learning model proves its strength. We are intensifying our efforts to equip our students with essential human-centred competencies, such as strong critical thinking and communication skills as well as a high degree of AI fluency, which are vital to flourishing in a rapidly changing work environment. We will further enhance experiential and interactive learning that is the hallmark of an SMU education.”
SMU’s high employment rates stem from its distinctive experiential learning model, which integrates academia with real-world application. SMU’s mandatory internship programme along with the SMU-X programme and Work Study Electives connect students with industry leaders to tackle live business challenges, while community service and global exposure requirements ensure graduates develop adaptability, cross-cultural fluency, and a sense of social responsibility - attributes highly valued in today’s evolving job market.
Professor Alan Chan added, “More internship and global education opportunities will be provided, with a sharpened focus on preparing students to be Asia-ready and future-ready. Our goal is to ensure SMU graduates remain resilient, adaptable, and highly competitive, not just for today’s roles, but for the evolving careers of tomorrow.”
As Singapore’s economy evolves, the university is strengthening partnerships with industry to ensure graduates develop the applied skills, digital capabilities and adaptability required in an increasingly technology-driven labour market.