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In her second year of studies at Republic Polytechnic, biotechnology student Joanne Chew decided to apply for a scholarship with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to pursue her passion for food biotechnology. The then 18-year-old took on an internship stint'An opportunity to contribute': Fewer fresh poly graduates land full-time jobs in 2024, but here's how this one did
In her second year of studies at Republic Polytechnic, biotechnology student Joanne Chew decided to apply for a scholarship with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to pursue her passion for food biotechnology. The then 18-year-old took on an internship stint with the agency as part of the application process and was eventually awarded its Singapore Sustainability Scholarship (Diploma). Aside from gaining financial support, the Class of 2024 graduate also landed herself a full-time job — recipients of this scholarship have to fulfil a two-year bond period. In 2024, fewer fresh polytechnic graduates found full-time employment as compared to previous years, according to a joint survey conducted by the five local polytechnics which was released this January. Of the 7,614 fresh polytechnic graduates who responded to the survey, about half were in the labour force as of Oct 1, 2024, six months after graduation. 49.2 per cent of these fresh graduates in the labour force had secured full-time permanent employment, a dip from the 55.5 per cent in 2023 and 56.1 per cent in 2022. Read more