Singapore – Employers who provide scholarships should take note. University students say opportunities to grow and develop with the company are highly attractive factors when shopping for companies to sponsor their scholarships.

While "A" Level and polytechnic final year students consider course offerings the number one factor when applying for scholarships, university first and second year students think otherwise. According to the annual BrightSparks survey by JobsFactory, university graduates consider good career advancement opportunities with a clear career path in the scholarship organisation a top priority.

Government agencies and private companies have remained aggressive in their talent attraction schemes. Public Service Commission (PSC) retains the position of the top scholarship provider of choice, with 68% of respondents intending to apply for its scholarships. Singapore Airlines is most popular private sector scholarship provider, coming in at fifth place in the overall rankings and garnering a total of 35% of respondents’ votes.

Yet local universities are also amongst the country’s most popular scholarship providers this year. Lim Der Shing, director of JobsFactory cited the bond-free scholarships offered by universities as an attraction for the students as they allow “more freedom and choice”.

Employers who award scholarships can also expect a lower probability of scholars breaking the bond as integrity ranks high amongst the graduates surveyed this year. Nine out of 10 "A" Level graduates have indicated that they believe in the responsibility and integrity in fulfilling their obligations. For the polytechnic and university groups, the figure stands at around 85%.