Fiona Lim
I refer to the Straits Times article “Singapore ‘must join the war for talent” (11th Dec 2009).
Singapore government’s unabashed enthusiasm for the State’s alliance with foreign capital does not present itself more clearly than the recent ST article which saw the government reinforcing the so-called necessity of a battle for foreign talents.
Such a liberal open-door policy towards foreigners surely adds to the attraction of Singapore as a hotspot for investors and of course, this will be beneficial for the economy. But will this step necessarily be a boon, not only for the MNCs, but also for the Singaporean masses? Will there be a substantial or negligible trickle-down effect for the locals with such a policy?
In response to the mounting local fear of increased competition in the job market, Mr Shanmugam points out that “investors are also rational” and that jobs will be handed to locals whenever possible.
Personally, I become extremely skeptical whenever there is an argument made to the appeal of rationality simply because rational decisions are not always the best ones. An investor’s rationality probably lies within the frameworks of profit-making, cost-benefit analysis (I do not believe I’m making a bold assumption here). Following such an assumption, a rational investor would hire the most productive workers bearing the lowest price tags.
myself in the shoes of an unemployed Singaporean looking for a job and is competing with a fairly high number of unemployed ‘foreign talents’ desperate to make a career on our sunny shores, the statement issued by the Law Minister would hardly be assuring to me.
The increased competition an unemployed would face with a rising influx of foreigners is real, and unless appropriate regulating measures were to be in place, Singaporeans would be getting the shorter end of the stick.
Similar to certain states’ protection of their native industries against the harmful effects of heavy foreign imports, the implementation of slight protectionist measures will also mitigate the negative consequences which otherwise the locals will be burdened with.
So far, there has been little statistical information provided regarding the inadequacy of local strength in terms of filling job positions which apparently necessitates the trenchant pursuit of foreign talents.
That being said, is there really a dearth of so-called ‘talents’ in Singapore? And if so, should not more funds be directed towards the nurturing of this pertinent segment of society instead of the easy solution of importing resources? Given the oft-touted foresight of our government, would not a more profound investment in Singaporeans be a more worthy panacea?
With all these questions in mind, the government’s engagement in a war for foreign talents looks to be little more than a whitewashed attempt at accruing a higher GDP at the expense of the public.
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Mr Shammugam should talk to the old toilet cleaner auntie who had to take a $200 paycut down from her original $800, AND work OT and weekends because her boss told her there are many foreign workers willing to work for the same pay and conditions.
leaders who hold onto cushy jobs & are well shielded against the brunt of the “war” should head way up the front & feel what’s like to be in the frontline in the thick of the “action” of a war they so gladly embrace.
There is nothing wrong with joining the race to attract talents from the world. The real point about this race is to attract talents to fill positions that Singaporeans cannot fill due to the lack of expertise. This policy, correctly implemented, can and should lead to creation of value within the economy and expand its capacity.
However, this policy, like many other PAP’s, is flawed in its implementation. PAP has chosen instead to bring in people (through lax screening process) to take on jobs which Singaporeans are more than capable of filling while at the same time crippling the locals with silly burdens like NS and lack of social safety nets to take care of the old and needy.
As rational singaporeans, we would like to have worthy, credible, productive and
talented ministers, bearing the lowest tags.
How about that, Mr Sham. Do you feel guilty collecting millions from poor
taxpayers?
Obama is a NOBEL PRIZE recipient..
He is PRESIDENT OF USA..
HE IS SUPER CHARISMATIC AND TALENTED..
His annual pay is 1/5 of PM LEE..
Can we replace PM LEE with OBAMA ??
Cheaper, Better, Faster leh…
This FT Policy has been raised many times before, as did the people on the Stop at Two policy. And as with all doggedly upheld policies, this one is similarly destined to go the way of the infamous ‘Stop at Two’ policies of old. And today because of it, we have a shortage of babies & they conveniently turn to FTs to mitigate this result of their ‘foresightedness’…
Now, for this FT policy, they will NEVER admit that it is FLAWED until it all hits the fan splitter-splatter all over their office walls, decorating & reminding them for eons to come what tunnel-visions they have – this FT Policy….
The term “foreign talent” is used so loosely as to refer to any foreigner who can do the job cheaper, not necessarily faster or better. And this is used to jusitfy the huge influx of foreigners to prop up the GDP figure and hence the millions of our ministars. Vote for opposition. I’m sure they can do the same job cheaper and as least as good and as fast.
Before I leave, can I just ask a question: is it illegal for a foreigner to fund an opposition party’s campaign? And how much does it cost to mount a serious challenge?
“is it illegal for a foreigner to fund an opposition party’s”
ask your big brother lah. if he says illegal then illegal lah. anyway, rules & law are man-made one lah. even 4-men assembly can change to one-man assembly.
buying private lottery illegal lah but buy from authorized dealers not illegal. same act but different treatments.
selling chewing gum can be illegal right but selling cigarettes & having casinos not illegal lah.
“how much does it cost to mount a serious challenge.”
ask your big brother lah, he can make it cheaper lah if he wants to.
Dear Fiona
Shamunagan is LABELLING all and Sundry as Talent. There is real talent and there is well anyone who is foreign and cheaper better faster than a local “talent”
We want more of the former and less of the latter. That is THE POINT
Locke
“There is real talent and there is well anyone who is foreign and cheaper better faster than a local “talent”.”
aiyah, in short, anyone outside from our land who knows how to urinate and cheap is also called talent lah.
* however, there is an exception to the rule.
i think another way we can look at this hard-sell of FT policy is it being a tool of PAP’s long-term social engineering project (see: Graduate Mothers Scheme). so now instead of dishing out incentives for graduate mothers to reproduce at a faster rate- a plan which backfired- the govt. attracts these ‘foreign talents’ to set up homes and reproduce here, so as to contribute to the population numbers. (when i say FT here, i do not include the Foreign Workers, for obvious reasons pertaining to the argument here)
also, it would be interesting if we’d be able to find statistics that reveal the number of chinese FT acquiring citizenships as compared to other ethnicities.
Food stalls rent throughout our country has increased significantly through the years, and yet the prices of food has only risen by a fraction. Taxi’s rent and petrol prices increased significantly the years as well but taxi’s intake have not in comparison to the cost of living. Hawkers, many of them old timers, are afraid to increase their selling price for fear of losing customers whose salaries HAVE NOT risen significantly through the years. So the hawkers and taxi drivers resort to various means to make ends meet much to the ire of their fellow citizens, who are facing different problems. To keep their selling price reasonable, hawkers started using cheaper labour, started getting ‘creative’ with labour laws, started using cheaper ingredients, started giving out less than used to be expected etc. Many of their children and the new generation not wanting to take over does not help. Taxi drivers are tempted to turn ugly, resorting to all sort of ugly measures just to make a decent earning. Can we blame them, sure.. but only them? Surely not.
Are these trivial matters? Certainly not. We all should play a part.. and surely the elected ruling party should play a big part. They are part of ‘we’, are they not? By keeping some basic sectors of Singapore cheap so that Singaporeans can SURVIVE, while expats with big pay checks can LIVE majestically, by allowing market forces and ‘other’ forces to push the cost of housing up in a limited land area nation so that expats with big pay check can pick and choose where to live and enjoy the fruits of our country without fear or obligations, while majority of the children of the land are made to feel ‘joy’ when they get to be in debt to buy a little space to call home.
Something is quite wrong.
Let us get a little ‘right’ back. Not too much to ask, I think.
The reason we are in such a sad state, with young people not settling down, not wanting to have children and talents migrating to greener pastures are all because of what the PAP had done or not done.
hi locke-
when i wrote this, i was clearly under the impression that FT was referred to foreigners who are imported for their so-called ‘talents’ i.e. they occupy relatively high social positions, and this is a separate group of foreigners from the migrant workers, foreign labour we see all around us.
from what i know, there are varying degrees of employment passes offered to any foreigners entering the country to work and special passes which permit family members to be brought over are accorded to foreigners wielding high incomes. and such a privilege is not given to the bangladeshi fixing the underground cables, for obvious reasons.
also, as our everyday experiences tell us, the FW here are far from well-treated, simply because the govt doesn’t give a rat’s ass about these people who- unlike the foreign talent- are not ‘key movers’ of the economy.
therefore, seeing that there are already such bureaucratic and non-institutional sanctions in place, and reading about our govt’s participation in a war for FT, i am naturally led to believe that the govt is diligent enough to not mix up the plebeian FWs with the indispensable FT.
all this ministers talk of foreign talents..
what about them do they think they are talented @ all?
all are just mere dogs of THE master himself….
indeed this ministers are realLEE talented in suckin up the balls of the ONE…
two if you include the stupid idiot prince his son…
looked @ president obama…
less than 1 year he achieved the nobel peace prize…
leekuanyew achieved any nobel or even norminated @ all?
Found this on the net:
“The Political Donations Act was passed by Parliament in May 2000. The Political Donations Act seeks to prevent foreign groups from interfering in domestic politics through donations to political associations, parliamentary election candidates and presidential election candidates. The Act prohibits political parties, organizations gazetted as political associations under the Act and candidates of parliamentary or presidential elections from accepting donations from persons or bodies that are not permissible donors. It also requires political parties, organizations gazetted as political associations under the Act and election candidates to report large donations that they have received. The Act and its subsidiary legislation came into operation on 15 Feb 2001.”
What a pity.
[i]wui on December 14th, 2009 8.39 pm Food stalls rent throughout our country has increased significantly through the years, and yet the prices of food has only risen by a fraction.[/i]
the pioneer batch of hawkers paid a monthly rentals of just $200/months
in the olden days the batons was passed from parents to childrens hawkers
today?
the laws has been changed to protect the pap ministers
the parents who are old will no longer hand over their serabets stalls to their children..the children who want to take over pay a new rental rates of $3000 to $5000 and above…
NON-NEOGOTIATBLE…
or you can alway buy from the hdb @ $300,000/stall….
imagined a kuehseller/beancure hawker tryin to get a mortgage from the singapoor banks inc…
you think will the banks grant them a mortgage of $300,000?
now you know how sad is our history…
[i]therefore, seeing that there are already such bureaucratic and non-institutional sanctions in place, and reading about our govt’s participation in a war for FT, i am naturally led to believe that the govt is diligent enough to not mix up the plebeian FWs with the indispensable FT. [/i]
dear ms fiona lim
let me shared a little experiences with you
many of my highpowered adhoc clients are not kachan puteh calibres..
they are CEOs/bankers from many european countires includin some who come from south americas with operatin offices in miami…
1 by 1 has RETURNED home
not by choice but by the desparate s h i t market economies that hit the world world wide…
so whatever talents the ministers is singin..it just a p65 hiphop dancin…
china meanwhile is commandin the whole markets in whatever it is doin….
many europeans/americans are HEADIN for china without even bein ASKED..
even a couple of my siblins is in china…
onced again not by choice nor perks…
you either go to china or stayed UNEMPLOYED in singapoor…
have you even been jobless for 16 months in a row?
now you know why ministers in singapore can never retired..
they are GURANTEED for life..if they licked far enough…
Dear Fiona
There are several sorts of talent. Unskilled Semi-Skilled Skilled an Professional , The first two are lowering wages for well the dirty dangerous jobs, the skilled and professional are keeping wages low for grads and diploma’s holders.
No one cares if companies are willing and can pay someone $10,000 SGD a month, It matters at the 1800 and 1200 SGD level.
By not making the distinction clear u are buying into the GOV confusing u.
Locke
Hi Fiona,
On the hindsight,what our Law Minister is trying to tell all our fellow S’poreans is if we don’t shape up,we have to ship out, if we don’t pull up our socks, the foreign legions will come in hordes to our shores & heartlands, they will divide n conquer our tiny island, what can we do? Take up our swords & shields,nope, we have to start changing the political leadership from top till bottom,by the next election,it will be in 2012,most of us are growing older,not younger,i will be in my mid 30s’,not that old,not that young either,if the ruling party comes into power again,if it stays this way,WE ARE DEAD,WE ARE ALL DEAD!!!
This is John Connor,if you are reading this,welcome to the Resistance!
Our govt has spent a lot of money, but do not seem to be able to retain talent, and many of this so-called FT leave our shores after making a pile in terms of huge bonus payment or share options received.
And meanwhile our own local talent for various reasons also leave for foreign shores, never to return.
Is this policy of chasing after FT suitable for us, if in the process, many of our own talent leave.
Hi Fiona
Do you know you have to compete for jobs with foreigners and PRs who are released early from their jail sentence on some EARLY WORK RELEASE SCHEME.
Yes, these so-called “foreign talents” convicted of serious crimes in Singapore can be released much, much earlier than their jail sentence. For example, a PR sentenced to three years’ jail will enjoy one third remission and can be released as early as one and a half years after conviction – TO COMPETE WITH SINGAPOREANS LIKE YOU.
http://www.apill4life.blogspot.com
looks like our much boast about well educated workforce is a big hoax. if S’pore really produces a well educated workforce, why is Labour Chief asking us to moderate expectations, be “cheaper, faster, better”?
S’pore dun not produce talent? what of our Universities? is it any wonder why S’poreans often suffer an “identity crisis”? being constantly thumbed down, talked down & bulldozed by our very own leaders.
why should S’poreans pay heftily for education only to be marginalised in his/her own country? wage a talent “war”? 1 2 hoodwink who arh?
a lack of talent, just look at the top. lol…
Why can’t we import the foreign talents into our civil services and cabinet. Cheaper and more efficient. Do not need to pay for their expensive scholarship also.
Mr Shanmugam points out that “investors are also rational” and that jobs will be handed to locals whenever possible.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shanmugam is still dreaming in his ivory tower!!!
It is NO about who is talented. Rather it is about people with common background/culture.
A hiring manager will tend to hire people from his own country because they share common culture, common chit-chat topics, etc. I have seen it many times at my workplace.
MIW should wake up………..maybe we should make them lose 2 or 3 GRCs.
If this is the caliber of talent with end up with while actively engaged in a ‘war’ – I’d hate to think what we’d end up with if we didn’t join in…. :P
FT’s = Shop assistants, mainly from China, in confectionery. These jobs if given to local senior citizens, can help these older folks in a big way, instead of ‘forcing’ them to salvage drink cans and cardboards from the rubbish bin.
FT’s = Coffee shops/kopitiams helpers taking orders for drinks. Unfortunately, these positions are also taken up by workers from China. Ironically, while these workers are busy with their servings, some with a little entertainment, the local aunties and uncles are painfully going their rounds sweeping rubbish on the floors, clearing plates, at times taking ‘instructions’ from these supposingly younger ‘colleagues’.
The list can go on, the job scope varies and replacement of jobs held by locals with ‘foreign talents’ are ongong…..
I must state here that I do not, repeat, do not, hold any grudges against foreigners. We have to agree that it is no fault of theirs to come over to Singapore to make a living. And it is not at all easy for most, if not all of them to work here.
BUT, somebody must be responsible for the current state. Other than policy flaws and poor administration, one can surely find many other reasons why so many of our owns are sufferings. Suffering from loss of jobs, suffering from reduced income, compromising their ability to buy a small HDB flats, or even being evicted from our humble abode. Suffering from our reduced ability to feed our family. Our children suffers, our aged parents receive lesser for their medical bills, where cost has escalated to an unreachable pedestal. Some of us were forced to sell off our flats, knowing clearly that owning the next flat will be out of reach for an indefinite period as the cost of flats will only go northwards.
What have we become? What will we become?
Most of us here are calling for change….. the time is about to come for us to decide, but will we truly decide on changes? I pray so….
My take is, as long as there are candidates from the other political parties, my vote is with this candidate. It doesn’t matter if he or she is of scholar qualities, it doesn’t matter if he or she possesses degrees that are lined with gold.
As long as he or she is someone with a heart for Singaporeans, he will last as long as Mr Chiam is in Parliament.
if someone keeps telling you the (ADULT) that something like this is ‘VERY GOOD” for you repeatedly than something is obvious very wrong for the wrong reasons.
Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love-it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they’re conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.” -Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition PAP member speaking to David Marshall, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Debates, 4 October, 1956
http://www.ngejay.com/?p=1753
i think the current definition of foreign worker and foreign talent used is confusing.
In my opinion, foreigners should be classified into 4 groups:
(for simplicity sake, let’s use MOM’s definitions)
1) Work Permit (Construction, Shipping, domestic helpers, etc)
These are the jobs that you can’t find singaporeans to do. so if you barred foreign workers from coming here to do these jobs, you cannot substitute with local workers.
2) Work Permit (Service- coffeeshop, food court F&B, retail staff)
These are the jobs where Singaporeans are willing to do, but not willing to do so at such low salaries like the foreigners. i remember someone was saying that business cannot afford the salaries of local workers. So the constraint is on the business side.
3) S-Pass Holders, Q1 (semi-professionals)
these are the people who are compete with our diploma and degree holders, and the general middle class singaporeans. they can be found in jobs directly competing with singaporeans (e.g. software enginneer) or non-competing industries such as nursing (where there is a shortage)
4) Employment Pass P1 P2
these are the highly skilled expats- architects scientists, bankers, consultants.
=========
Personally, i don’t have a real problem with the first group nor the last group. i think it is in singapore’s interest to have them and for a long time, that has been our policy- restricting strictly to these groups 1 & 4. So no one really complained all these while.
It is when singapore relaxed the policy to include groups 2 & 3 in the recent years that singaporeans are begining to feel unhappy for two reasons- 1) they compete directly for jobs and 2) they become more visible because now they are in the service industry and see singaporeans on a daily basis.
personally, i can see the other side of liberalizing the service sector (grp 2). from my conversations, it seems businesses have two problems- 1) singaporeans generally don’t aspire to be in the service line. i think most people prefer an office hour job with weekends off now. so there is a scarcity problem. 2) on the other hand, businesses are complaining about the high costs of business which is constraining the amount they can afford to pay.
if we want to keep service jobs for locals, we will also need to address the underlying issues- making sure businesses can afford the higher costs and Singaporeans have a better view of the service sector.
1) Work Permit (Construction, Shipping, domestic helpers, etc)
These are the jobs that you can’t find singaporeans to do. so if you barred foreign workers from coming here to do these jobs, you cannot substitute with local workers.
It seems to me that the reason you don’t find too many Singaporeans doing work in construction etc is that the pay is just too low. And why should employers pay more if they can bring in foreign workers who are prepared to work for a pittance and live in containers. If the monthly wage is between $2000 and $3000 you will probably find that Singaporeans WILL do the work.
The bottom end of Singapore is spiralling down at the rate of knots. The sad part is that it is done knowingly and intentionally. Why someone would spend the best part of his life building a country only to bring it down is difficult to comprehend. Senility?
“Personally, i don’t have a real problem with the first group nor the last group. i think it is in singapore’s interest to have them and for a long time, that has been our policy- restricting strictly to these groups 1 & 4. So no one really complained all these while.”
It’s short term expediency to bring in lowly-skilled migrants to do our “dirty jobs”. That’s the problem with bad pragmatism. It leads to myopia. Suppress racial issues, liberal immigration policy to supplement the decline in population etc. The better way is to close our doors to foreigners and only allow tourists in and those who bother to commit 10 years of their life (or less if certain requirements are met) to study in my idealized educational system. What’s saving $200 per month if what you get are disease, crime, ignorance and a resentful citizentry? I’m not saying all of them are like that but I’ve worked extensively with bangalas, indians, chinese, burmese and I know what I’m talking about.
Is it irrational to vote for this minister in the next office, if it sends a signal that it’s ok to have such foreigner admissions ?
Pls note that on the same day there was a report that top lawyers in London had set up shop here: something local lawyers don’t like as they pronide competition.
I think he was referring to this, not the usual China, India, Bangalesh FTs.
The unhappiness over the FT policy will be dumbed down by the MIWs, just like previous other policies whose flaws only show up after decades. Net effect of the FT policy will be more emigration of S’poreans. When all yr pleas and complaints, the unfairness to NSmen, to their families, high HDB prices fall on deaf ears, the logical solution is to give up and leave. A lot of young ppl are capable of doing that and with smaller families nowadays, coupled with lesser community attachment, it is all not too difficult. It’s a slow form of ethnic cleansing, a displacement of disgrunted locals for shiny happy people from abroad. I wonder how long these mecenaries will stay?
“FT” is simply a loan to Singapore to help PAP earn bonuses. However, Singaporeans are paying for the interest. Under such scenario, it is not dififficult to see clearly the winners under such exploitative games played by PAP.
Since Singaporeans have the ultimate power during election day, the power is the only thing we have to save us from further trauma. Remember, Singaporeans has the power during election when PAP fear the most. Expect to see them kissing our ass and toe when such days come. If we return the power to them after election, Singaporeans will lost our very rights to live and survive under their nose.
I foresee a planned castastrophe, by PAP, is about to happen to wipe Singaporeans in the name of GDP after they regain power to rule. This must not be allowed to happen for the sake of our ancester and many generations.
I just realised that no one has cast a spotlight on the fact that MINISTERS PEG THEIR PAY TO GDP GROWTH.
Of course there is every rational reason they might want to practice the perma-growth at all costs model.
In fact, they should peg their pay to both GDP growth and income equality distribution within Singaporeans
As my former boss who never minced his words used to say ” Government’s Foreignt talent is my low cost, I take what I can get” Well said and he is now the owner of 3 luxury cars and 2 condos…..
Good article Fiona.
RW: I agree with your distinction, though MOM usually just classifies 1, 2, 3 together. It’s the low-skilled foreigners versus the highly skilled ones.
Original resonance: I don’t think there’s anything wrong in providing a job market for foreigners who, unlike locals, wouldn’t mind doing the ‘dirty jobs’. We do however, need to treat them as workers, and not as a dehumanised commodities. It’s a pity that we treat the expats so well but can’t even give the FWs right to cheap healthcare or even the most basic welfare.
Singaporean employers I believe do have a role to play to ensure singaporeans employees get employed
Talent is defined differently from us and the Govt. We define it as an ability or experience that we do not quite have it or yet to have it.
The govt defines it as everyone from any where in the world. if aliens are coming, the govt would take them as FT too.
[i]A Tan on December 15th, 2009 9.47 am Pls note that on the same day there was a report that top lawyers in London had set up shop here: something local lawyers don’t like as they pronide competition. [/i]
this 1 i no needs to say..few years ago a new consortium of americans piling/surveyin company setup in singapore with the blessin of leekuanyew and inc…
every singaporean old established companies tendered their projects on various government projects..
imagined this scenerio…a singaporium company tendered @ an average of $600,000 to $1 million…
here comes the american inc who would tendered @ $400,000…
how many piles of steel would the americans need to trim?
remembered the nicoll highway collapsed incident?
what really happenned?
lack of quality steel beams…
anybody wants or needs me to explain the shortages of steels structure?
and without a doubt..the government agencies who overseas such project happenned to make another ^honest^ mistakes..
LIVEs were LOST….who paid for the honest mistakes? just 1 government senoir civil servant…
Immigrants/foreign talent/PRs etc. are always seen as competition in open societies for a very long time. In the US, almost every generation had had their favourite dog to kick. First it was the Catholics and the Irish. Then it was the Italians and the Poles. Then it was the Chinese. Then it was the Hispanic. ETC. ETC. ETC.
One of the points made is always about competition – immigrants come in, compete for jobs [and housing, transport etc.] and depress wages while raising prices.
This is understandable. But wrong.
But the benefits that immigrants bring to a society is usually down played or outright ignored.
You spoke of cultivating local talents, calling for money to be put in. To begin with, what talents should we cultivate? Can we know what would be needed ten years ago? Or even two years ago? Things move fast nowadays, and a talent gap can open up within a few years. By the time we pour money into a training programme – presto – the economy has moved on.
Second, if the immigrants/PR/foreign talent has the necessary skills and experiences that the locals don’t have – especially the latter as many SIngaporeans have limited exposure to the international business environment – RIGHT NOW, why should any companies wait around for five years for you? In the real world, no one waits around until you’re ready. You have to be ready.
Which brings me to the true crux of your article. You don’t want to do anything for yourself. You expect the government to do something for you. You expect we, the tax-payers, to spend money on you while shutting out competition that might mean jobs for us. Is this fair? To me, the answer is no.
My advice to you is, get up to speed. Learn the necessary skills if you don’t have them. If you majored in English Literature at the university and expect a company to want you, you’ll be sadly mistakened. I found to my cost that a degree in Philosophy was simply not very marketable. You have to acquire new skills, such as doing a MBA. Or if you’re really desperate, government ministries don’t seem to mind recruiting people from the Arts and Humanities!
If you lack the experience, you can work part-time for some MNC, or even seek to work overseas. I have a friend who took a job in Nigeria for two years, and came back as a highly sort after executive for oil companies.
And if it is your attitude towards life – well, I suggest you better change it quickly. Complaining AND waiting for someone to come around to do things for you won’t work. Have the drive, discipline and courage to do something for yourself.
[i]BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — China on Tuesday awarded the top ten international friends selected by Internet users for “making exceptional contributions to the country in the past 100 years.”
Those who came onto the list include Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor who died during the anti-Japanese war in the 1930s for saving Chinese soldiers; John Rabe, a German who rescued 250,000 Chinese people during the Nanjing Massacre committed by the Japanese invaders; Juan Antonio Samaranch Toriello, honorary president of the International Olympic Committee who supported China’s bid for the 2008 Olympics; Edgar Snow, an American journalist who wrote the renowned book “Red Star over China” in the 1930s to make the Chinese Red Army world famous; Dr. Joseph Needham, a British scientist who spent some 50 years writing a milestone masterpiece “Science and Civilization in China”.
Also on the list are Poland-born Chinese citizen Israel Epstein, New Zealand educator Rewi Alley, Indian doctor Kwarkanath Kotnis, Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhom and Morihiko Hiramatsu of Japan.
Top political advisor Jia Qinglin extended appreciation for the great support and help of the prize winners and their representatives, adding the Chinese people would never forget their contribution.
“China cannot develop without the support of foreign friends from various countries, neither can the world proper in the absence of China,” said Jia, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, while meeting with the winner or their representatives.
As globalization continues, countries and people around the world need to enhance understanding and boost cooperation to promote world peace and development, he said.
“The Chinese people are willing to join hands with friends around the world to contribute to the building of a harmonious and beautiful world,” he said. [/i]
don’t know where this postin come from…
just a matter of interes to our smart as s leekuanyew & his lackies…
WHICH PART OF THE ABOVE STATEMENTS named singapoor @ all?
not even leekuanyew himself who built the GREATWALLS of suzhouz….
as the hokkiens sayins goes
ghia lan kar tau (take cork hammer head)
if there are 2 candidates with the same qualifications and skillset applying for the same job, and 1 of them is asking for lower salary, who do you think the boss will hire? if singaporeans are not prepared to lower their expectation and compete, they have on one else to blame, especially not the foreigners. have we forgotten that our grandparents or great-grandparents were foreigners too?
this is the same argument with qualifying for local universities. local students who cannot get a place in the local universities blame the foreigners. parents of these young people are ridiculous in asking the government to stop accepting foreign students into the local universities or to build more universities so that more of each cohort can be an university graduate. when we do not have foreign students in the local universities, we will be lack of diversity and dynamism in campus, which is critically essential for a tertiary education. the more universities we have means lower standards of entry and therefore graduates with lower standards. if one cannot make it to the local universities, one should have studied harder or try again.
stop blaming anyone.
There’s actually nothing wrong with having talent from overseas come to Singapore to settle down. Singapore is land of migrants and in theory I believe we should never close our doors to people who want to make a better life for themselves here. I mean this is the thing that our forefathers here.
What I question is this policy of rolling out the red carpet for the foreigner at the expense of the citizen. Yes, we need talent and we should be welcome to people who want to come here. However, shouldn’t people who come here also make adjustments to the way of life here?
I mean any genuine military man will tell you that a war is always fought of many fronts. The government seems obsessed with fighting the “War for Talent” on only one front, namely bringing in foreigners.
I mean what happened to developing local talent? I mean we keep hearing about how we need to bring in foreigners because the locals lack the necessary skills to do the job. Shouldn’t we question why the locals lack the necessary skills?
there is a very good reason why some jobs constantly cannot woe locals to join & stick on for years
reasons (on the employers side) include:
- poor track record of safety.
eg, Nicoll Highway collapse, can our gahmen just brush it off as an “isolated” incident like it does not matter? life was lost.
- lack of concern for workers’ health.
eg, some jobs like renovation work do not provide proper breathing apparatus for those working in dusty environment.
- no work life balance.
eg, 12hr, 6-days/week type of jobs.
- unfair or 3rd world contracts.
eg, salary deductions for MC, latecoming… who does not fall sick? anyone who takes a train or bus & was unfortunate to be in that bus or train?
war for talent or “extermination” of locals? remember those who end there lives by jumping tracks? money isn’t everything, but for those who are struggling to make ends meet, it means alot to them.
Agree with Tang Li.
So what if foreign talents ensure that we have sterling economic growth? If the growth is so uneven that it widens the income gap, increases the size of the urban underclass and forces the middle income workers to work longer hours to be ‘cheaper, better, faster’, that defeats the purpose of any economic policy.
Of course the people driving this growth, reaping its benefits, wouldn’t be able to see that.
Phillip: You should have known since day 1 in university that philosophy was too abstract to be ‘marketable’. If all that there was to school was to get a marketable degree, then you’re better off buying one online. Give your place in university to some other student who’s genuinely keen on learning, and not buying a commodity.
Philip
post #45 on December 15th, 2009 11.05 am
////To begin with, what talents should we cultivate? Can we know what would be needed ten years ago? Or even two years ago?////
it just look within S’pore, what does S’pore need? which countries does S’pore depend on for food, water, energy, etc…? self sufficiency is a good start.
some things never change, the need for food, clean drinking water, energy & basic raw materials.
why do some people always say locals dun have the needed skills & experience when on the other hands our leaders always claim we have a well educated workforce, the very reason MNCs chose S’pore to do business in.