Efforts under way to narrow pay gap between graduates from different institutions : Singapore

SINGAPORE – Government agencies are working together on initiatives to narrow the pay gap between graduates from various institutions so that social cohesion is not impacted, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said in Parliament on Tuesday.

A key way to do this is to ensure there are good job opportunities for polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates, he said in a reply to Dr Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah (Jalan Besar GRC), who had asked how the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will close the pay gap between graduates and how it will engage with employers.

The pay disparity between graduates of different institutions has been discussed recently, with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong saying in January that Singapore should do more to address this issue. Today, the median starting salary for university graduates is about twice that of ITE graduates and about 1½ times that of polytechnic graduates.

To read more : The Straits Times