Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang recently stated that the overall outlook for Singapore looks positive for the immediate future with a steady growth of between two and four per cent, due in part to new investments supporting Singapore's economy. The main focus is still on education and training to continue to develop Singapore's human resources, which is widely considered their best natural asset.

Some challenges however, include the ageing population and the task of meeting Singaporeans' aspirations. As the service sector is one of Singapore's largest industries, some restructuring will be necessary to cater for polytechnic diploma holders and graduates, rather than relying on older workers with less education. Mr Lim said: "The objective given to us is to make sure we are able to restructure the economy, make sure we can generate good jobs that satisfy and meet the aspirations of our new workers."

In relation to this, senior citizens are increasingly studying higher education, with the over 60s taking on diplomas 250% more compared to previous years. This is in line with the government encouraging the older workforce to upgrade their skills to remain employable. Around 50% of under 30s also want to obtain a Postgraduate degree, up from 43% in 2013. The main reason responders gave for this surge is to improve their career prospects. Many government grants and subsidies are also available for people to upgrade their skills.

Our analysis is that local private education institutions (PEIs) are likely to see a greater demand for Postgraduate qualifications in the near future. The most common Postgraduate qualification available in Singapore is the MBA, and although many PEIs already offer MBAs, demand for these courses continues to remain strong.

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