SINGAPORE: A study from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) published mid-month concerned the issue of Singaporeans being overqualified for their jobs. Last year’s overqualification rate is substantial, at nearly one in five. However, a large majority of the overqualified workers are those who chose their jobs voluntarily.

According to the Occasional Paper on Overqualification in Singapore 2025, overqualification in Singapore is not a major structural problem but is, in large part, a condition that is mostly voluntary, often temporary or transitional and is on the increase because of more tertiary-level graduates. Moreover, the biggest challenge for Singapore’s job market is ensuring that workers are not just qualified, but have the right and up-to-date skills for today’s needs.

The report points to the overall strength and efficiency of the city-state’s labour market. While Singapore’s overqualification rate last year stood at 19.4%, this is lower than in other high-income countries, including the United States, Belgium, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. The global average of overqualification in high-income countries is 21.6%.

Moreover, 64% of Singapore’s workforce is highly educated, reaching the tertiary level. Despite this, again, its job matching is relatively good by global standards.

Voluntarily overqualified 

From 2015 to 2025, Singapore’s overqualification rate rose from 16.3% to 19.4%. MOM noted that people’s choices to take roles they are more than qualified for are connected to their preferences for job stability, flexibility, or opportunities to gain experience. 

Last year, about nine out of 10 overqualified workers, or 17.7% of the workforce, were voluntarily overqualified. Only 1.7% of the workforce, meanwhile, were involuntarily overqualified.

In the last 10 years, the number of involuntarily overqualified workers has remained low and stable, which suggests that there is a limited mismatch in the job market.

A skills problem, not overqualification

The study also showed that when it comes to hiring workers, employers do not put the highest premium on degrees. Instead, for almost 80% of jobs, the top priorities are experience (~48%) and skills (~20%). 

This shows that hiring has become more about certain skills, as opposed to the level of education. The report cited the examples of data scientists, engineers, and trainers as hard-to-fill roles, with PMET vacancies unfilled for more than six months, rising to 16% last year.

A problem for young workers

Nevertheless, similar to what the latest Graduate Employment Survey showed last March, overqualification is the biggest problem for young workers, with the highest rates for employees under the age of 30.

Fortunately, this appears to be a temporary problem. Young workers may take on entry-level positions they are overqualified for, and then take on roles for which they are better matched later on.

Interestingly, diploma holders are slightly more affected than degree holders, and the fields with the highest number of overqualified workers are in the humanities, arts, and mass communication. Those who graduate from law and health courses have a lower number, mainly due to strict qualification requirements.

Across different industries, higher numbers of overqualification are found in the sectors of food and beverage, administrative and support services, and transport, such as ride-hailing, while professional services and tech sectors have lower overqualification rates. Also, overqualification is more common in smaller and locally owned companies. /TISG

Read also: WP MP Louis Chua: Now is the time to do more for Singapore’s fresh graduates

This article (In Singapore, the problem with jobs is not overqualification but skills) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A family’s living room turned into a disaster zone when a built-in wardrobe suddenly collapsed, raising safety concerns. On Facebook, a user named Jaye Yeo shared their unfortunate experience, stating: “This wasn’t just furniture falling. It was a heavy structure installed inside a living space where our child plays every day. We were extremely lucky no one was injured.” 

As seen in the photos posted, household items, including their child’s toys and several clothes, were scattered in the living room, and with this incident, the family realised that it is really important to properly check if house installations are really completed to avoid injury in the future.

“If you are a homeowner or parent, please take 2 minutes to check this in your home: Are your wardrobes and wall units properly anchored? Do they feel stable when lightly tested? Did anyone ever show you proper installation checks? We never thought something already “installed and completed” could become a safety risk — until this happened,” they post encouraged.  

With this, netizens shared their thoughts and opinions in the comments section. One netizen observed: “Looks like the cabinets were not bolted properly to the wall….. didn’t see a proper mounting bracket either!” 

“This is a pole system. Not built-in wardrobes. cheap and flimsy. In every trade, workmanship and safety is top priority, price should be secondary, not primary concern,” another netizen remarked. 

Some believe that the cause of this is the humidity in Singapore, while others blame the workers, stating, “Now most of the jobs are done by low common sense workers. Best daily go check during renovation.” 

However, one netizen confirmed that what has been shared was not to blame the contractors of the house and emphasised that the furniture was installed by the family themselves. 

“This post is a self-reflection and a lesson learnt for those that are planning to do the same. Just learn from their mistakes,” the post declared. 

This article (No warning: Family’s heavy wardrobe suddenly fell in a HDB home) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old Malaysian man named Yap Ching Gun was convicted on Wednesday (April 29) for his involvement in an investment scam of an elderly victim. 

Yap, who has been sentenced to seven months’ jail and one stroke of the cane, is the first person in Singapore to receive a caning for the offence of being a money mule in a scamming scheme.

The Public Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force said in a statement on Wednesday evening that Yap was convicted of one count of being concerned in an arrangement to facilitate another person’s control of benefits from criminal conduct under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA) for his role in cash from an elderly victim of an investment scam in Singapore.

The Police added that Yap had been recruited through a Telegram message by an individual who was unknown to him. This person asked him to collect money from the elderly victim, who had been deceived into handing cash over to a mule as part of an investment scam. 

After he collected the money from the victim, Yap, in turn, gave the money to another man he did not know.

The victim had been told that the money would be deposited as investment capital into a fictitious investment brokerage company named “Maplerock.” 

According to the police, Yap was responsible for the losses of the elderly person, which amounted to at least JPY1,000,000 (around S$8,198.)

“Yap’s conviction marks the first instance of caning being imposed on accused persons convicted of money laundering offences related to scam activities under the amended CDSA. This follows the introduction of discretionary caning for scam money mules under the legislative amendments that took effect on 30 December 2025,” the Police noted.

The amendments said that scammers, as well as members or recruiters of scam syndicates, would face a mandatory caning of a minimum of six strokes up to a maximum of 24 strokes. 

Additionally, people who act as scam mules, who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds, would face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes, including certain money-laundering offences under the CDSA. 

“The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” the SPF added. /TISG

Read also: S$13M lost to 411 scammers and money mules in over 1,500 cases

This article (Malaysian man, 23, first to receive caning in SG for money mule role in elderly victim scam) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.