By Lee U-Wen

HIGHER salaries, better career prospects and mobility are just some of the many payoffs for working adults who have graduated from SIM University (UniSIM), according to a survey whose findings were released yesterday.

The first such employment survey, conducted by the Nielsen Company from April to June this year via telephone and online questionnaires, polled 1,002 graduates - about a third of the total number that have earned their degree from UniSIM over the past five years.

Most of those who responded were aged between 30 and 40 and mainly employed by the public sector and multinational corporations.

Chief among the findings was that one in two respondents received a pay rise after graduation. Of these, the average rise was about 15 per cent, while nearly one in five had a salary jump of more than 30 per cent. Those who changed jobs saw an average 21 per cent increase.

These numbers are much higher than the national average wage hike of 5.9 per cent in 2007, according to the latest Ministry of Manpower wages report.

Better salaries aside, many also saw their career choices open up after obtaining their UniSIM degree. One in five managed to switch jobs within two years after graduation, and half of these moved to an entirely different industry.

About 68 per cent who changed jobs moved into a different position either within or across industries, while among those who stayed with the same company, 51 per cent were given increased responsibilities at work or moved into a new position.

On why these working adults decided to pick UniSIM over other private education providers, 87 per cent found their course relevant to their jobs, and felt that a degree helped upgrade their skills set and enhanced their prospects of promotion and better pay.

Commenting on the results, UniSIM president Cheong Hee Keat told BT: 'Since we became a university in 2005, we've been wanting to know the impact of the education we provide. I feel the best evidence of how well we're doing is by hearing from our own alumni.

'We've heard many anecdotal examples of successful graduates over the years, but this formal survey now gives us a much better sense.'

What's also encouraging, said Prof Cheong, was that six in 10 respondents indicated their desire to pursue a master's degree or higher qualifications within the next two years.

UniSIM is Singapore's first and only privately funded university to issue its own degrees, which are recognised by the Ministry of Education.

Since July this year, all eligible adult students at UniSIM enjoy government subsidies of up to 40 per cent for their degree courses.

This article was first published in The Business Times on October 09, 2008.