PSB Academy celebrates career-ready graduates from the University of Wollongong Australia

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 31 March 2017 - The University of Wollongong Australia, a top 12 Modern University in the World¹, saw 178 students graduate from its Bachelor of Commerce programmes today. Offered in partnership with PSB Academy, Singapore's Best Private Education Institution², these students undertook specialisations in Marketing, Management or Finance. Among them, 31 have graduated with distinction.

Photo (from left to right): Tay Hung Chiang, 39, Tan Pin Xun, 27 and Santosh Kumar Rai, 40, part-time students, full-time workers who graduated with Distinction from  University of Wollongon's Bachelor of Commerce programmes.

Graduates from the programmes, many of whom were part-time students employed in full-time jobs, are optimistic about their prospects in the industry, with the possibility of expanding their portfolios or movement into leadership positions.

A 2015 graduate employment survey³, commissioned by PSB Academy and conducted by third-party research consultancy idstats, found that six in 10 of the Academy's graduates benefitted from a pay raise and/or career progression.  "As the Future Academy, we are geared toward helping workers thrive in Singapore's Future Economy. These are professionals who have taken deliberate steps in upskilling themselves, so they can be ready for the changing demands of their workplace. We are proud to see these University of Wollongong graduates become more confident of themselves as career-ready professionals, and are delighted to have played a part in their development. Our expansion into a new city campus at Marina Square will enable even more working professionals to pursue career-long learning journeys in the heart of our city. " says Dr Sam Choon Yin, Dean of PSB Academy.

Tay Hung Chiang, 39, a Marketing major, is confident that his degree will give him the opportunity to handle more ambitious projects in his company, which is a major exporter of ornamental fish in the region. "The course has given me a deeper and comprehensive understanding about consumer buying behaviour, and customer psychology. I'm looking forward to using these newfound skills to make a real impact in the company, handle more responsibilities as a manager, and build up my personal portfolio for career advancement," says the Assistant Product Development Manager.

At 40, and with 19 years of work experience already under his belt, Santosh Kumar Rai is a strong believer in continual learning, and hopes that his major in Marketing will aid him in his new role. "The course has helped me become more keenly aware of my strengths and the modules complement my years of work experience. I've switched roles from a Community Manager Lead in Social Media to a Channel Director in Enterprise sales, and I'm excited to see how to apply all this knowledge to help me achieve my best with my new responsibilities. My elective in Supply Chain Management for example, will prove very useful in helping me manage more operations-related tasks," says Santosh, who works in a telecommunications company.

After 4 years in the financial industry in Singapore, Tan Pin Xun, a personal banker in one of Singapore leading banks, is looking forward to widening his horizons, and hopes to find opportunities for career development overseas. "With a more enhanced understanding of the complex finance industry, I've found ways to become of better service to my clients, and help them understand more abstract financial concepts. This degree has given me more confidence in finding opportunities to expand my portfolio overseas," says the ambitious 27-year-old.

About PSB Academy

Productivity is at the heart of PSB Academy. Once known as Singapore's Productivity and Standards Board, PSB Academy is known today as "The Future Academy", with an approach to education that focuses on what really matters: performance in the real-world. In 2016, The Academy was conferred "Best private education institution in Singapore" by the Business Excellence and Research Group, and "Best private institution" for Engineering at the JobsCentral Learning T.E.D Awards. It hosts over 11,000 local and international students in its slate of certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate programmes every year. PSB Academy voluntarily commissions reputable external research firms to conduct graduate employment surveys as one of several key measures of graduate outcomes.

Learn more at: www.psb-academy.edu.sg.

¹QS Top 50 Under 50 Rankings 2016/2017

²As conferred by the Business Excellence and Research Group, at the Icons of Learning Awards 2016.

³This survey is conducted with local and international graduates who have pursued full-time and part-time programmes (Certificates, Diploma and Degree). More at www.psb-academy.edu.sg/ges2015