Six Defining Shifts in Singapore’s Early Careers Market

1.The market is moving to an experience over grades model

Four or five years ago, there was a lot more emphasis on GPA grades when it came to employers in Singapore picking candidates for early careers programmes. If an applicant for an internship or graduate programme had a 4.5 GPA score, this would be a big predictor of success. Now, graduate recruiters in Singapore are putting less emphasis on a candidate’s academic prowess, and much more on their ability to prove that they are upskillers, focused on real life learning. Nearly three quarters of graduate employers now say that they look for a history of internships and relevant experience that proves a candidate can solve problems in real life environments and has a real commitment to building their skill set.

2. There’s a shift in the expectations of graduates

For the new generation of talent, a job is not just a paycheck - it’s a platform for identity, and a channel through which to make a real impact on the world. There is an increasing emphasis on factors around wellbeing in the workplace: Is this an environment that will safeguard my mental health? Will I be protected from burn out? Are there benefits over and above the financial remuneration I’ll receive?

Positions with purpose, impact and work/life balance are no longer seen as ‘nice to haves’ but are increasingly becoming non-negotiables for many candidates. For employers therefore, the prestige of being a big-name brand - formerly so powerful - is no longer enough on its own to attract the very best of Gen Z talent. Carefully planned early careers programmes that offer impact and support - coupled with persuasive employer brands that can showcase them - are key.

3. More Interns in Singapore are looking for impact over industry

Intern candidates are becoming less and less wedded to choosing a particular big-name brand, industry or sector - and are more interested in a placement that provides them with the types of projects they want to be involved in. In today’s market, internships that are based on admin, support or shadowing activities are out - and working on specific projects, automation workflows or dashboards with measurable, real-world outcomes are in. It’s about using current skills to provide ROI as well as learning.

4. AI is removing graduate roles…..

There’s a common narrative that AI is the enemy of graduate opportunity - and there is definitely truth in this. Large language models such as Gemini and ChatGPT are collapsing the first few rungs of the career ladder. Today, traditional graduate tasks such as coding, report drafting and analysis can all be done with much greater speed using AI and some well-crafted prompts. Whilst just two or three years ago the use of AI by graduates or interns in their workload was frowned upon, now, it’s actively encouraged.

5. But AI is also opening up opportunities for digital-native Gen Z

Look more closely, however, and the overall picture is more complex. Firstly, the employment figures in Singapore don’t tally with a collapse in graduate employment. In fact, MOM (Ministry of Manpower) statistics show that some 9,300 new resident graduates from the 2025 cohort were employed by June 2025, up from 8,600 the previous year. 87% of graduates were employed within six months of their exams - only 2% down on the previous year’s cohort, and of those who were unemployed, more than half had received and turned down graduate role offers - in favour of waiting for an opportunity that was more aligned to their aspirations.

In fact, we have seen with our clients that interns and graduates can often be seen as digital accelerators. As AI natives, their skills can be invaluable. Many organisations now recognise that interns can come in with AI analytics and automation project experience from university projects and placements and act as catalysts, bringing a fresh perspective on AI and useful knowledge of new local platforms. Interns and graduates who can showcase an ability to use LLMs to do 70% of the automation or manual coding work on a project that’s solving a key business problem are very valuable.

6.There’s growing collaboration between industry and universities

Increasingly, we’re working with our clients to define the needs and pain points within their organisation and then identify which schools and colleges have the specific skill sets that can provide a pipeline of talent to fulfil these needs. We might, for example, match up a business unit within a client that’s looking for automation or analytics talent with a school that is teaching its students Power BI and Power platform.

Moving forward, we are looking at developing customised curriculums with schools and then promoting our client’s early careers employer branding to this specific group of students, to cement a really robust talent pipeline. As Graduates become more and more clear on the tech stack talents they possess, and the kind of environment they want to work in, this early alignment of a company’s needs and graduate’s skills can reap big benefits for both students and industry.

Despite the narrative that AI has decimated graduate entry roles, in today’s market, there’s still competition for the best graduates. Building pipelines that match skilled candidates to business needs at the earliest opportunity can reap dividends, when the best talent is upskilled, prepared, and knows exactly what they want.