30 March 2009
Introduction
1. Programme-based Engagement (ProBE) is a key Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) initiative by the Workplace Safety and Health Council WSHC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Launched in 2006, it aims to raise the standards of WSH in priority areas that contribute to the bulk of workplace fatalities and injuries.
2. Under ProBE, the WSHC actively engages the industry to raise the WSH competencies and awareness so that stakeholders can better manage the WSH risks in their own workplaces. Thereafter, the MOM will enforce to ensure that appropriate measures have been put in place to improve safety standards in these work areas.
3. Since the introduction of ProBE in 2006, a total of nine priority programmes were targeted for intervention. These included Work on Scaffolds, Work in Confined Spaces, Work in the Metalworking Industries, Work at Height, Forklift operations, Use of Lifting Equipment, Work in Noisy Environment, Work involving Machines Dangerous to Hands and Work involving Flammable and Hazardous Substances. During this period, more than 6,200 companies were engaged through the various ProBE activities. The programme has succeeded in reducing fatalities, building capabilities and heightening awareness in many of the targeted areas.
Outcomes for ProBE 2008
4. ProBE 2008 focused on three priority areas: (1) Work involving Machines Dangerous to Hands; (2) Work involving Flammable and Hazardous Substances; (3) Work at Height.
5. ProBE-Machines Dangerous to Hands promoted the safe use of machinery that is potentially dangerous to workers' hands. These include power presses, cutting, bending, stamping and woodworking machines. Three technical forums were organised by WSH Council with SPRING and industry partners, the Singapore Manufacturers Federation (SMa) and the Bedok Safety Group (BSG). In terms of enforcement, more than 100 metalworking and manufacturing companies were inspected to check on adequacy of standards of machinery safety. Arising from the inspections, a total of 260 contraventions were uncovered. The top three violations, which accounted for more than 50% of all contraventions, were related to:
• Failure to conduct assessment of the safety and health risks posed by the use of such machinery;
• Failure to establish and implement a proper procedure to shut down or disable the machinery when it is not in use or when it is put under maintenance or repair to prevent inadvertent use by unauthorised persons; and
• Absence of proper and secured machine guarding to protect workers against dangerous parts while operating the machinery.
6. With the ProBE initiative, the number of permanent disablements, which comprised mainly amputations of the upper limbs, had reduced by 19%, from 163 injuries in 2007 to 132 in 2008.
7. ProBE-Flammable and Hazardous Substances raised awareness on safe work procedures and risk assessment when using these substances. It also shared learning points from incidents involving fires, explosion and exposure to harmful substances. The WSH Council organised forums with the Association of Singapore Marine Industry (ASMI), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and National Fire and Civil Emergency Preparedness Council (NFEC). MOM conducted more than 200 inspections targeting mainly the shipyards and manufacturing sectors. From the inspections, a total of 495 contraventions were uncovered. The top two contraventions were:
• Failure to conduct assessment of the safety and health risks posed by the work; and
• Failure to provide and maintain means of extinguishing fire in a factory.
8. ProBE-Work at Height adopted a more concerted effort to educate stakeholders, particularly the supervisors and workers on the ground. The WSH Council launched a Work at Height programme in November last year. A comprehensive self-help Work at Height kit was distributed to companies, with a technical advisory for safety personnel, a guidebook for supervisors as well as a handy guide, illustrative posters and videos for workers. So far, 50 large and medium-size construction companies have used the kits to organise in-house Work at Height campaigns to educate their employees and subcontractors on working safely at height. The WSH Council has also distributed an illustrated Work at Height Handy Guide to over 160,000 workers to educate them on staying safe while working at height.
9. 215 inspections were carried out, targeting primarily construction worksites. A total of 524 contraventions were found in the following areas:
• Absence of an effective barrier to prevent falls through an open side or opening, or the absence of toe-boards and guard-rails;
• Failure to conduct assessment of the safety and health risks posed by the work; and
• Absence of proper access from one level of a scaffold to another.
10. The number of fatalities involving work at height and flammable and hazardous substances fell 20% - from 30 deaths (2007) to 24 (2008).
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Prudent hiring saves jobs now
FOR the banking sector, 2007 was an innocent, prosperous time when now fearful terms such as 'sub-prime', 'toxic assets' and 'banking bailout' were still obscure. Jobs were plentiful amid booming demand for financial services.
Fast forward to today, and anyone in the sector is now on the front line of the financial crisis - which has also become a global economic crisis.
Many bank employees now lie awake at night wondering if they will be next on the chopping block as many financial institutions have retrenched staff.
Employees at Singapore's longest-established bank, OCBC Bank, however, may be the exception, as the bank starts to reap the benefits of prudent safeguards put in place during the good times - coupled with new measures to cut costs.
The Republic's largest lender, DBS Bank, stunned the nation last November, when it axed about 900 employees or 6 per cent of its workforce. The bank's biggest retrenchment sent a chill down the spines of many in the industry.
The dismal results recently reported by all three local banks reaffirmed that the good times have indeed come to an end. For the three months to Dec 31, 2008, UOB's profits fell 34 per cent to $332 million, DBS reported a 40 per cent drop to $295 million and OCBC saw a 30 per cent drop to $301 million.
In the midst of the crisis, OCBC was quick to assure staff their jobs were safe despite worsening economic conditions.
In an e-mail to staff last November, OCBC chief executive David Conner said: 'I assure you that currently we have no plan for any retrenchment exercise.'
The former Citibanker would repeat that message over the following weeks, even as markets continued to deteriorate.
OCBC employs about 10,000 staff in Asia and other parts of the world, with more than 5,000 based in Singapore.
Staff are pleased at the assurance.
Mr Ang Chee Peng, 50, who just celebrated his 20th year at OCBC last year, is also relieved that the training budget will not be cut this year.
'The bank values staff training a lot and something reiterated from the top management very often is that they value its people and the skill sets they bring to the bank,' said the assistant vice-president of information technology.
Others like Ms Candy Tan, 37, a service ambassador at OCBC Centre branch, said: 'It feels good when our supervisors acknowledge your work but what makes it easy for me during this crisis is the encouragement I get from my fellow colleagues.' She has been working at the bank for two years.
Mr Conner's confidence on the jobs front was based on the bank's culture and practices, said OCBC chief financial officer Ching Wei Hong. 'Our CEO went to the board of directors to assure them that there will be no retrenchment...and the board was supportive of the move, but they have also told us that we must find alternative ways of saving costs,' he said.
Immediate steps OCBC took to cut costs rather than jobs included a wage freeze. The bank also cut down on bonuses, mainly among senior staff.
'Travel has been scaled back quite significantly,' said Mr Ching. The minimum flight duration for a staff member to qualify for business class is now eight hours, up from five hours. 'And we used to have a lot of off-site (training and meetings), conducted in Malaysia, Indonesia - it's now all cancelled for the year.'
These measures, however, were not merely in reaction to the crisis, as the bank has a longstanding practice of ensuring efficiency in its operations, he said.
'Our CEO was the main driver, pushing very hard not so much on a cost angle but more on an efficiency angle.'
Some pre-crisis measures to cut costs and increase efficiency included the bank's investment since 2007 in video-conferencing facilities and moving selected operations away from the city.
'We also moved and concentrated a lot of all our non-front line activities especially for operations and technology...to our Tampines location and that again was not done overnight, but with a lot of forward planning as far back as 2007.'
Mr Ching declined to disclose savings from overall cost-cutting, but said it was enough to save a 'substantial' number of jobs at the bank.
'Taking out the pay and bonus components, and looking at what we call 'little things' from hotels to air travel to new guidelines on entertainment, which we've scaled back...the target savings from all these will be about $15 million to $16 million, if we get it right,' he said.
'And in terms of junior staff, that is quite a substantial number of jobs that we can save.'
By focusing on operational efficiency and ensuring prudent hiring practices during the good years, OCBC is now better positioned to weather the downturn.
Instead of just embarking on a massive recruitment drive during boom times, OCBC boosted productivity instead.
'We invested in technology systems that will allow us to automate more processes, so while our business picked up significantly in 2006, 2007 and even during the early part of 2008, we didn't need to ramp up staff levels that much, and we were able to process more with the same amount of people,' said Mr Ching.
OCBC turned to contract and temporary staff when they were needed to handle the 'blips in business' and that provided the bank with the flexibility of scaling up or down on manpower costs.
'But to do that, you got to have your training systems in place, because you'll be bringing in someone fresh...so you'll need to be able to bring that person up to speed within days.'
Recognising the importance of training, OCBC has maintained the staff training budget levels, and has cut costs elsewhere. Although the recession is biting hard, the bank - whose largest shareholder is the Lee family - tries to keep the welfare of its staff uppermost in its mind.
'There is a long-established culture of OCBC, largely attributed to the Lee family, who incorporated this very strong guiding principle within the institution of taking care of staff,' Mr Ching said.
By Francis Chan
Fast forward to today, and anyone in the sector is now on the front line of the financial crisis - which has also become a global economic crisis.
Many bank employees now lie awake at night wondering if they will be next on the chopping block as many financial institutions have retrenched staff.
Employees at Singapore's longest-established bank, OCBC Bank, however, may be the exception, as the bank starts to reap the benefits of prudent safeguards put in place during the good times - coupled with new measures to cut costs.
The Republic's largest lender, DBS Bank, stunned the nation last November, when it axed about 900 employees or 6 per cent of its workforce. The bank's biggest retrenchment sent a chill down the spines of many in the industry.
The dismal results recently reported by all three local banks reaffirmed that the good times have indeed come to an end. For the three months to Dec 31, 2008, UOB's profits fell 34 per cent to $332 million, DBS reported a 40 per cent drop to $295 million and OCBC saw a 30 per cent drop to $301 million.
In the midst of the crisis, OCBC was quick to assure staff their jobs were safe despite worsening economic conditions.
In an e-mail to staff last November, OCBC chief executive David Conner said: 'I assure you that currently we have no plan for any retrenchment exercise.'
The former Citibanker would repeat that message over the following weeks, even as markets continued to deteriorate.
OCBC employs about 10,000 staff in Asia and other parts of the world, with more than 5,000 based in Singapore.
Staff are pleased at the assurance.
Mr Ang Chee Peng, 50, who just celebrated his 20th year at OCBC last year, is also relieved that the training budget will not be cut this year.
'The bank values staff training a lot and something reiterated from the top management very often is that they value its people and the skill sets they bring to the bank,' said the assistant vice-president of information technology.
Others like Ms Candy Tan, 37, a service ambassador at OCBC Centre branch, said: 'It feels good when our supervisors acknowledge your work but what makes it easy for me during this crisis is the encouragement I get from my fellow colleagues.' She has been working at the bank for two years.
Mr Conner's confidence on the jobs front was based on the bank's culture and practices, said OCBC chief financial officer Ching Wei Hong. 'Our CEO went to the board of directors to assure them that there will be no retrenchment...and the board was supportive of the move, but they have also told us that we must find alternative ways of saving costs,' he said.
Immediate steps OCBC took to cut costs rather than jobs included a wage freeze. The bank also cut down on bonuses, mainly among senior staff.
'Travel has been scaled back quite significantly,' said Mr Ching. The minimum flight duration for a staff member to qualify for business class is now eight hours, up from five hours. 'And we used to have a lot of off-site (training and meetings), conducted in Malaysia, Indonesia - it's now all cancelled for the year.'
These measures, however, were not merely in reaction to the crisis, as the bank has a longstanding practice of ensuring efficiency in its operations, he said.
'Our CEO was the main driver, pushing very hard not so much on a cost angle but more on an efficiency angle.'
Some pre-crisis measures to cut costs and increase efficiency included the bank's investment since 2007 in video-conferencing facilities and moving selected operations away from the city.
'We also moved and concentrated a lot of all our non-front line activities especially for operations and technology...to our Tampines location and that again was not done overnight, but with a lot of forward planning as far back as 2007.'
Mr Ching declined to disclose savings from overall cost-cutting, but said it was enough to save a 'substantial' number of jobs at the bank.
'Taking out the pay and bonus components, and looking at what we call 'little things' from hotels to air travel to new guidelines on entertainment, which we've scaled back...the target savings from all these will be about $15 million to $16 million, if we get it right,' he said.
'And in terms of junior staff, that is quite a substantial number of jobs that we can save.'
By focusing on operational efficiency and ensuring prudent hiring practices during the good years, OCBC is now better positioned to weather the downturn.
Instead of just embarking on a massive recruitment drive during boom times, OCBC boosted productivity instead.
'We invested in technology systems that will allow us to automate more processes, so while our business picked up significantly in 2006, 2007 and even during the early part of 2008, we didn't need to ramp up staff levels that much, and we were able to process more with the same amount of people,' said Mr Ching.
OCBC turned to contract and temporary staff when they were needed to handle the 'blips in business' and that provided the bank with the flexibility of scaling up or down on manpower costs.
'But to do that, you got to have your training systems in place, because you'll be bringing in someone fresh...so you'll need to be able to bring that person up to speed within days.'
Recognising the importance of training, OCBC has maintained the staff training budget levels, and has cut costs elsewhere. Although the recession is biting hard, the bank - whose largest shareholder is the Lee family - tries to keep the welfare of its staff uppermost in its mind.
'There is a long-established culture of OCBC, largely attributed to the Lee family, who incorporated this very strong guiding principle within the institution of taking care of staff,' Mr Ching said.
By Francis Chan
Recruitment Consultants
Responsibilities:
•Accountable for new business development, existing account development and clientele management.
•Telemarketing and cold calling for New Businesses.
•Developing and cultivating professional relationships with our clients.
•Providing consulting and direction to candidates pertaining to their possible career development.
Requirements:
•Bilingual in English and Mandarin with excellent interpersonal and communication skill is a MUST.
•Dynamic personality and a passion for people.
•Able to work effectively in a fast paced and very result oriented environment.
•Those who has the passion for people but do not have the relevant experience or qualifications may apply and will be considered for Entry Level role
•Fresh Grads with flair for sales may apply too.
•Excellent basic with very competitive commission scheme.
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
•Accountable for new business development, existing account development and clientele management.
•Telemarketing and cold calling for New Businesses.
•Developing and cultivating professional relationships with our clients.
•Providing consulting and direction to candidates pertaining to their possible career development.
Requirements:
•Bilingual in English and Mandarin with excellent interpersonal and communication skill is a MUST.
•Dynamic personality and a passion for people.
•Able to work effectively in a fast paced and very result oriented environment.
•Those who has the passion for people but do not have the relevant experience or qualifications may apply and will be considered for Entry Level role
•Fresh Grads with flair for sales may apply too.
•Excellent basic with very competitive commission scheme.
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
Application Outsourcing Transition Manager
Job Responsibilities:
•Overall Transition Project Planning, setting up timelines, project governance, project monitoring and tracking, status reporting, etc.
•Establish the Front Office and the Back office governance structure and roles and responsibilities
Initiate the process for the Transition & service delivery. Responsible for the Transition
•Risk & issue management – creation and maintenance of risk and issue register
•Set-up and ensure the smooth routine reporting mechanisms
•Set-up the smooth communication mechanisms between transition team and client
•Monitor knowledge transfer activities for completeness and perform KT operational acceptance to ensure that the KT is sufficient.
•Ensure that the scope of the services to be transitioned, and the SLAs expected from the service delivery are clearly understood and agreed upon by all stake holders
•Establish the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the transition, and subsequent service delivery
•Drive the activities around setting up the infrastructure. Ensure that the required hardware/software is in place; the connectivity is established and is adequate for sustained service delivery
•Drive activities related to project staffing and mobility, including recruitment, on-boarding, skill-gap analysis, organizing training programs, planning for travel, etc.
•Involved in readiness assessment before cutover
•Work with the Services Delivery Manager to define the process and procedures for service delivery
•Hand over the service delivery to the Service Delivery Manager. Perform post-implementation review and document lessons learnt
Job Requirements:
•Minimum 12 years of related IT experience, of which 8 years of successful program/transition management
•Start-up experience in Transition management or Program Management Office Director
•Experience in integration, development, and deployment of large scale, multi-platform, multi-vendor information systems. Large-scale program management of multi-service line teams, including strong management and communications skills, service delivery, client relations, planning, scheduling, budgeting, financial management and earned value, resource management, QA, negotiations, contract negotiation and management
•Demonstrated understanding of the commercial outsourcing business – Tier 1 or MNC firm experience preferred
•Business development and proposal presentation experience – shaping value propositions with clients, crafting solutions, driving proposals
•Applications outsourcing experience required
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
•Overall Transition Project Planning, setting up timelines, project governance, project monitoring and tracking, status reporting, etc.
•Establish the Front Office and the Back office governance structure and roles and responsibilities
Initiate the process for the Transition & service delivery. Responsible for the Transition
•Risk & issue management – creation and maintenance of risk and issue register
•Set-up and ensure the smooth routine reporting mechanisms
•Set-up the smooth communication mechanisms between transition team and client
•Monitor knowledge transfer activities for completeness and perform KT operational acceptance to ensure that the KT is sufficient.
•Ensure that the scope of the services to be transitioned, and the SLAs expected from the service delivery are clearly understood and agreed upon by all stake holders
•Establish the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the transition, and subsequent service delivery
•Drive the activities around setting up the infrastructure. Ensure that the required hardware/software is in place; the connectivity is established and is adequate for sustained service delivery
•Drive activities related to project staffing and mobility, including recruitment, on-boarding, skill-gap analysis, organizing training programs, planning for travel, etc.
•Involved in readiness assessment before cutover
•Work with the Services Delivery Manager to define the process and procedures for service delivery
•Hand over the service delivery to the Service Delivery Manager. Perform post-implementation review and document lessons learnt
Job Requirements:
•Minimum 12 years of related IT experience, of which 8 years of successful program/transition management
•Start-up experience in Transition management or Program Management Office Director
•Experience in integration, development, and deployment of large scale, multi-platform, multi-vendor information systems. Large-scale program management of multi-service line teams, including strong management and communications skills, service delivery, client relations, planning, scheduling, budgeting, financial management and earned value, resource management, QA, negotiations, contract negotiation and management
•Demonstrated understanding of the commercial outsourcing business – Tier 1 or MNC firm experience preferred
•Business development and proposal presentation experience – shaping value propositions with clients, crafting solutions, driving proposals
•Applications outsourcing experience required
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
Event Executive
Job Responsibilities :
•Responsible to plan, organize and execute events
•Work together with the team to plan the logistics coordination
•Motivated & enthusiastic team player
•Comfortable working in event or road show environment
Job Requirements :
•Diploma in business management, sales and marketing or equivalent
•At least 1-2 years of sales experience with a proven track record
•Possess drive, initiative and high level of responsibilities
•Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
•Familiar with events & road show management
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
•Responsible to plan, organize and execute events
•Work together with the team to plan the logistics coordination
•Motivated & enthusiastic team player
•Comfortable working in event or road show environment
Job Requirements :
•Diploma in business management, sales and marketing or equivalent
•At least 1-2 years of sales experience with a proven track record
•Possess drive, initiative and high level of responsibilities
•Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
•Familiar with events & road show management
Please forward detailed RESUME with a PHOTO in MS Word format to: career@sgrecruiters.com
Please remember to state your
1.Current salary
2.Expected salary
3.Reasons for leaving (Past and present employment)
4.Notice period
We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.
For more openings, please visit http://www.sgrecruiters.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
Jobless? Be an SME adviser
SMALL and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which need expert advice in these trying times - but cannot afford it - can now turn to the inaugural Business Advisers Programme (BAP).
The scheme has a second benefit: offering short-term positions to unemployed professional executives in various fields.
Launched by the Singapore Management University (SMU) on Friday, the BAP will match jobless professionals, managers, executives and technicians with SMEs. They will serve as full-time business advisers on short-term stints.
By Elizabeth Wilmot
The scheme has a second benefit: offering short-term positions to unemployed professional executives in various fields.
Launched by the Singapore Management University (SMU) on Friday, the BAP will match jobless professionals, managers, executives and technicians with SMEs. They will serve as full-time business advisers on short-term stints.
By Elizabeth Wilmot
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Switching to social work
MID-CAREER PMETs will be trained as social workers under a new professional conversion programme.
They will undergo a two-year bachelor's degree or a 14-month graduate diploma programme run by UniSIM, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) said yesterday.
The target group are those with first degrees in other disciplines but who are keen to take up new careers in the social service sector, MCYS said in a statement.
Its minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, had told Parliament earlier that there is an annual shortage of about 100 social workers in Singapore.
The conversion scheme is expected to start later this year, and up to 90 per cent of the course fees will be subsidised under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
To coax voluntary welfare organisations to let the trainees start work while on training, Spur will give the welfare groups a $1,000 training allowance every month to defray their salary cost. The conversion programme will cost the Government about $1.2 million a year.
Other new Spur courses in community services include a 10-month accelerated Workforce Skills Qualifications professional diploma in early childhood care and education.
GOH CHIN LIAN
They will undergo a two-year bachelor's degree or a 14-month graduate diploma programme run by UniSIM, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) said yesterday.
The target group are those with first degrees in other disciplines but who are keen to take up new careers in the social service sector, MCYS said in a statement.
Its minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, had told Parliament earlier that there is an annual shortage of about 100 social workers in Singapore.
The conversion scheme is expected to start later this year, and up to 90 per cent of the course fees will be subsidised under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
To coax voluntary welfare organisations to let the trainees start work while on training, Spur will give the welfare groups a $1,000 training allowance every month to defray their salary cost. The conversion programme will cost the Government about $1.2 million a year.
Other new Spur courses in community services include a 10-month accelerated Workforce Skills Qualifications professional diploma in early childhood care and education.
GOH CHIN LIAN
45,000 job openings, many for executives
AT LEAST 45,000 new jobs will be up for grabs in the next two years, with many of them suitable for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
In giving the update yesterday, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong also listed where they are to be found.
But he had a word of advice for jobless PMETs: Be flexible and go for training to get the right skills for jobs in new industries.
Mr Gan was replying to MPs Irene Ng (Tampines GRC), Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC), Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah GRC) and Penny Low (Pasir Ris-
Punggol GRC), who had highlighted their plight.
He told the House the two integrated resorts will create more than 20,000 jobs and the public sector, 18,000.
Also, new investments will create 6,000 jobs, including about 1,200 in clean technology and about 900 in biomedical sciences.
The opening of new malls and hotels will produce jobs in the retail sector, and food and beverage, as well as hospitality, while others are to be found in construction, security, interactive digital media and childcare.
Separately, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan listed about 2,000 jobs in the childcare sector and 2,500 in social services over the next five years.
However, many of the jobs seem to elude PMETs, said MPs like Mr Lim.
'We've been hearing there are jobs available again and again, but I think the real situation out there is that for those who are unemployed, they just find it very hard to find a job.'
But a longer search is inevitable during an economic slowdown, said Mr Gan.
They also need to be trained for new jobs because many have held the same job for many years, he said, adding: 'If (they) are more flexible...I think we will be able to help them find jobs faster.'
PMETs form 37per cent (or 6,200) of workers who were laid off or had their contracts terminated prematurely last year, up from 31per cent a year earlier.
However, by the end of last month, about 5,200 of them had, on their own, signed up for courses under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience, or Spur, which pays 90per cent of the fees.
Beyond training, Mr Gan urged PMETs to seek help from career counsellors at the five Community Development Councils islandwide and the Employment and Employability Institute in Redhill Road.
The issue of foreign workers was raised by labour MPs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) and Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC), and Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong. They want the foreign manpower policy reviewed, with an eye on tightening it.
Mr Gan said his ministry had reviewed the criteria for semi- skilled S-Pass holders and skilled work permit holders. He foresees their numbers falling as the recession reduces demand for workers.
Madam Halimah suggested reviewing the education criteria of such workers for non-export-led sectors like restaurants.
But Mr Gan was against such micro-managing of businesses. It could lead to 'a lot of abuse, a lot of leakage between the different businesses, as companies are not so well-defined', he said.
By Goh Chin Lian
In giving the update yesterday, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong also listed where they are to be found.
But he had a word of advice for jobless PMETs: Be flexible and go for training to get the right skills for jobs in new industries.
Mr Gan was replying to MPs Irene Ng (Tampines GRC), Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC), Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah GRC) and Penny Low (Pasir Ris-
Punggol GRC), who had highlighted their plight.
He told the House the two integrated resorts will create more than 20,000 jobs and the public sector, 18,000.
Also, new investments will create 6,000 jobs, including about 1,200 in clean technology and about 900 in biomedical sciences.
The opening of new malls and hotels will produce jobs in the retail sector, and food and beverage, as well as hospitality, while others are to be found in construction, security, interactive digital media and childcare.
Separately, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan listed about 2,000 jobs in the childcare sector and 2,500 in social services over the next five years.
However, many of the jobs seem to elude PMETs, said MPs like Mr Lim.
'We've been hearing there are jobs available again and again, but I think the real situation out there is that for those who are unemployed, they just find it very hard to find a job.'
But a longer search is inevitable during an economic slowdown, said Mr Gan.
They also need to be trained for new jobs because many have held the same job for many years, he said, adding: 'If (they) are more flexible...I think we will be able to help them find jobs faster.'
PMETs form 37per cent (or 6,200) of workers who were laid off or had their contracts terminated prematurely last year, up from 31per cent a year earlier.
However, by the end of last month, about 5,200 of them had, on their own, signed up for courses under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience, or Spur, which pays 90per cent of the fees.
Beyond training, Mr Gan urged PMETs to seek help from career counsellors at the five Community Development Councils islandwide and the Employment and Employability Institute in Redhill Road.
The issue of foreign workers was raised by labour MPs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) and Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC), and Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong. They want the foreign manpower policy reviewed, with an eye on tightening it.
Mr Gan said his ministry had reviewed the criteria for semi- skilled S-Pass holders and skilled work permit holders. He foresees their numbers falling as the recession reduces demand for workers.
Madam Halimah suggested reviewing the education criteria of such workers for non-export-led sectors like restaurants.
But Mr Gan was against such micro-managing of businesses. It could lead to 'a lot of abuse, a lot of leakage between the different businesses, as companies are not so well-defined', he said.
By Goh Chin Lian
Hard data needed to assure local workers
IN TIMES of mounting job losses, like the present, one question inevitably arises: What about the foreigners in our midst?
It surfaces in coffee-shop talk and cyberspace chatter, in hushed conversations on factory floors as rumours of layoffs make the rounds, and even in debates in Parliament.
In fact, more than 90 readers responded to a recent Straits Times Insight feature on foreign workers here, with almost eight in 10 saying that jobs should be reserved for locals.
A hot issue? Without a doubt. It is also an emotive one.
However, this does not mean that it should be swept under the carpet. We need more open and informed discussion, so that there is better understanding among all parties concerned. We also need more information, if only to put other information in perspective.
Last week, some figures released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) caused some raised eyebrows.
The figures showed that foreigners took most of the new jobs created last year - seven in 10, up from six in 10 the previous year.
The foreign population surged past the one million mark for the first time, with foreigners making up 36 per cent of Singapore's workforce, up from 30 per cent in 2007. The foreign workforce grew by 157,000 last year, up from 144,500 in 2007. In contrast, the local workforce grew by just 64,700 last year, down from 90,400 in 2007.
On their own, these figures do not tell you that they have to be taken in the context of the boom times. Both 2007 and 2008 were boom years, with more jobs being created than there were locals to fill them. They also do not tell you that many of the jobs filled by foreigners last year were in the construction and service industries - jobs which Singaporeans usually shun.
Statistics shock, but sometimes the shock can be unnecessary.
This year, as the economy slips headlong into a long, hard recession and the jobless brigade swells, the Government ought to take pre-emptive action to prevent resentment towards foreigners from building up.
One way of defusing such potential tension is to give Singaporeans more reassurances that they are not getting the short end of the stick.
Yes, foreigners are valuable to Singapore's economy; they help to enlarge the economic pie; they benefit locals who will have more jobs to choose from.
This, however, is an economic argument that speaks to the head more than the heart, and is not enough to fully convince locals.
What Singaporeans want, and need, is to know how their interests are being protected.
Government-funded schemes aimed at reducing retrenchments help. The Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur), for example, subsidises employers when they send local workers for training. The Jobs Credit scheme helps employers defray their costs of keeping local workers.
Problems arise, however, when, in spite of these schemes, layoffs still occur. At these times, workers want to be assured that locals do have some privileges over foreigners, and will not be laid off ahead of the latter.
How can they be assured? Hard data, hard information.
During the Budget debate last month and again in yesterday's Parliament session, some MPs asked if the Government intended to tighten the inflow of foreigners seeking work in certain sectors here in view of the recession.
While there wasn't a clear 'Yes' or 'No' answer, it is understood that there are moves to impose more stringent requirements on semi-skilled foreigners on the S-Pass scheme - such as nurses, retail executives and aerospace technicians.
These S-Pass holders, whose numbers grew, albeit at a slower pace now, are seen as those who compete most directly for jobs that Singaporeans can take up too.
The only problem is, there have been no details yet on the changes.
There has also been no word on how many foreigners here have lost their jobs through retrenchments or early termination of contracts since the economy was battered by the global financial crisis.
Official figures released are only for total retrenchment and redundancy; they do not distinguish between locals and foreigners.
Nor are there updates on the number of foreign work permits that are cancelled or not renewed.
If foreigners are supposed to be a buffer for locals during a downturn, there should be figures to show that a greater proportion of them are, indeed, taking the hit this time around.
In Parliament yesterday, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong did note that the number of foreigners working here will dip, in line with falling demand for manpower in this recession.
He also indicated that retrenchments have so far hit mostly the financial sector, which hires more locals than foreigners. Only when retrenchments hit the manufacturing sector, which hires more foreigners, on a big enough scale will the presence of foreigners among the retrenched be more obvious.
Even as he made it clear that it is important for Singapore not to send the wrong signal to foreign investors that the country was shutting its doors to foreigners seeking work here, however, Mr Gan also said some figures on foreigners' employment could be made public next month. However, he did not give details.
I agree that it is important to maintain the correct balance between investors' interests and ensuring the employment of locals.
But my argument is not about keeping foreigners out or fanning protectionist sentiments.
Rather, it is about numbers that will give the reassurance that locals need in this recession.
They need to know that as Singapore rolls out the welcome mat to foreigners, it will not be at their expense.
By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent
It surfaces in coffee-shop talk and cyberspace chatter, in hushed conversations on factory floors as rumours of layoffs make the rounds, and even in debates in Parliament.
In fact, more than 90 readers responded to a recent Straits Times Insight feature on foreign workers here, with almost eight in 10 saying that jobs should be reserved for locals.
A hot issue? Without a doubt. It is also an emotive one.
However, this does not mean that it should be swept under the carpet. We need more open and informed discussion, so that there is better understanding among all parties concerned. We also need more information, if only to put other information in perspective.
Last week, some figures released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) caused some raised eyebrows.
The figures showed that foreigners took most of the new jobs created last year - seven in 10, up from six in 10 the previous year.
The foreign population surged past the one million mark for the first time, with foreigners making up 36 per cent of Singapore's workforce, up from 30 per cent in 2007. The foreign workforce grew by 157,000 last year, up from 144,500 in 2007. In contrast, the local workforce grew by just 64,700 last year, down from 90,400 in 2007.
On their own, these figures do not tell you that they have to be taken in the context of the boom times. Both 2007 and 2008 were boom years, with more jobs being created than there were locals to fill them. They also do not tell you that many of the jobs filled by foreigners last year were in the construction and service industries - jobs which Singaporeans usually shun.
Statistics shock, but sometimes the shock can be unnecessary.
This year, as the economy slips headlong into a long, hard recession and the jobless brigade swells, the Government ought to take pre-emptive action to prevent resentment towards foreigners from building up.
One way of defusing such potential tension is to give Singaporeans more reassurances that they are not getting the short end of the stick.
Yes, foreigners are valuable to Singapore's economy; they help to enlarge the economic pie; they benefit locals who will have more jobs to choose from.
This, however, is an economic argument that speaks to the head more than the heart, and is not enough to fully convince locals.
What Singaporeans want, and need, is to know how their interests are being protected.
Government-funded schemes aimed at reducing retrenchments help. The Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur), for example, subsidises employers when they send local workers for training. The Jobs Credit scheme helps employers defray their costs of keeping local workers.
Problems arise, however, when, in spite of these schemes, layoffs still occur. At these times, workers want to be assured that locals do have some privileges over foreigners, and will not be laid off ahead of the latter.
How can they be assured? Hard data, hard information.
During the Budget debate last month and again in yesterday's Parliament session, some MPs asked if the Government intended to tighten the inflow of foreigners seeking work in certain sectors here in view of the recession.
While there wasn't a clear 'Yes' or 'No' answer, it is understood that there are moves to impose more stringent requirements on semi-skilled foreigners on the S-Pass scheme - such as nurses, retail executives and aerospace technicians.
These S-Pass holders, whose numbers grew, albeit at a slower pace now, are seen as those who compete most directly for jobs that Singaporeans can take up too.
The only problem is, there have been no details yet on the changes.
There has also been no word on how many foreigners here have lost their jobs through retrenchments or early termination of contracts since the economy was battered by the global financial crisis.
Official figures released are only for total retrenchment and redundancy; they do not distinguish between locals and foreigners.
Nor are there updates on the number of foreign work permits that are cancelled or not renewed.
If foreigners are supposed to be a buffer for locals during a downturn, there should be figures to show that a greater proportion of them are, indeed, taking the hit this time around.
In Parliament yesterday, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong did note that the number of foreigners working here will dip, in line with falling demand for manpower in this recession.
He also indicated that retrenchments have so far hit mostly the financial sector, which hires more locals than foreigners. Only when retrenchments hit the manufacturing sector, which hires more foreigners, on a big enough scale will the presence of foreigners among the retrenched be more obvious.
Even as he made it clear that it is important for Singapore not to send the wrong signal to foreign investors that the country was shutting its doors to foreigners seeking work here, however, Mr Gan also said some figures on foreigners' employment could be made public next month. However, he did not give details.
I agree that it is important to maintain the correct balance between investors' interests and ensuring the employment of locals.
But my argument is not about keeping foreigners out or fanning protectionist sentiments.
Rather, it is about numbers that will give the reassurance that locals need in this recession.
They need to know that as Singapore rolls out the welcome mat to foreigners, it will not be at their expense.
By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Screening for 750 jobseekers
ABOUT 750 jobseekers who have applied for Marina Bay Sands' 4,500 casino jobs turned up on Wednesday for the first screening session.
Held in conjunction with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the recruitment exercise saw applicants attending a career briefing and one-to-one interviews.
They also went through tests which checked for colour blindness, and how well they could do mental arithmetic. This was to ensure they are suitable for jobs that may need them to calculate and count winnings on the spot, or identify different coloured chips.
By Tessa Wong
Held in conjunction with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the recruitment exercise saw applicants attending a career briefing and one-to-one interviews.
They also went through tests which checked for colour blindness, and how well they could do mental arithmetic. This was to ensure they are suitable for jobs that may need them to calculate and count winnings on the spot, or identify different coloured chips.
By Tessa Wong
CDAC to launch internship scheme
SCHOOL-LEAVERS from low-income Chinese Singaporean families will be given a hand in finding their first jobs.
An internship programme will be introduced by the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), in which the company taking them in will not be required to pay them.
Instead, the CDAC will give the interns a monthly grant of $500 for the duration of their internships.
This programme for former students who have benefited from CDAC programmes was announced by Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Baey Yam Keng, who chairs the CDAC's youth committee.
He said about 100 internships are in the pipeline and the CDAC has begun discussing the arrangement with companies.
As the recession bites, 'the challenge for young school-leavers is not about being retrenched but finding work', said Mr Baey.
'Hopefully, when the economy recovers, such internships can become full-time jobs,' he added.
The internship programme is among several help measures the CDAC is working on.
Others include helping elderly Chinese Singaporeans to find jobs, as their children may be struggling to support them now.
The council is looking at placing them in jobs close to their homes, and three areas have been targeted: Radin Mas, Whampoa and Bukit Panjang.
Jobs suitable for such seniors include those in park management and town council maintenance, as well as cleaning jobs in neighbourhood schools, said Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu, who chairs the CDAC's Silver Talent Programme.
However, a 'holistic, family-centric approach' is also needed, beyond just targeting individuals, said CDAC executive director Sam Tan.
To that end, the council will stretch the period of its Workfare help schemes for single-parent or dysfunctional families, from 12 to 18 months.
Families with a monthly household income of $1,500 or less can apply for these schemes, which come with subsidies for childcare fees and utility bills, food vouchers and counselling assistance.
The CDAC will also be extending its working hours at its Tanjong Katong Road headquarters during this downturn.
It will operate until 9pm on Wednesdays and until 5pm on Saturdays. Its hotline number is 1800-6843-5599.
An internship programme will be introduced by the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), in which the company taking them in will not be required to pay them.
Instead, the CDAC will give the interns a monthly grant of $500 for the duration of their internships.
This programme for former students who have benefited from CDAC programmes was announced by Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Baey Yam Keng, who chairs the CDAC's youth committee.
He said about 100 internships are in the pipeline and the CDAC has begun discussing the arrangement with companies.
As the recession bites, 'the challenge for young school-leavers is not about being retrenched but finding work', said Mr Baey.
'Hopefully, when the economy recovers, such internships can become full-time jobs,' he added.
The internship programme is among several help measures the CDAC is working on.
Others include helping elderly Chinese Singaporeans to find jobs, as their children may be struggling to support them now.
The council is looking at placing them in jobs close to their homes, and three areas have been targeted: Radin Mas, Whampoa and Bukit Panjang.
Jobs suitable for such seniors include those in park management and town council maintenance, as well as cleaning jobs in neighbourhood schools, said Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu, who chairs the CDAC's Silver Talent Programme.
However, a 'holistic, family-centric approach' is also needed, beyond just targeting individuals, said CDAC executive director Sam Tan.
To that end, the council will stretch the period of its Workfare help schemes for single-parent or dysfunctional families, from 12 to 18 months.
Families with a monthly household income of $1,500 or less can apply for these schemes, which come with subsidies for childcare fees and utility bills, food vouchers and counselling assistance.
The CDAC will also be extending its working hours at its Tanjong Katong Road headquarters during this downturn.
It will operate until 9pm on Wednesdays and until 5pm on Saturdays. Its hotline number is 1800-6843-5599.
147 Companies Warned to Relocate Nearly 2,600 Foreign Workers
25 March 2009
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), together with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), conducted two nationwide operations on 16 foreign workers' dormitories on 10 March and 24 March 2009. The aim is to ensure that these premises comply with regulatory requirements, and that employers abide by Work Permit conditions to provide their workers acceptable accommodation.
2 A total of 147 companies were issued with warning letters to relocate nearly 2,600 foreign workers to acceptable accommodation over the next few weeks. (See Annex A for more details).
Workers to be Relocated
3 In the first operation, on 10 March, inspectors found more than 1,900 foreign workers housed in eight unapproved dormitories (factory premises in the Woodlands and Tuas, and residential premises in the Serangoon Road area).
4 83 companies were warned to relocate these foreign workers to approved accommodation. To expedite the relocation of the foreign workers, employers were required to attend a Change of Accommodation (COA) exercise, facilitated by MOM, where information on purpose built dormitories (PBD) was provided. By 20 March, more than half of the workers have been relocated to new accommodation that is in compliance with all regulatory requirements. The remainder are expected to do so within the next week, failing which the work permits will be cancelled.
5 In the second operation on 24 March, four factories in Sungei Kadut, Tuas, Tech Park and Tagore area, and four residential units in the Serangoon Road area were inspected, all of which were not approved for foreign worker housing. 660 workers from 64 companies will be required to relocate to acceptable accommodation over the next two weeks.
Employers Responsible For Providing Acceptable Accommodation
6 Mr Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director of the Foreign Manpower Management Division, MOM said: “Despite the economic downturn, it is unacceptable that employers house their foreign workers in illegal or unapproved housing to save costs. Housing foreign workers in extremely overcrowded and unhygienic conditions pose a danger to the safety and health of the workers, as well as to public health in general. They will not be tolerated. Acceptable accommodation is now readily available in purpose-built dormitories and there is no excuse for employers to house their workers in unapproved housing. All the agencies involved in these two operations will continue to coordinate closely and more operations will be conducted in the future.”
7 Employers are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of their foreign workers, including the provision of acceptable accommodation. Those who fail to provide acceptable accommodation breach the Work Permit conditions and could face prosecution. They may be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to 6 months, or both for each infringement. In addition, the breach will be taken into consideration when the Ministry considers the employer's subsequent applications for Work Permits.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), together with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), conducted two nationwide operations on 16 foreign workers' dormitories on 10 March and 24 March 2009. The aim is to ensure that these premises comply with regulatory requirements, and that employers abide by Work Permit conditions to provide their workers acceptable accommodation.
2 A total of 147 companies were issued with warning letters to relocate nearly 2,600 foreign workers to acceptable accommodation over the next few weeks. (See Annex A for more details).
Workers to be Relocated
3 In the first operation, on 10 March, inspectors found more than 1,900 foreign workers housed in eight unapproved dormitories (factory premises in the Woodlands and Tuas, and residential premises in the Serangoon Road area).
4 83 companies were warned to relocate these foreign workers to approved accommodation. To expedite the relocation of the foreign workers, employers were required to attend a Change of Accommodation (COA) exercise, facilitated by MOM, where information on purpose built dormitories (PBD) was provided. By 20 March, more than half of the workers have been relocated to new accommodation that is in compliance with all regulatory requirements. The remainder are expected to do so within the next week, failing which the work permits will be cancelled.
5 In the second operation on 24 March, four factories in Sungei Kadut, Tuas, Tech Park and Tagore area, and four residential units in the Serangoon Road area were inspected, all of which were not approved for foreign worker housing. 660 workers from 64 companies will be required to relocate to acceptable accommodation over the next two weeks.
Employers Responsible For Providing Acceptable Accommodation
6 Mr Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director of the Foreign Manpower Management Division, MOM said: “Despite the economic downturn, it is unacceptable that employers house their foreign workers in illegal or unapproved housing to save costs. Housing foreign workers in extremely overcrowded and unhygienic conditions pose a danger to the safety and health of the workers, as well as to public health in general. They will not be tolerated. Acceptable accommodation is now readily available in purpose-built dormitories and there is no excuse for employers to house their workers in unapproved housing. All the agencies involved in these two operations will continue to coordinate closely and more operations will be conducted in the future.”
7 Employers are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of their foreign workers, including the provision of acceptable accommodation. Those who fail to provide acceptable accommodation breach the Work Permit conditions and could face prosecution. They may be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to 6 months, or both for each infringement. In addition, the breach will be taken into consideration when the Ministry considers the employer's subsequent applications for Work Permits.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
100,000 employers to receive first payment of Jobs Credit
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will be releasing the first payment of the Jobs Credit scheme to eligible employers on March 31, 2009.
Around 100,000 employers employing some 1.3 million workers will receive $920 million. Under the one-year scheme, which was part of the Resilience Package announced during the 2009 budget, employers will be given cash grants to help them preserve jobs. A 12% cash grant will be given on the first $2,500 of each month's wages for each employee on their CPF payroll.
Employers will receive a notification letter on March 27 informing them of the amount of Jobs Credit they will receive for the first payment. This is based on the wages that they paid in October to December 2008.
The scheme is automatically extended to eligible employers, who will be paid via direct credit into employers' bank accounts or by cheque.
The deadline to qualify for the first payment has been further extended because the scheme was only announced in January 2009. Employers who will make late CPF contributions by April 15 for wages that were paid in October to December 2008 will receive Jobs Credits on these wages on June 30, 2009.
There will be no further extensions for the remaining payments, which will be made on June 30, September 30, and December 31, 2009.
Around 100,000 employers employing some 1.3 million workers will receive $920 million. Under the one-year scheme, which was part of the Resilience Package announced during the 2009 budget, employers will be given cash grants to help them preserve jobs. A 12% cash grant will be given on the first $2,500 of each month's wages for each employee on their CPF payroll.
Employers will receive a notification letter on March 27 informing them of the amount of Jobs Credit they will receive for the first payment. This is based on the wages that they paid in October to December 2008.
The scheme is automatically extended to eligible employers, who will be paid via direct credit into employers' bank accounts or by cheque.
The deadline to qualify for the first payment has been further extended because the scheme was only announced in January 2009. Employers who will make late CPF contributions by April 15 for wages that were paid in October to December 2008 will receive Jobs Credits on these wages on June 30, 2009.
There will be no further extensions for the remaining payments, which will be made on June 30, September 30, and December 31, 2009.
Will work for free
FACED with an increasingly tight job market, undergraduates here are lowering their expectations and saying 'yes' to unpaid internships in a bid to land a good job.
Usually they are paid a stipend or allowance when they intern.
Graduates are the hardest-hit as the unemployment rate soars.
The number of jobless degree-holders peaked at 14,800 in December last year, more than a 100 per cent increase
from 6,200 a year earlier.
Undergraduates my paper spoke to said they were willing to go for unpaid internships at "prestigious companies with enriching job scopes".
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduate Esther Lim, 23, who studies accountancy, said: "The job could be an entry point for me to get a permanent place in a good company. Besides, it would look good on my resume."
When contacted, NTU said there are still enough placements for students.
"There is no need to consider rolling out programmes to attach our students for no-allowance or free internships," said its director of career and attachment office, Mr Loh Pui Wah.
Singapore Management University students can tap free internships, but these do not form a "significant" portion of the university's total pool of internship opportunities.
National University of Singapore student Jalea Poon, 20, said she would work for free for a month.
"My parents would be unhappy that I'm not drawing a salary and would say that I'm being stupid to work for free," she said.
Agreeing, NTU's Ms Lim said: "I need to get a paid job to feed myself!"
By Chen Jingting
Usually they are paid a stipend or allowance when they intern.
Graduates are the hardest-hit as the unemployment rate soars.
The number of jobless degree-holders peaked at 14,800 in December last year, more than a 100 per cent increase
from 6,200 a year earlier.
Undergraduates my paper spoke to said they were willing to go for unpaid internships at "prestigious companies with enriching job scopes".
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduate Esther Lim, 23, who studies accountancy, said: "The job could be an entry point for me to get a permanent place in a good company. Besides, it would look good on my resume."
When contacted, NTU said there are still enough placements for students.
"There is no need to consider rolling out programmes to attach our students for no-allowance or free internships," said its director of career and attachment office, Mr Loh Pui Wah.
Singapore Management University students can tap free internships, but these do not form a "significant" portion of the university's total pool of internship opportunities.
National University of Singapore student Jalea Poon, 20, said she would work for free for a month.
"My parents would be unhappy that I'm not drawing a salary and would say that I'm being stupid to work for free," she said.
Agreeing, NTU's Ms Lim said: "I need to get a paid job to feed myself!"
By Chen Jingting
Monday, March 23, 2009
Counselling and support for newly retrenched
MR GILBERT Goh, laid off for 20 months in 2003, found out then how little support there was for people who lose their jobs.
A friend of his, jobless for six months, confirmed it when he confessed that he felt 'very alone', and that there did not seem to be any place to which he could go for help and support.
Today, Mr Goh, 47 and a teacher in a private school, runs a two-month-old counselling and support service on the side to help the newly retrenched. He has help from 10 volunteers and seven professional counsellors to run the service, which has a website offering online counselling and information on support groups and networking sessions.
The group also sends out motivational text messages to those who register with it, and tip-offs on job fairs.
Mr Goh has tied up with job agencies like JobStreet to provide career counselling, and invites the jobless to send in their resumes, which he forwards to his network of contacts. But he stressed: 'We are not a job agency; we're here to provide support.'
Support groups for the retrenched, though rare, do exist: The Central Singapore Community Development Council started one at the end of 2007; this month, the Catholic Prayer Society set one up.
The first thing that Mr Goh, a former counsellor, did was to set up the website, www.transitioning.org
Explaining its name, he said: 'Being jobless is not permanent. It can be a good thing. One can learn new things, explore new opportunities and reflect on what you really want for your life.'
The website, which gets about 7,000 hits daily, has drawn responses from as far away as the United States.
To run the text-messaging service, Mr Goh and two volunteers send out text messages to 100 recipients a few times a week.
Fortnightly support-group meetings are being run, each limited to 10 participants so all will have a chance to speak.
And at the monthly networking sessions, guest speakers from different industries - his friends - give tips, for example, on how to set up a food business.
Some of those he has helped end up wanting to help him run his support service too. A 42-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, said he went to the website to join a support group and to seek advice on his resume.
He is now job-hunting and taking courses to pick up skills, but also helps Mr Goh to organise the support groups and networking activities.
Mr Goh disclosed that he himself may need support soon as his teaching contract will not be renewed. His wife, who works in a bank, will support him and his daughter for a while. He said: 'Of course, I am afraid too, but I'll stay positive.'
But work at transitioning.org will go on for him and his band of volunteers, he said
By Tan Weizhen
A friend of his, jobless for six months, confirmed it when he confessed that he felt 'very alone', and that there did not seem to be any place to which he could go for help and support.
Today, Mr Goh, 47 and a teacher in a private school, runs a two-month-old counselling and support service on the side to help the newly retrenched. He has help from 10 volunteers and seven professional counsellors to run the service, which has a website offering online counselling and information on support groups and networking sessions.
The group also sends out motivational text messages to those who register with it, and tip-offs on job fairs.
Mr Goh has tied up with job agencies like JobStreet to provide career counselling, and invites the jobless to send in their resumes, which he forwards to his network of contacts. But he stressed: 'We are not a job agency; we're here to provide support.'
Support groups for the retrenched, though rare, do exist: The Central Singapore Community Development Council started one at the end of 2007; this month, the Catholic Prayer Society set one up.
The first thing that Mr Goh, a former counsellor, did was to set up the website, www.transitioning.org
Explaining its name, he said: 'Being jobless is not permanent. It can be a good thing. One can learn new things, explore new opportunities and reflect on what you really want for your life.'
The website, which gets about 7,000 hits daily, has drawn responses from as far away as the United States.
To run the text-messaging service, Mr Goh and two volunteers send out text messages to 100 recipients a few times a week.
Fortnightly support-group meetings are being run, each limited to 10 participants so all will have a chance to speak.
And at the monthly networking sessions, guest speakers from different industries - his friends - give tips, for example, on how to set up a food business.
Some of those he has helped end up wanting to help him run his support service too. A 42-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, said he went to the website to join a support group and to seek advice on his resume.
He is now job-hunting and taking courses to pick up skills, but also helps Mr Goh to organise the support groups and networking activities.
Mr Goh disclosed that he himself may need support soon as his teaching contract will not be renewed. His wife, who works in a bank, will support him and his daughter for a while. He said: 'Of course, I am afraid too, but I'll stay positive.'
But work at transitioning.org will go on for him and his band of volunteers, he said
By Tan Weizhen
Civil servants' annual pay to shrink
A DROP in annual salary is in store for the 66,000 workers in the civil service this year, with senior officers seeing a bigger percentage fall.
The reduction, however, will be made firstly in the variable components of their pay, with the Annual Variable Component (AVC) for 2009 'expected to be lower or even possibly zero', said the Public Service Division (PSD) yesterday.
The PSD, which oversees civil service matters, cited the slowdown in Singapore's economy for the fall in pay.
How steep the drop will be depends on the guidelines set by the National Wages Council (NWC), it said in an e-mail statement to The Straits Times. The council will meet next month or in May.
The PSD also warned that 'if economic conditions continue to deteriorate, further adjustments in salaries will likely be necessary'.
But in explaining the initial reduction, it said: 'The drop is to be expected as it is consistent with our salary policy which pegs the annual pay of civil servants to pay levels in the private sector.
'A substantial portion of this annual pay, especially at the senior levels, is variable, with components closely reflecting the performance of Singapore's economy.
'The drop will be effected, in the first instance, through a reduction in pay components linked to economic performance.'
One such component is the GDP Bonus, which is linked to growth in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). It is paid to administrative officers and senior civil servants like permanent secretaries.
This year, no GDP bonuses will be paid, the PSD said.
Another component tied to the economy is the AVC, which civil servants usually receive as mid-year and year-end payments.
This amount will be determined at a later date, said the PSD.
But individuals who did good work in the past year will still receive performance bonuses, which will be paid this month for work done last year.
This is to encourage officers to continue to excel in their work, it said.
The PSD was responding to queries about a circular it sent out this week to civil servants, priming them to expect a drop in their annual salary this year.
The circular comes ahead of the ending of the civil service financial year on March 31, as civil servants expect news about their annual performance bonus and pay increment.
Several civil servants interviewed were not surprised by the impending pay cut for several reasons.
The Government has forecast the economy to shrink by 2 per cent to 5 per cent this year.
Also, pay in the private sector is set to go down by 10 per cent to 25 per cent this year, according to some analysts.
Civil servants saw the signs too when in January, the Government announced a cut in salary of between 12 per cent and 20 per cent for Cabinet ministers and senior civil servants this year, with room for more changes if the economy worsens.
Statutory boards do not have to follow the pay changes in the civil service, said the PSD, but are expected to exercise wage restraint and stick to the NWC's guidelines.
But most statutory boards are expected to take the cue from the civil service.
Some also have a system of making adjustments based on market conditions, said the general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees, Mr N. Thurairajasingam.
Several statutory boards have informed his union that they plan to give smaller merit increments.
Senior officers will take a deeper cut, he added, declining to identify the organisations.
By Goh Chin Lian
The reduction, however, will be made firstly in the variable components of their pay, with the Annual Variable Component (AVC) for 2009 'expected to be lower or even possibly zero', said the Public Service Division (PSD) yesterday.
The PSD, which oversees civil service matters, cited the slowdown in Singapore's economy for the fall in pay.
How steep the drop will be depends on the guidelines set by the National Wages Council (NWC), it said in an e-mail statement to The Straits Times. The council will meet next month or in May.
The PSD also warned that 'if economic conditions continue to deteriorate, further adjustments in salaries will likely be necessary'.
But in explaining the initial reduction, it said: 'The drop is to be expected as it is consistent with our salary policy which pegs the annual pay of civil servants to pay levels in the private sector.
'A substantial portion of this annual pay, especially at the senior levels, is variable, with components closely reflecting the performance of Singapore's economy.
'The drop will be effected, in the first instance, through a reduction in pay components linked to economic performance.'
One such component is the GDP Bonus, which is linked to growth in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). It is paid to administrative officers and senior civil servants like permanent secretaries.
This year, no GDP bonuses will be paid, the PSD said.
Another component tied to the economy is the AVC, which civil servants usually receive as mid-year and year-end payments.
This amount will be determined at a later date, said the PSD.
But individuals who did good work in the past year will still receive performance bonuses, which will be paid this month for work done last year.
This is to encourage officers to continue to excel in their work, it said.
The PSD was responding to queries about a circular it sent out this week to civil servants, priming them to expect a drop in their annual salary this year.
The circular comes ahead of the ending of the civil service financial year on March 31, as civil servants expect news about their annual performance bonus and pay increment.
Several civil servants interviewed were not surprised by the impending pay cut for several reasons.
The Government has forecast the economy to shrink by 2 per cent to 5 per cent this year.
Also, pay in the private sector is set to go down by 10 per cent to 25 per cent this year, according to some analysts.
Civil servants saw the signs too when in January, the Government announced a cut in salary of between 12 per cent and 20 per cent for Cabinet ministers and senior civil servants this year, with room for more changes if the economy worsens.
Statutory boards do not have to follow the pay changes in the civil service, said the PSD, but are expected to exercise wage restraint and stick to the NWC's guidelines.
But most statutory boards are expected to take the cue from the civil service.
Some also have a system of making adjustments based on market conditions, said the general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees, Mr N. Thurairajasingam.
Several statutory boards have informed his union that they plan to give smaller merit increments.
Senior officers will take a deeper cut, he added, declining to identify the organisations.
By Goh Chin Lian
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Singaporeans still picky about jobs
IT'S a familiar story these days, from Wellington to Washington. The Federal Bureau of Investigation gets more than 270,000 applicants for its 3,000 job openings.
Here in Singapore, some 20,000 people thronged a four-day career fair recently, vying for the 800 jobs offered by the upcoming integrated resorts. It was just one of several mega job fairs in the last three months, all of which drew big crowds.
The number of people seeking jobs has shot up with a vengeance of late. Apparently employment - or rather, unemployment - is no laggard in this downturn.
Primed as everyone is for bad news these days, with the economy in its steepest recession ever, the surge in Singapore's latest out-of-job data is still fairly dramatic: The number of retrenched workers - which had averaged below 2,000 in each quarter of 2007 before rising slightly to just over 2,000 in each of the first three quarters of 2008 - soared to 7,500 in Q4.
The local carnage from the global downturn is also starkly evident in another indicator - contract workers terminated prematurely because they have become redundant.
From an average of less than 200 in the preceding six quarters, the number shot up to 830 in Q3 last year, and then 1,910 in Q4. So in all, some 9,410 people were made redundant in Q4 last year, more than the sum total in 2007.
Various estimates by economists put the total job loss this year and next at between 100,000 and 240,000 - despite the best efforts by the government to help employers retain jobs.
The public sector has, of course, weighed in to offer thousands of openings in various sectors: education, health care, security, newbie high-tech industries. There appear to be, at a quick glance, jobs galore at all levels: blue collar and white, low skills to specialist skills.
If only job seekers and hirers could be magically and seamlessly matched, with happy, productive outcomes for both worker and employer.
The reality, of course - apart from a glaring mismatch of demand and skills in the job market - is that the 'art and craft' of job matching (from manpower training at tertiary-level enrolment planning to job creation) is one fraught with perils and pitfalls, especially in the face of immediate short-term needs.
You have 1,200 jobs up for grabs in the clean-tech industry, but not enough Singaporeans qualified to fill them.
You get people becoming teachers with no real passion or zeal for teaching. Students who want to become a doctor get 'channelled' into dentistry or biochemistry.
Yet another common reason for the mismatch here - even when apparently desperate for employment, Singaporeans would still be fussy and picky, shunning jobs that entail shift work, or too long a commute, or too much time on their feet, to say nothing, of course, of any work that requires donning a hard hat on a work site.
And yet some still sit up and grouse on noticing that foreigners took up the lion's share of new jobs created last year - available jobs that Singaporeans did not want.
Here in Singapore, some 20,000 people thronged a four-day career fair recently, vying for the 800 jobs offered by the upcoming integrated resorts. It was just one of several mega job fairs in the last three months, all of which drew big crowds.
The number of people seeking jobs has shot up with a vengeance of late. Apparently employment - or rather, unemployment - is no laggard in this downturn.
Primed as everyone is for bad news these days, with the economy in its steepest recession ever, the surge in Singapore's latest out-of-job data is still fairly dramatic: The number of retrenched workers - which had averaged below 2,000 in each quarter of 2007 before rising slightly to just over 2,000 in each of the first three quarters of 2008 - soared to 7,500 in Q4.
The local carnage from the global downturn is also starkly evident in another indicator - contract workers terminated prematurely because they have become redundant.
From an average of less than 200 in the preceding six quarters, the number shot up to 830 in Q3 last year, and then 1,910 in Q4. So in all, some 9,410 people were made redundant in Q4 last year, more than the sum total in 2007.
Various estimates by economists put the total job loss this year and next at between 100,000 and 240,000 - despite the best efforts by the government to help employers retain jobs.
The public sector has, of course, weighed in to offer thousands of openings in various sectors: education, health care, security, newbie high-tech industries. There appear to be, at a quick glance, jobs galore at all levels: blue collar and white, low skills to specialist skills.
If only job seekers and hirers could be magically and seamlessly matched, with happy, productive outcomes for both worker and employer.
The reality, of course - apart from a glaring mismatch of demand and skills in the job market - is that the 'art and craft' of job matching (from manpower training at tertiary-level enrolment planning to job creation) is one fraught with perils and pitfalls, especially in the face of immediate short-term needs.
You have 1,200 jobs up for grabs in the clean-tech industry, but not enough Singaporeans qualified to fill them.
You get people becoming teachers with no real passion or zeal for teaching. Students who want to become a doctor get 'channelled' into dentistry or biochemistry.
Yet another common reason for the mismatch here - even when apparently desperate for employment, Singaporeans would still be fussy and picky, shunning jobs that entail shift work, or too long a commute, or too much time on their feet, to say nothing, of course, of any work that requires donning a hard hat on a work site.
And yet some still sit up and grouse on noticing that foreigners took up the lion's share of new jobs created last year - available jobs that Singaporeans did not want.
Jobs Credit scheme most helpful: survey
THE Jobs Credit scheme rolled out in the recent Budget has drawn a strong positive reaction from trade associations surveyed by Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).
In a post-Budget survey last month, SCCCI asked its 131 trade association members which of 12 key Budget initiatives they 'considered most beneficial'.
The survey, which drew a 90 per cent response rate, showed the Jobs Credit scheme was warmly received by 78 per cent of respondents.
In contrast, only a third of respondents rated another Budget initiative - the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), which employers can tap to upgrade workers' skills - to be significantly helpful.
SCCCI said: 'In all likelihood, the drastic changes in the global economic landscape prompted most respondents from trade associations to stay focused on dealing with the immediate challenges rather than preparing for the economic rebound.'
Also favoured by SCCCI members were measures such as corporate tax cuts, rental rebates and property tax rebates, which drew a 70 per cent-plus response.
For three-quarters of respondents, the greatest challenge now is coping with the fall in demand. The next biggest problems are rising business costs (68 per cent) and difficulty in getting a bank loan (42 per cent).
SCCCI said the survey respondents indicated that banks remain cautious about lending, despite the government's efforts to share the risk on loans.
The survey also revealed requests from respondents for more government help to ease business costs - specifically, relaxed application criteria and procedures for S-pass and a cut in the foreign worker levy.
Other items on the trade associations' wish-lists include lower transport costs via reduced ERP charges, greater flexibility in COE prices for goods vehicles and buses and government reconsideration of a GST cut to boost spending.
By TEH SHI NING
In a post-Budget survey last month, SCCCI asked its 131 trade association members which of 12 key Budget initiatives they 'considered most beneficial'.
The survey, which drew a 90 per cent response rate, showed the Jobs Credit scheme was warmly received by 78 per cent of respondents.
In contrast, only a third of respondents rated another Budget initiative - the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), which employers can tap to upgrade workers' skills - to be significantly helpful.
SCCCI said: 'In all likelihood, the drastic changes in the global economic landscape prompted most respondents from trade associations to stay focused on dealing with the immediate challenges rather than preparing for the economic rebound.'
Also favoured by SCCCI members were measures such as corporate tax cuts, rental rebates and property tax rebates, which drew a 70 per cent-plus response.
For three-quarters of respondents, the greatest challenge now is coping with the fall in demand. The next biggest problems are rising business costs (68 per cent) and difficulty in getting a bank loan (42 per cent).
SCCCI said the survey respondents indicated that banks remain cautious about lending, despite the government's efforts to share the risk on loans.
The survey also revealed requests from respondents for more government help to ease business costs - specifically, relaxed application criteria and procedures for S-pass and a cut in the foreign worker levy.
Other items on the trade associations' wish-lists include lower transport costs via reduced ERP charges, greater flexibility in COE prices for goods vehicles and buses and government reconsideration of a GST cut to boost spending.
By TEH SHI NING
Recruitment still strong in Asia's biomedical sector
BUCKING the trend in other industries, recruitment in Asia's biomedical science sector remains strong despite the economic downturn, says recruitment firm ScienTec Consulting.
Talent is in demand by contract research organisations (CROs), biotech firms and pharmaceutical companies setting up R&D bases in the region. ScienTec alone has about 100-150 immediate positions waiting to be filled, of which 80 per cent are in Singapore.
'More companies are basing clinical trial studies in the region as they look to create more personalised medicines and need access to Asian populations,' said ScienTec managing director Karen Tok. 'We are also seeing an increase in R&D and contract manufacturing outsourcing companies in Asia.'
Speaking at a seminar on talent resource challenges at the Biomedical Asia 2009 conference yesterday, Ms Tok said the talent crunch has prompted companies to offer incentives and benefits to draw the cream of the crop. These include business class flights, travel allowances, sign on bonuses or bonuses tied to length of service.
For specialists with more than 10 years' experience, job hoppers can continue to expect the standard wage increment of 10-20 per cent. For mid to junior-level positions, recruitment activity is hot enough to have led ScienTec to set up a separate division last year.
'Although biomedical sciences companies in Asia are still recruiting, the global economic crisis has meant they are being more strategic in their recruitment,' said Ms Tok. 'For example, many now focus on resource optimisation, trying to get individuals who can multi-task in different roles, or get the best talent for their employment dollar.'
She estimates that about 60 per cent of the vacancies her company has been tasked to fill are for mid to junior-level posts. Most of them are in clinical research, biologics, diagnostics and monitoring technology, medicinal food extracts, drug discovery and healthcare firms. Job functions range from researchers and physicians to project managers and sales personnel.
However, there has been a fall in top-tier positions in sales because of lower demand forecasts and the transfer of leadership responsibilities to local staff.
At Sterling Life Sciences, another biomedical head-hunting specialist, the shift in demand is not that clear cut. The company, which focuses on specialised hires such as in translational medicine, said that while CROs remain bullish about regional growth, M&A activity in the pharmaceutical sector has resulted in some hesitation to increase headcount.
'There is still jockeying for scientific manpower resources, not only in South-east Asia but also in North Asia,' said Sterling director Robin Tan. 'In Singapore we see a steady and sustained growth in R&D activity in drug discovery and biomarkers, requiring specialised talent in the areas of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry.
'Although scientific talent is largely regarded as global these days, costs have come under greater scrutiny among new setups in Singapore. Hence, highly experienced researchers from Asia are still an attractive option for the continued development of our biomedical industry.'
By CHEN HUIFEN
Talent is in demand by contract research organisations (CROs), biotech firms and pharmaceutical companies setting up R&D bases in the region. ScienTec alone has about 100-150 immediate positions waiting to be filled, of which 80 per cent are in Singapore.
'More companies are basing clinical trial studies in the region as they look to create more personalised medicines and need access to Asian populations,' said ScienTec managing director Karen Tok. 'We are also seeing an increase in R&D and contract manufacturing outsourcing companies in Asia.'
Speaking at a seminar on talent resource challenges at the Biomedical Asia 2009 conference yesterday, Ms Tok said the talent crunch has prompted companies to offer incentives and benefits to draw the cream of the crop. These include business class flights, travel allowances, sign on bonuses or bonuses tied to length of service.
For specialists with more than 10 years' experience, job hoppers can continue to expect the standard wage increment of 10-20 per cent. For mid to junior-level positions, recruitment activity is hot enough to have led ScienTec to set up a separate division last year.
'Although biomedical sciences companies in Asia are still recruiting, the global economic crisis has meant they are being more strategic in their recruitment,' said Ms Tok. 'For example, many now focus on resource optimisation, trying to get individuals who can multi-task in different roles, or get the best talent for their employment dollar.'
She estimates that about 60 per cent of the vacancies her company has been tasked to fill are for mid to junior-level posts. Most of them are in clinical research, biologics, diagnostics and monitoring technology, medicinal food extracts, drug discovery and healthcare firms. Job functions range from researchers and physicians to project managers and sales personnel.
However, there has been a fall in top-tier positions in sales because of lower demand forecasts and the transfer of leadership responsibilities to local staff.
At Sterling Life Sciences, another biomedical head-hunting specialist, the shift in demand is not that clear cut. The company, which focuses on specialised hires such as in translational medicine, said that while CROs remain bullish about regional growth, M&A activity in the pharmaceutical sector has resulted in some hesitation to increase headcount.
'There is still jockeying for scientific manpower resources, not only in South-east Asia but also in North Asia,' said Sterling director Robin Tan. 'In Singapore we see a steady and sustained growth in R&D activity in drug discovery and biomarkers, requiring specialised talent in the areas of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry.
'Although scientific talent is largely regarded as global these days, costs have come under greater scrutiny among new setups in Singapore. Hence, highly experienced researchers from Asia are still an attractive option for the continued development of our biomedical industry.'
By CHEN HUIFEN
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Singaporeans shun jobs in service sector
SINGAPOREANS, it seems, will not stand for working on their feet.
The food-and-beverage, retail and service industries are still hiring, but many companies in these sectors report a lack of interest among Singaporeans.
Instead, it is the foreigners who are lapping up these jobs.
The Straits Times spoke to 12 fast-food chains, cafes and restaurants and another one dozen retail and service outlets, all of whom were keen on hiring Singaporeans. Among them, they have more than 740 jobs for the taking.
But the problem with these jobs - at least to Singaporeans - is that they come with long hours and a lot of standing during the shift. They also involve working nights, weekends and public holidays.
What these job hunters want: Office jobs and regular hours.
Repeated calls have gone out to Singaporeans to be less picky at a time when layoffs are starting to kick in, but there is a mental block against such jobs.
All but one of the 12 food outlets say they are finding it tough to get Singaporeans to take on service or kitchen positions. Among the retail and service outlets, eight said residents here baulk at front-line positions.
At Pine Garden's Cake, more than nine in 10 applications for positions come from foreigners.
The bakery's business development director Wei Chan, who managed to fill a vacancy for a sales and marketing manager only after four months, said that he has had Singaporeans who quit after having worked only one day.
At P.S. I Love You Nature Bakery, about half the 100 inquiries about its openings for eight kitchen crew and service positions are from foreigners.
Retail fashion chain 77th Street is hiring eight employees for its two new stores. Its marketing manager Mike Chin has had applicants asking to work only Mondays to Fridays. 'They set the terms and conditions, rather than us.'
Ms Carol Sai, manager of Kousei Foot Reflexology who is looking for a receptionist and foot reflexologists for a new outlet in Choa Chu Kang, said Singaporeans think of the vacancies as blue-collar ones and 'want high paying positions'.
Mr Raphael Chan, country director for sandwich chain Subway, agreed. He said Singaporeans perceive service positions as 'transition work or temporary school-holiday jobs'.
But if Singaporeans are not biting, it does not mean employers can blithely hire foreigners in their place.
The law permits only a certain number of foreigners in proportion to the number of Singaporeans employed.
Mr Chen Rong Hua, who manages two coffee shops in the east, said he has to hire three Singaporeans before he can take on one Malaysian.
The Manpower Ministry comes down hard on employers who inflate their local staff numbers to hire foreigner. Offenders may be fined up to $15,000, jailed up to one year or both on each charge.
Hiring Singaporeans is preferred, said Ms Constance Teoh, vice-president of operations for lifestyle apparel brand OP, as they speak better English and adapt to the work environment sooner.
But employers do appreciate one thing about foreigners: They are usually ready to work hard.
Ms Cindy Ee, director of PINC Nails, said: 'They rarely go on leave or take sick leave. They are more willing to stay late.'
By Leow Si Wan
The food-and-beverage, retail and service industries are still hiring, but many companies in these sectors report a lack of interest among Singaporeans.
Instead, it is the foreigners who are lapping up these jobs.
The Straits Times spoke to 12 fast-food chains, cafes and restaurants and another one dozen retail and service outlets, all of whom were keen on hiring Singaporeans. Among them, they have more than 740 jobs for the taking.
But the problem with these jobs - at least to Singaporeans - is that they come with long hours and a lot of standing during the shift. They also involve working nights, weekends and public holidays.
What these job hunters want: Office jobs and regular hours.
Repeated calls have gone out to Singaporeans to be less picky at a time when layoffs are starting to kick in, but there is a mental block against such jobs.
All but one of the 12 food outlets say they are finding it tough to get Singaporeans to take on service or kitchen positions. Among the retail and service outlets, eight said residents here baulk at front-line positions.
At Pine Garden's Cake, more than nine in 10 applications for positions come from foreigners.
The bakery's business development director Wei Chan, who managed to fill a vacancy for a sales and marketing manager only after four months, said that he has had Singaporeans who quit after having worked only one day.
At P.S. I Love You Nature Bakery, about half the 100 inquiries about its openings for eight kitchen crew and service positions are from foreigners.
Retail fashion chain 77th Street is hiring eight employees for its two new stores. Its marketing manager Mike Chin has had applicants asking to work only Mondays to Fridays. 'They set the terms and conditions, rather than us.'
Ms Carol Sai, manager of Kousei Foot Reflexology who is looking for a receptionist and foot reflexologists for a new outlet in Choa Chu Kang, said Singaporeans think of the vacancies as blue-collar ones and 'want high paying positions'.
Mr Raphael Chan, country director for sandwich chain Subway, agreed. He said Singaporeans perceive service positions as 'transition work or temporary school-holiday jobs'.
But if Singaporeans are not biting, it does not mean employers can blithely hire foreigners in their place.
The law permits only a certain number of foreigners in proportion to the number of Singaporeans employed.
Mr Chen Rong Hua, who manages two coffee shops in the east, said he has to hire three Singaporeans before he can take on one Malaysian.
The Manpower Ministry comes down hard on employers who inflate their local staff numbers to hire foreigner. Offenders may be fined up to $15,000, jailed up to one year or both on each charge.
Hiring Singaporeans is preferred, said Ms Constance Teoh, vice-president of operations for lifestyle apparel brand OP, as they speak better English and adapt to the work environment sooner.
But employers do appreciate one thing about foreigners: They are usually ready to work hard.
Ms Cindy Ee, director of PINC Nails, said: 'They rarely go on leave or take sick leave. They are more willing to stay late.'
By Leow Si Wan
Grads among worst hit as jobless rate increases
GRADUATES are hurting the most among the growing pool of jobless Singapore residents battered by the economic crisis.
The number of out-of-work degree holders more than doubled last year to 14,800 in December, from 6,200 a year earlier.
They joined an expanding group of unemployed residents - comprising Singaporeans and permanent residents - whose numbers rose from 56,100 in September to 69,900 in December last year.
As a result, the resident unemployment rate worsened further. It rose to 3.7 per cent in December, from 3.3 per cent in September, according to the 2008 labour market report released by the Manpower Ministry yesterday.
Analysts like Nanyang Technological University (NTU) economist Choy Keen Meng blame the rapid rise of unemployed graduates mainly on the financial sector.
The sector, which employs many degree holders, has been downsizing and laying off workers since the global financial fallout erupted in September last year.
The National Trades Union Congress' assistant secretary-general Ong Ye Kung added that struggling companies were also retrenching corporate staff such as their administrative workers, who appeared to be seen as non-essential to the company's survival.
'I've noticed companies are hanging on to those who add directly to the company's bottom line, such as those on the production line or engineers,' he said.
The surge in white-collar layoffs began towards the end of last year. Half of the 7,500 workers retrenched in 2008's final quarter were professionals, managers, executives and technicians: PMETs.
This has stiffened the competition that fresh graduates face. Said DBS economist Irvin Seah: 'They are fighting for the same jobs and fresh grads are at a disadvantage compared to those with experience.'
Between May and July this year, 12,000 fresh graduates are expected to enter the job market.
The plight of the young and jobless graduates has received Government attention. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will set aside $15 million to subsidise internships and attachments of fresh graduates in the financial industry over the next two years.
But Singapore Human Resource Institute executive director David Ang believes they can do with more help.
'The mid-career professionals have conversion programmes. Maybe something of this nature can be replicated for all fresh grads,' he said.
The jobless degree holders are part of a broader group of PMETs who have been hit hard by the recession. Some 5,820 PMETs were retrenched last year, forming 41.8 per cent of the 13,920 laid off.
To ease their plight, the Government launched the Professionals Skills Programme, which aims to retrain them for jobs in new growth sectors, such as health care and digital animation.
Such bleak prospects appear even more brutal when placed against last year's robust job growth: 221,600 jobs were created, just shy of the 234,900 record achieved in 2007.
Services added the most with 136,400 new jobs, followed by construction (64,000) and manufacturing (19,500).
But the gains were made largely in the first nine months. In the final quarter, the job losses jumped to 9,410 from 3,180.
DBS's Mr Seah believes 99,000 jobs will be shed by 2010.
Graduates like Mr Edwin Lim, 27, are now lowering their expectations. Mr Lim, who has a degree in commerce and finance from Australia, has been seeking a finance-related job for two weeks since his return home.
'Now I'm open to other options like marketing, or doing an internship in the finance industry,' he said, adding: 'What I want is to get the experience for a long-term job when the economy turns around.'
By Aaron Low
The number of out-of-work degree holders more than doubled last year to 14,800 in December, from 6,200 a year earlier.
They joined an expanding group of unemployed residents - comprising Singaporeans and permanent residents - whose numbers rose from 56,100 in September to 69,900 in December last year.
As a result, the resident unemployment rate worsened further. It rose to 3.7 per cent in December, from 3.3 per cent in September, according to the 2008 labour market report released by the Manpower Ministry yesterday.
Analysts like Nanyang Technological University (NTU) economist Choy Keen Meng blame the rapid rise of unemployed graduates mainly on the financial sector.
The sector, which employs many degree holders, has been downsizing and laying off workers since the global financial fallout erupted in September last year.
The National Trades Union Congress' assistant secretary-general Ong Ye Kung added that struggling companies were also retrenching corporate staff such as their administrative workers, who appeared to be seen as non-essential to the company's survival.
'I've noticed companies are hanging on to those who add directly to the company's bottom line, such as those on the production line or engineers,' he said.
The surge in white-collar layoffs began towards the end of last year. Half of the 7,500 workers retrenched in 2008's final quarter were professionals, managers, executives and technicians: PMETs.
This has stiffened the competition that fresh graduates face. Said DBS economist Irvin Seah: 'They are fighting for the same jobs and fresh grads are at a disadvantage compared to those with experience.'
Between May and July this year, 12,000 fresh graduates are expected to enter the job market.
The plight of the young and jobless graduates has received Government attention. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will set aside $15 million to subsidise internships and attachments of fresh graduates in the financial industry over the next two years.
But Singapore Human Resource Institute executive director David Ang believes they can do with more help.
'The mid-career professionals have conversion programmes. Maybe something of this nature can be replicated for all fresh grads,' he said.
The jobless degree holders are part of a broader group of PMETs who have been hit hard by the recession. Some 5,820 PMETs were retrenched last year, forming 41.8 per cent of the 13,920 laid off.
To ease their plight, the Government launched the Professionals Skills Programme, which aims to retrain them for jobs in new growth sectors, such as health care and digital animation.
Such bleak prospects appear even more brutal when placed against last year's robust job growth: 221,600 jobs were created, just shy of the 234,900 record achieved in 2007.
Services added the most with 136,400 new jobs, followed by construction (64,000) and manufacturing (19,500).
But the gains were made largely in the first nine months. In the final quarter, the job losses jumped to 9,410 from 3,180.
DBS's Mr Seah believes 99,000 jobs will be shed by 2010.
Graduates like Mr Edwin Lim, 27, are now lowering their expectations. Mr Lim, who has a degree in commerce and finance from Australia, has been seeking a finance-related job for two weeks since his return home.
'Now I'm open to other options like marketing, or doing an internship in the finance industry,' he said, adding: 'What I want is to get the experience for a long-term job when the economy turns around.'
By Aaron Low
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
1 in 2 willing to work for less pay
AS OUR money woes increase with the worsening recession, a recent survey surprisingly found that half of Singaporean workers will sacrifice pay for meaningful work - even in these tough times.
Those in the baby-boomer generation - aged 48 to 65 - were more likely to make the sacrifice than the younger Generation Y crowd, aged 18 to 29.
The 'value of work' survey, a first by human resources firm Kelly Services, aimed to measure and reflect the value of work in building pride and self-confidence, said Mr Dhirendra Shantilal, the firm's senior vice-president for Asia-Pacific.
The online poll in December involved almost 100,000 respondents from 34 countries, including 3,600 from Singapore.
It found that while 60 per cent of Singapore's baby-boomers said they were willing to take less pay if they felt their work was meaningful, only 47 per cent of Gen Y-ers felt the same.
The Gen X group, those aged 30 to 47, measured at 55 per cent. The global average was 50.6 per cent.
Mr Shantilal said Singapore's baby-boomers were more inclined to take up meaningful work because they were 'generally financially stable' and were the main beneficiaries of Singapore's long periods of economic boom from the 1970s.
'But they have also weathered the storms of the nation's recession in the mid-1980s. Having gone through both stable and challenging times, they have adopted a more balanced and pragmatic view of life,' he added.
Some of the values of baby-boomers include respect, empowerment, challenge and growth. Mr Shantilal said: 'Therefore, they will go for meaningful, emotionally satisfying work, including volunteering their services.'
That Gen Y workers in Singapore are less likely to sacrifice pay is not a big surprise, as the goal-oriented drive of Singaporeans places emphasis on financial stability and independence, he said.
Banker Pang Kai Ying, 26, is one. 'I work just for the money, as nothing can substitute it. I find meaning outside of work.'
Others such as customer relationship manager Teresa Tay, 28, said she would settle for a lower wage if she found a meaningful job - but at a later age.
'When you are young, you really want go out there and blitz your career, before settling down to a simpler life later.'
The survey also found that while many respondents had reservations about the real value of their work, a vast majority performed their tasks to high personal standards.
About 84 per cent of Singaporeans said the work they perform gives them a sense of pride, while 78 per cent said it contributes to their self-confidence.
Mr Shantilal said the survey affirms that pay is not the only key factor to attract and retain talent, even in tough economic conditions.
'It demonstrates that we can motivate employees to take pride in their work, so they can contribute positively to their organisations.'
He also addressed the wider impact of the economic crisis on the job market, pointing out that regardless of age group, employees with 'the right attitude, who possess the relevant competencies...should not be overly worried about sacrificing pay even in challenging times'.
He added that employees and organisations alike should adopt the right attitudes and strategies during this tough period.
'Employees will have to accept that they would be required to work harder, that organisations will take certain cost-cutting measures during this difficult period and that some processes may be interrupted.'
By Jessica Cheam
Those in the baby-boomer generation - aged 48 to 65 - were more likely to make the sacrifice than the younger Generation Y crowd, aged 18 to 29.
The 'value of work' survey, a first by human resources firm Kelly Services, aimed to measure and reflect the value of work in building pride and self-confidence, said Mr Dhirendra Shantilal, the firm's senior vice-president for Asia-Pacific.
The online poll in December involved almost 100,000 respondents from 34 countries, including 3,600 from Singapore.
It found that while 60 per cent of Singapore's baby-boomers said they were willing to take less pay if they felt their work was meaningful, only 47 per cent of Gen Y-ers felt the same.
The Gen X group, those aged 30 to 47, measured at 55 per cent. The global average was 50.6 per cent.
Mr Shantilal said Singapore's baby-boomers were more inclined to take up meaningful work because they were 'generally financially stable' and were the main beneficiaries of Singapore's long periods of economic boom from the 1970s.
'But they have also weathered the storms of the nation's recession in the mid-1980s. Having gone through both stable and challenging times, they have adopted a more balanced and pragmatic view of life,' he added.
Some of the values of baby-boomers include respect, empowerment, challenge and growth. Mr Shantilal said: 'Therefore, they will go for meaningful, emotionally satisfying work, including volunteering their services.'
That Gen Y workers in Singapore are less likely to sacrifice pay is not a big surprise, as the goal-oriented drive of Singaporeans places emphasis on financial stability and independence, he said.
Banker Pang Kai Ying, 26, is one. 'I work just for the money, as nothing can substitute it. I find meaning outside of work.'
Others such as customer relationship manager Teresa Tay, 28, said she would settle for a lower wage if she found a meaningful job - but at a later age.
'When you are young, you really want go out there and blitz your career, before settling down to a simpler life later.'
The survey also found that while many respondents had reservations about the real value of their work, a vast majority performed their tasks to high personal standards.
About 84 per cent of Singaporeans said the work they perform gives them a sense of pride, while 78 per cent said it contributes to their self-confidence.
Mr Shantilal said the survey affirms that pay is not the only key factor to attract and retain talent, even in tough economic conditions.
'It demonstrates that we can motivate employees to take pride in their work, so they can contribute positively to their organisations.'
He also addressed the wider impact of the economic crisis on the job market, pointing out that regardless of age group, employees with 'the right attitude, who possess the relevant competencies...should not be overly worried about sacrificing pay even in challenging times'.
He added that employees and organisations alike should adopt the right attitudes and strategies during this tough period.
'Employees will have to accept that they would be required to work harder, that organisations will take certain cost-cutting measures during this difficult period and that some processes may be interrupted.'
By Jessica Cheam
Monday, March 16, 2009
16,880 lost jobs last year
REDUNDANCIES nearly tripled from 3,180 in the third quarter of last year to a record quarterly high of 9,410 workers in the fourth quarter as the global economic downturn worsened.
For the whole of 2008, a total of 16,880 workers were made redundant, comprising 13,920 workers retrenched and 2,970 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely, according to the latest labour market report released by the Ministry of Manpower on Monday.
More workers across all three broad occupational groups were laid off in the fourth quarter of 2008, with professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) experiencing the largest increase - from 950 in the third quarter to 3,790 in the fourth quarter. For the whole year, 6,200 PMETs lost their jobs, forming 37 per cent of the workers displaced, up from 31 per cent the previous year.
For the whole of 2008, a total of 16,880 workers were made redundant, comprising 13,920 workers retrenched and 2,970 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely, according to the latest labour market report released by the Ministry of Manpower on Monday.
More workers across all three broad occupational groups were laid off in the fourth quarter of 2008, with professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) experiencing the largest increase - from 950 in the third quarter to 3,790 in the fourth quarter. For the whole year, 6,200 PMETs lost their jobs, forming 37 per cent of the workers displaced, up from 31 per cent the previous year.
Getting retrenched is 'better than striking lottery'
SOME came out dancing, some gave flying kisses and waved goodbye to their colleagues.
One might think that these workers had just got huge bonuses instead of their retrenchment letters.
During this recession, with many fearing for their jobs, the sight of happy retrenched workers is somewhat surreal.
It may have been Friday the 13th yesterday, but it was certainly not Black Friday at the Delphi Automotive Systems plant in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 1. The company makes products for the automotive and medical industries.
About 220 of its 1,250 employees were retrenched yesterday, and there were more sad faces among those who kept their jobs.
One woman in her 50s was crying because she missed out on retrenchment.
She bawled: 'Why won't they retrench me? I already said I didn't want to keep working.'
Another worker, who gave her name as Miss Lim, was also disappointed as she had planned to set up her own business.
She said: 'I'm sad that I was not retrenched because I'm already in my 50s, and the work is exhausting. I'm so envious of my colleagues.'
Celebrating
Many of those who received the usually dreaded pink slip celebrated openly.
Madam Pang Tai Gek, 60, who got her wish of getting retrenched, ran out beaming, did a jiggle in front of her friends, and shouted that she would be treating them to a meal.
The line technician, who had been with Delphi for 20 years, said: 'I wanted to leave in two years' time to take care of my grandchildren. Now, I get an early retirement and $40,000! If I had retired on my own, I'd have got nothing.'
Agreeing, another worker shouted: 'It's better than striking lottery!'
As the workers waited to find out their fate, there were emotional group hugs and frenzied photo-taking.
But among some of the retrenched, the smiles were just a brave front to mask their sadness and hide their fears.
Ms Low, a machine operator who earned about $1,000 a month, said: 'After working here for 26years, I've made many close friends. I can't bear to leave. On the surface, I'm smiling, but tears are flowing inside.'
Storeman Ahmad Zali bin Amin, 40, blew kisses to his colleagues before stoically walking away.
When The New Paper spoke to him later, he admitted he was 'crying inside his heart' and had held back tears.
'I'm very worried. With my qualifications, I may not find a job outside,' said the 16-year veteran said, who only has a PSLE certificate. He has a wife and three children, aged 11, 12 and 15.
A machine operator, Madam Maniya, 50, is also worried because she still has to provide for a son, who is in Primary Two, and her mother, who suffered a stroke this year.
Quality analysis inspector Boh Ai Ping kept her job of 28 years, but was in tears because she couldn't bear to see her friends leave, she said.
She was not alone. Miss Cho, a machine operator of more than 20 years, cried as she said: 'I can't bear to see my friend go. She's really the strength and soul of our department.'
Her friend, a 59-year-old, said in Mandarin as she hugged her friend and laughed: 'The one who didn't get retrenched is crying, while the one who got retrenched is smiling.'
Many of the workers said they saw the retrenchment exercise coming and those retrenched were satisfied with their severance packages.
Ms Margarita Perfecto, Delphi's Asia Pacific manager of marketing and communications, said the retrenched workers will get one month's pay for every year of service, capped at 24 months.
They received two months pay upfront, and the rest to be paid out monthly. The payout will depend on length of service.
Ms Perfecto said: 'It is a tough exercise for us. It's very sad because part of our family has to go.'
She said the company had taken various steps to avoid retrenchment, such as shorter weekdays, job rotations, plant shutdowns and re-deployment of staff.
But it had to resort to retrenchment due to drastic changes in customer demands, she added.
Ms Perfecto said that the number of workers retrenched yesterday were 'comparable' to those in two retrenchment exercises in 1998 and 2000.
Cuts across the board
The retrenchments were across the board, but about 70 per cent were machine operators, she added.
She said the company had not targeted older workers or foreigners specifically, but had made the cuts based on its business needs.
The employees were told last week about the retrenchment exercise.
She said: 'Some employees had wanted to go, but their skills were needed for the business at this point.'
Ms Perfecto said Delphi was working with the Ministry of Manpower, NTUC and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to help identify job opportunities for the retrenched workers.
Madam Halimah Yacob, executive secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries and the deputy secretary-general of NTUC, said workshops and employability camps have been arranged for the retrenched workers to assess their skills and to see if they are ready for jobs in other sectors.
By Elysa Chen
One might think that these workers had just got huge bonuses instead of their retrenchment letters.
During this recession, with many fearing for their jobs, the sight of happy retrenched workers is somewhat surreal.
It may have been Friday the 13th yesterday, but it was certainly not Black Friday at the Delphi Automotive Systems plant in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 1. The company makes products for the automotive and medical industries.
About 220 of its 1,250 employees were retrenched yesterday, and there were more sad faces among those who kept their jobs.
One woman in her 50s was crying because she missed out on retrenchment.
She bawled: 'Why won't they retrench me? I already said I didn't want to keep working.'
Another worker, who gave her name as Miss Lim, was also disappointed as she had planned to set up her own business.
She said: 'I'm sad that I was not retrenched because I'm already in my 50s, and the work is exhausting. I'm so envious of my colleagues.'
Celebrating
Many of those who received the usually dreaded pink slip celebrated openly.
Madam Pang Tai Gek, 60, who got her wish of getting retrenched, ran out beaming, did a jiggle in front of her friends, and shouted that she would be treating them to a meal.
The line technician, who had been with Delphi for 20 years, said: 'I wanted to leave in two years' time to take care of my grandchildren. Now, I get an early retirement and $40,000! If I had retired on my own, I'd have got nothing.'
Agreeing, another worker shouted: 'It's better than striking lottery!'
As the workers waited to find out their fate, there were emotional group hugs and frenzied photo-taking.
But among some of the retrenched, the smiles were just a brave front to mask their sadness and hide their fears.
Ms Low, a machine operator who earned about $1,000 a month, said: 'After working here for 26years, I've made many close friends. I can't bear to leave. On the surface, I'm smiling, but tears are flowing inside.'
Storeman Ahmad Zali bin Amin, 40, blew kisses to his colleagues before stoically walking away.
When The New Paper spoke to him later, he admitted he was 'crying inside his heart' and had held back tears.
'I'm very worried. With my qualifications, I may not find a job outside,' said the 16-year veteran said, who only has a PSLE certificate. He has a wife and three children, aged 11, 12 and 15.
A machine operator, Madam Maniya, 50, is also worried because she still has to provide for a son, who is in Primary Two, and her mother, who suffered a stroke this year.
Quality analysis inspector Boh Ai Ping kept her job of 28 years, but was in tears because she couldn't bear to see her friends leave, she said.
She was not alone. Miss Cho, a machine operator of more than 20 years, cried as she said: 'I can't bear to see my friend go. She's really the strength and soul of our department.'
Her friend, a 59-year-old, said in Mandarin as she hugged her friend and laughed: 'The one who didn't get retrenched is crying, while the one who got retrenched is smiling.'
Many of the workers said they saw the retrenchment exercise coming and those retrenched were satisfied with their severance packages.
Ms Margarita Perfecto, Delphi's Asia Pacific manager of marketing and communications, said the retrenched workers will get one month's pay for every year of service, capped at 24 months.
They received two months pay upfront, and the rest to be paid out monthly. The payout will depend on length of service.
Ms Perfecto said: 'It is a tough exercise for us. It's very sad because part of our family has to go.'
She said the company had taken various steps to avoid retrenchment, such as shorter weekdays, job rotations, plant shutdowns and re-deployment of staff.
But it had to resort to retrenchment due to drastic changes in customer demands, she added.
Ms Perfecto said that the number of workers retrenched yesterday were 'comparable' to those in two retrenchment exercises in 1998 and 2000.
Cuts across the board
The retrenchments were across the board, but about 70 per cent were machine operators, she added.
She said the company had not targeted older workers or foreigners specifically, but had made the cuts based on its business needs.
The employees were told last week about the retrenchment exercise.
She said: 'Some employees had wanted to go, but their skills were needed for the business at this point.'
Ms Perfecto said Delphi was working with the Ministry of Manpower, NTUC and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to help identify job opportunities for the retrenched workers.
Madam Halimah Yacob, executive secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries and the deputy secretary-general of NTUC, said workshops and employability camps have been arranged for the retrenched workers to assess their skills and to see if they are ready for jobs in other sectors.
By Elysa Chen
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Jobs on offer: 800; Applications: 20,000
A JOB at one of the upcoming integrated resorts (IRs) here is proving to be a really hot commodity - with both Singaporeans and foreigners.
Resorts World at Sentosa yesterday said it had received 20,000 - and counting - applications for just 800 jobs it had on offer at the Career 2009 and Education 2009 fair, held over four days beginning last Thursday.
The Marina Bay Sands IR, which was also hiring at the same fair, would not say how many applications it received, but its president Nigel Roberts said the level of interest was 'stunning'.
With 500,000 visitors to the fair over four days, and with Marina Bay looking to hire 'thousands', it is likely that it received a similar, if not larger, number of applicants.
Jobs at the casinos appear to be the most sought-after among applicants to the Sentosa IR.
Resorts World's senior vice-president for human resources and training, Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, said half the applicants wanted a gaming-related job.
Of the rest, 40 per cent were gunning for a job in the Universal Studios' theme park.
The applicants, she said, were both Singaporean and foreign, retrenched workers as well as those who had jobs, and ranged from professionals to fresh graduates.
Interviews for the shortlisted candidates started yesterday.
Among those who are keeping their fingers crossed is Singaporean Desmond Goh, 33, who already has a job in a hotel here.
He said he was looking for a job at the Sentosa resort because he wanted a change of pace.
A significant number of applicants were also foreigners who flew here just to look for a job.
Filipina Elahn Grace, 28, an English graduate, who arrived two weeks ago, said she chose Singapore because 'it is a safe place and there are many opportunities here'.
Another Filipina, Ms Candy Lopez, 24, lost her job back home as an accountant recently, and decided to come here to try and find employment.
She said: 'I'm just taking a chance to be employed.'
The organiser of the fair, Mr Michael Ling from IIR Exhibitions, confirmed that the integrated resorts drew the lion's share of attention.
'They were the busiest,' he said, adding that jobs in the health-care and social services sectors seemed popular too, judging by the crowds at the booths.
Mr Ling was unable to say how many job applications in total were made during the fair. Up to 15,000 positions were available in the four-day fair.
The two integrated resorts need some 20,000 workers, and are expected to ramp up hiring this year as both gear up to open by the end of this year and early next year.
By Lim Wei Chean & Alessa Pang
Resorts World at Sentosa yesterday said it had received 20,000 - and counting - applications for just 800 jobs it had on offer at the Career 2009 and Education 2009 fair, held over four days beginning last Thursday.
The Marina Bay Sands IR, which was also hiring at the same fair, would not say how many applications it received, but its president Nigel Roberts said the level of interest was 'stunning'.
With 500,000 visitors to the fair over four days, and with Marina Bay looking to hire 'thousands', it is likely that it received a similar, if not larger, number of applicants.
Jobs at the casinos appear to be the most sought-after among applicants to the Sentosa IR.
Resorts World's senior vice-president for human resources and training, Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, said half the applicants wanted a gaming-related job.
Of the rest, 40 per cent were gunning for a job in the Universal Studios' theme park.
The applicants, she said, were both Singaporean and foreign, retrenched workers as well as those who had jobs, and ranged from professionals to fresh graduates.
Interviews for the shortlisted candidates started yesterday.
Among those who are keeping their fingers crossed is Singaporean Desmond Goh, 33, who already has a job in a hotel here.
He said he was looking for a job at the Sentosa resort because he wanted a change of pace.
A significant number of applicants were also foreigners who flew here just to look for a job.
Filipina Elahn Grace, 28, an English graduate, who arrived two weeks ago, said she chose Singapore because 'it is a safe place and there are many opportunities here'.
Another Filipina, Ms Candy Lopez, 24, lost her job back home as an accountant recently, and decided to come here to try and find employment.
She said: 'I'm just taking a chance to be employed.'
The organiser of the fair, Mr Michael Ling from IIR Exhibitions, confirmed that the integrated resorts drew the lion's share of attention.
'They were the busiest,' he said, adding that jobs in the health-care and social services sectors seemed popular too, judging by the crowds at the booths.
Mr Ling was unable to say how many job applications in total were made during the fair. Up to 15,000 positions were available in the four-day fair.
The two integrated resorts need some 20,000 workers, and are expected to ramp up hiring this year as both gear up to open by the end of this year and early next year.
By Lim Wei Chean & Alessa Pang
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
2 men from S’pore in Top 50 list for "Best Job in the World"
SINGAPORE: Two men from Singapore have made it to the top 50 candidates who are shortlisted for what is touted as the "Best Job in the World". They beat more than 34,000 applicants ranging from scientists, chefs and students from around the world.
The two Singaporeans will be up against each other and 48 others for the job of a caretaker of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef in a tourism promotion by the Queensland state government.
The successful candidate will be paid US$100,000 for six months to enjoy the sun, sea and sand and report his experiences via blogs, photos and video diaries.For Greg Reynen, a teacher at the Singapore American School, the news that he was shortlisted was a timely birthday present as he has just turned 31.He said:
"I was at my computer and I couldn’t believe it, I just screamed and I went running down the hallway. It’s an amazing opportunity. It totally fits my personality and I get to go out, meet new people and interact with the locals and tourists. I also get to try new things and be adventurous.
"For 24—year—old Jimmy Wong, a freelance diver and photographer, it was a total surprise as well.He said: "At first, I was definitely in a state of shock, but after that I realised if you do something out of passion and the love for it, you can go far.
"The judges were impressed with the duo’s video clip submissions.Leong Pik Yin, manager, Marketing Communications, Tourism Queensland, said: "They were quite creative and their applications were quite out of the box and they met all the five selection criteria."
These include being proficient in English and IT savvy.Tourism Queenland received about 224 applications from Singapore. Besides the two successful applicants from Singapore, two other regional applicants, from Malaysia and Indonesia, made the cut.
The 50 shortlisted applicants will be narrowed down to a final 10. An 11th applicant will be chosen by popular vote via a "wild card" round. You can go to this website to vote.They will then fly to Hamilton Island in early May to take part in the final selection. The winner will be made known on May 6 and he or she will start work or play on July 1.
The two Singaporeans will be up against each other and 48 others for the job of a caretaker of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef in a tourism promotion by the Queensland state government.
The successful candidate will be paid US$100,000 for six months to enjoy the sun, sea and sand and report his experiences via blogs, photos and video diaries.For Greg Reynen, a teacher at the Singapore American School, the news that he was shortlisted was a timely birthday present as he has just turned 31.He said:
"I was at my computer and I couldn’t believe it, I just screamed and I went running down the hallway. It’s an amazing opportunity. It totally fits my personality and I get to go out, meet new people and interact with the locals and tourists. I also get to try new things and be adventurous.
"For 24—year—old Jimmy Wong, a freelance diver and photographer, it was a total surprise as well.He said: "At first, I was definitely in a state of shock, but after that I realised if you do something out of passion and the love for it, you can go far.
"The judges were impressed with the duo’s video clip submissions.Leong Pik Yin, manager, Marketing Communications, Tourism Queensland, said: "They were quite creative and their applications were quite out of the box and they met all the five selection criteria."
These include being proficient in English and IT savvy.Tourism Queenland received about 224 applications from Singapore. Besides the two successful applicants from Singapore, two other regional applicants, from Malaysia and Indonesia, made the cut.
The 50 shortlisted applicants will be narrowed down to a final 10. An 11th applicant will be chosen by popular vote via a "wild card" round. You can go to this website to vote.They will then fly to Hamilton Island in early May to take part in the final selection. The winner will be made known on May 6 and he or she will start work or play on July 1.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Screening helps women job seekers
WHEN Ms Annie Yeo, 32, left home for a job fair yesterday, she had more than a good chance of securing a position with an employer.
That was because the organisers had already contacted her earlier to confirm that she had the work experience and educational qualifications for the hotel and sales positions that she was interested in.
This new 'screening' process, ahead of when job fairs are held, is to ensure that there will be a better fit between job seekers and employers when such events are held, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
It is the latest move being adopted by the NTUC Women's Development Secretariat, which she heads, to help more women return to the workforce.
A related step is to ensure that there is better follow-up action once a job seeker links up with an employer, she told reporters after touring the job fair at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).This means checking with employers if the women they shortlisted will need training - say in English literacy skills - and then helping put them through a relevant course, she explained.
Yesterday, some 2,000 women turned up at the fair, where firms were seeking to fill 900 vacancies in jobs such as food and beverage crews and retail assistants.Elaborating on the screening process, a Women's Development Secretariat spokesman said women in its database were informed about the fair in advance.
Community Development Councils also put the word out to jobless residents. There were also advertisements placed in The Straits Times' Classifieds section which specified the available positions, job scope and educational qualifications.Each of the 1,800 women who registered with the Secretariat were contacted. Their details and preferences were double-checked and their suitability for the jobs on offer was assessed.
'It's better to be screened first,' said Ms Yeo, 32, who made the one-hour journey by MRT from her Hougang flat to the job fair in Bukit Merah. She lost her job as a sales promoter last month.
At the fair, professional home-cleaning service Amahs On Wheels made her an immediate offer to be a cleaner, starting on Monday. Ms Yeo said she would do it part-time first, just to see if she could manage. While she was successful, there were others who were not so lucky.Amahs On Wheels manager Rebecca Lim found that seven out of the first 10 applicants she interviewed were unsuitable. Some were unwilling to travel too far for work. Others told her they could not start immediately.
Henderson Security, which was hiring administrative assistants, found that a number of applicants lacked basic computer know-how.The Popular bookstore chain said that 120 of the first 130 applicants who were interviewed could not communicate well.'We have vacancies in the multimedia and English book departments. But they didn't know what was a thumb drive or a CD-ROM, and had no interest in English books,' senior human resource executive Josephine Lim explained.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
That was because the organisers had already contacted her earlier to confirm that she had the work experience and educational qualifications for the hotel and sales positions that she was interested in.
This new 'screening' process, ahead of when job fairs are held, is to ensure that there will be a better fit between job seekers and employers when such events are held, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
It is the latest move being adopted by the NTUC Women's Development Secretariat, which she heads, to help more women return to the workforce.
A related step is to ensure that there is better follow-up action once a job seeker links up with an employer, she told reporters after touring the job fair at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).This means checking with employers if the women they shortlisted will need training - say in English literacy skills - and then helping put them through a relevant course, she explained.
Yesterday, some 2,000 women turned up at the fair, where firms were seeking to fill 900 vacancies in jobs such as food and beverage crews and retail assistants.Elaborating on the screening process, a Women's Development Secretariat spokesman said women in its database were informed about the fair in advance.
Community Development Councils also put the word out to jobless residents. There were also advertisements placed in The Straits Times' Classifieds section which specified the available positions, job scope and educational qualifications.Each of the 1,800 women who registered with the Secretariat were contacted. Their details and preferences were double-checked and their suitability for the jobs on offer was assessed.
'It's better to be screened first,' said Ms Yeo, 32, who made the one-hour journey by MRT from her Hougang flat to the job fair in Bukit Merah. She lost her job as a sales promoter last month.
At the fair, professional home-cleaning service Amahs On Wheels made her an immediate offer to be a cleaner, starting on Monday. Ms Yeo said she would do it part-time first, just to see if she could manage. While she was successful, there were others who were not so lucky.Amahs On Wheels manager Rebecca Lim found that seven out of the first 10 applicants she interviewed were unsuitable. Some were unwilling to travel too far for work. Others told her they could not start immediately.
Henderson Security, which was hiring administrative assistants, found that a number of applicants lacked basic computer know-how.The Popular bookstore chain said that 120 of the first 130 applicants who were interviewed could not communicate well.'We have vacancies in the multimedia and English book departments. But they didn't know what was a thumb drive or a CD-ROM, and had no interest in English books,' senior human resource executive Josephine Lim explained.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
$125m prop for infocomm sector to save 10,000 jobs
THE Government is setting aside $125 million to implement relief measures to keep the infocomm industry growing in these bad times.
It will strengthen three help schemes to help up to 10,000 IT professionals keep their jobs and to train the next generation of such professionals.
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang, speaking at the IT Leader Awards last night, listed three schemes that will be beefed up:
# The National Infocomm Competency Framework: This is an online information portal which identifies the skills IT professionals of varying levels of seniority need, and lists where they can get training to sharpen these skills. The number of infocomm jobs on which information is available on the website has ballooned from 30 to over 200, including IT positions in financial and health-care companies.
# Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme: From April 1, those who sign up for training in infocomm will have the course and examination fees subsidised by 80 per cent, up from 50 per cent.Firms sponsoring their employees for such courses will be compensated $50 for each day of training. This programme will cost the Government $25 million.
# More funding for infocomm scholarships: An additional $30 million will be put into the existing National Infocomm Scholarship and the new Integrated Infocomm Scholarship, meant for O-level students to pursue infocomm courses from polytechnic through university. The rest of the $125 million will go towards supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and the rest of the infocomm industry, so they can develop infocomm solutions and encourage the adoption of IT. Dr Lee is confident that the measures will see the industry through the recession and get it ready for when the economy turns around.
At the 13th IT Leader Awards, five individuals were lauded for their contributions to the industry.Mr Robert Chew, chairman of the government-supported IT Standards Committee, was named IT Leader of the Year.
Mr Rakesh Kumar Gupta, founder of educational software firm Heulab, took the Young Professional of the Year award.The Hall of Fame award, which recognises individuals who helped shape the development of IT here over time, went to Ms Pearleen Chan, a consultant at consulting firm Accenture.
Two clinched the IT Youth award. One was full-time national serviceman Loke Lup Peng, 20, who popularised IT among his peers while in Temasek Polytechnic; the other was 24-year-old Winnie Soh, a freelance software developer and co-founder of Dream Axis, a company which creates virtual worlds.This article was first published in The Straits Times.
It will strengthen three help schemes to help up to 10,000 IT professionals keep their jobs and to train the next generation of such professionals.
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang, speaking at the IT Leader Awards last night, listed three schemes that will be beefed up:
# The National Infocomm Competency Framework: This is an online information portal which identifies the skills IT professionals of varying levels of seniority need, and lists where they can get training to sharpen these skills. The number of infocomm jobs on which information is available on the website has ballooned from 30 to over 200, including IT positions in financial and health-care companies.
# Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme: From April 1, those who sign up for training in infocomm will have the course and examination fees subsidised by 80 per cent, up from 50 per cent.Firms sponsoring their employees for such courses will be compensated $50 for each day of training. This programme will cost the Government $25 million.
# More funding for infocomm scholarships: An additional $30 million will be put into the existing National Infocomm Scholarship and the new Integrated Infocomm Scholarship, meant for O-level students to pursue infocomm courses from polytechnic through university. The rest of the $125 million will go towards supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and the rest of the infocomm industry, so they can develop infocomm solutions and encourage the adoption of IT. Dr Lee is confident that the measures will see the industry through the recession and get it ready for when the economy turns around.
At the 13th IT Leader Awards, five individuals were lauded for their contributions to the industry.Mr Robert Chew, chairman of the government-supported IT Standards Committee, was named IT Leader of the Year.
Mr Rakesh Kumar Gupta, founder of educational software firm Heulab, took the Young Professional of the Year award.The Hall of Fame award, which recognises individuals who helped shape the development of IT here over time, went to Ms Pearleen Chan, a consultant at consulting firm Accenture.
Two clinched the IT Youth award. One was full-time national serviceman Loke Lup Peng, 20, who popularised IT among his peers while in Temasek Polytechnic; the other was 24-year-old Winnie Soh, a freelance software developer and co-founder of Dream Axis, a company which creates virtual worlds.This article was first published in The Straits Times.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Government focused on reducing job losses
INSTEAD of dwelling on numbers, the Government would rather focus on action: ensuring that help programmes recently put in place work to minimise the downturn fallout.
This was Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong's response yesterday to the prospects of further retrenchment and unemployment.
He had been asked about a DBS Bank prediction that more than 99,000 jobs could be lost by next year.
'My concern is what we can do to minimise it, rather than worry about whether it's going to be 99,000 or any other number,' he said.
'My focus is on doing something. Get these programmes launched, get these programmes in place, help the companies, help the workers tap on these programmes.
'He was referring to programmes to help companies cut costs and save jobs, and aid workers in improving their employability.
They include the Jobs Credit scheme and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience. In doing so, Singapore would succeed in keeping retrenchment and unemployment figures low, MrGan added.
The DBS prediction did not take into account the possible impact of the recent measures implemented by the Government to try and save jobs, according to an economist from the bank who commented on the prediction.
While the Government had worked in the measures, employers and workers also had to do their part, said Mr Gan.
'I think if all of us do our part, the Government providing the measures, employers doing their best to cut cost and save jobs... and workers themselves being prepared to adapt... we will be able to succeed in minimising retrenchment and unemployment,' he said.
This was Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong's response yesterday to the prospects of further retrenchment and unemployment.
He had been asked about a DBS Bank prediction that more than 99,000 jobs could be lost by next year.
'My concern is what we can do to minimise it, rather than worry about whether it's going to be 99,000 or any other number,' he said.
'My focus is on doing something. Get these programmes launched, get these programmes in place, help the companies, help the workers tap on these programmes.
'He was referring to programmes to help companies cut costs and save jobs, and aid workers in improving their employability.
They include the Jobs Credit scheme and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience. In doing so, Singapore would succeed in keeping retrenchment and unemployment figures low, MrGan added.
The DBS prediction did not take into account the possible impact of the recent measures implemented by the Government to try and save jobs, according to an economist from the bank who commented on the prediction.
While the Government had worked in the measures, employers and workers also had to do their part, said Mr Gan.
'I think if all of us do our part, the Government providing the measures, employers doing their best to cut cost and save jobs... and workers themselves being prepared to adapt... we will be able to succeed in minimising retrenchment and unemployment,' he said.
4,800 flock to job fair at Sembawang 010309
WHEN organisers of a job fair at Jelutong Community Centre in Sembawang opened the doors at 9.30 am yesterday, they were greeted by a long line of waiting people.
Over 1,000 arrived within the first hour of the North West Community Development Council's (CDC) job fair yesterday. By the time it ended at 4.30pm, the number had risen to 4,800.The event brought together 40 service industry employers offering more than 3,000 jobs and was the largest recruitment fair organised by a CDC.
Fast-food chain McDonald's, security firm Cisco and department store Metro were among those offering jobs, mostly rank and file positions. About 10 per cent were managerial or executive posts.Many job seekers made a beeline for the Resorts World at Sentosa booth, which had over 1,000 applications by the end of the fair.
The integrated resort was offering 300 jobs, half of which are for the Universal Studios theme park.A sign of increasingly hard times for job seekers, the overwhelming turnout mirrored that at other job fairs held recently. One organised by the South East CDC on Saturday saw over 5,000 hopefuls going after 1,000 jobs on offer.
Yesterday's crowd left Dr Lim Wee Kiak, a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, worried.He said: 'We were a little surprised by the response. It's a weekday...it's not somewhere in town, yet we are enjoying an overwhelming response. It is a worrisome sign as well.
'I hope that Singaporeans will be a little bit more receptive and take up job offers that may not exactly fit 100 per cent of their criteria, that they will be flexible enough to accept that times are tough.'The North West district, which includes Woodlands, Bukit Timah and Sembawang, has seen a 43 per cent rise in job seekers between September and last month.
Noting the rise among the unemployed and retrenched, mayor Teo Ho Pin said yesterday that the council would be spending $1.6 million this year to help residents find jobs. This is about half-a-million dollars more than last year's budget. The extra money will go towards boosting resources at job assistance centres, and doubling job placement exercises.
It will also fund new programmes to help retrenched workers find employment and raise awareness of skills upgrading courses.The council hopes such efforts will benefit those like Mr Vigianderan, 55, who used to earn $50 a day as a forklift driver. He has received notice from his employer and will be out of a job by today.
As he is hearing-impaired, it has been difficult for him to get a job. Without one, he and his wife will have to survive on her $500 monthly income as a part-time babysitter.Said Mr Vigianderan, who applied to be a health-care assistant: 'Any job would be okay, I just need one right now.
'This article was first published in The Straits Times.
Over 1,000 arrived within the first hour of the North West Community Development Council's (CDC) job fair yesterday. By the time it ended at 4.30pm, the number had risen to 4,800.The event brought together 40 service industry employers offering more than 3,000 jobs and was the largest recruitment fair organised by a CDC.
Fast-food chain McDonald's, security firm Cisco and department store Metro were among those offering jobs, mostly rank and file positions. About 10 per cent were managerial or executive posts.Many job seekers made a beeline for the Resorts World at Sentosa booth, which had over 1,000 applications by the end of the fair.
The integrated resort was offering 300 jobs, half of which are for the Universal Studios theme park.A sign of increasingly hard times for job seekers, the overwhelming turnout mirrored that at other job fairs held recently. One organised by the South East CDC on Saturday saw over 5,000 hopefuls going after 1,000 jobs on offer.
Yesterday's crowd left Dr Lim Wee Kiak, a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, worried.He said: 'We were a little surprised by the response. It's a weekday...it's not somewhere in town, yet we are enjoying an overwhelming response. It is a worrisome sign as well.
'I hope that Singaporeans will be a little bit more receptive and take up job offers that may not exactly fit 100 per cent of their criteria, that they will be flexible enough to accept that times are tough.'The North West district, which includes Woodlands, Bukit Timah and Sembawang, has seen a 43 per cent rise in job seekers between September and last month.
Noting the rise among the unemployed and retrenched, mayor Teo Ho Pin said yesterday that the council would be spending $1.6 million this year to help residents find jobs. This is about half-a-million dollars more than last year's budget. The extra money will go towards boosting resources at job assistance centres, and doubling job placement exercises.
It will also fund new programmes to help retrenched workers find employment and raise awareness of skills upgrading courses.The council hopes such efforts will benefit those like Mr Vigianderan, 55, who used to earn $50 a day as a forklift driver. He has received notice from his employer and will be out of a job by today.
As he is hearing-impaired, it has been difficult for him to get a job. Without one, he and his wife will have to survive on her $500 monthly income as a part-time babysitter.Said Mr Vigianderan, who applied to be a health-care assistant: 'Any job would be okay, I just need one right now.
'This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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