Some employers said that they are willing to employ Singaporeans, but they cannot find them, even at higher salaries. There seems to be a shortage of Singaporeans for the economy.
I want to share the key factors for the missing Singaporeans.
The shortage of Singaporeans is a fact. Look at our declining birth rates for the last 25 years and you will agree that numerically, the supply of Singaporeans for the economy has diminished. The Government's attempts to reverse the birth rate through its "three or more, if you can afford it" has failed miserably, and the birthrate had continued to decline relentlessly.
The other factors are that many Singaporeans are spending too much time in National Service (here, I refer to the males) and going to universities.
Recently, I asked a Poly student what he thought about "National Service". He said, "wasting time". He explained that he is already 19 years and will complete National Service by 22 and will only start work at 26, after completing university. His classmate said that she will go to an university outside of Singapore, as she would not be able to qualify for a local university. She would only start work at 23.
Forty five years ago, I started work at 18 after completing Secondary Four. More than 80% of my cohort started work around that time - as only 20% went to college and university. We were trained in our jobs at the workplace and fitted well. We did not need to have any degree in "business management" or "marketing" to do the clerical, executive, sales or service work that were needed by business. We learned on the job, and the learning was more relevant!
Today, far too many people are spending their time in universities, either in Singapore or overseas, learning knowledge that they will not apply in their future work. For example, we have many qualified engineers making more money as insurance and property agents or financial traders. If we want them to do these vocational jobs, why do they have to spend four years in university?
Our local people have to compete with foreigners who hold university degrees. Many of these foreign degrees are given out quite liberally, with the result that the holders do not match the degrees. Many Singaporeans pursuing overseas degrees in low grade universities be in a similar situation. Why spend so much time and money on these useless qualifications? At least, the foreigners spend a fraction of the cost spend by Singaporeans on getting these papers.
One key factor for this "paper chase" is the refusal by the Government to implement a minimum wage in Singapore. There is also a culture of blind adherence to salary grades based on paper qualifications. Many people pursue a degree, even a useless one, in the hope that they can qualify for the higher salary band. It is sad to see human resource managers over-rely on paper qualifications, rather than judgment on work performance, in fixing salaries.
We have to re-think our approach towards paper qualifications and spend our time and money more wisely to produce people that can fit the real needs of business and industry.
Tan Kin Lian
I want to share the key factors for the missing Singaporeans.
The shortage of Singaporeans is a fact. Look at our declining birth rates for the last 25 years and you will agree that numerically, the supply of Singaporeans for the economy has diminished. The Government's attempts to reverse the birth rate through its "three or more, if you can afford it" has failed miserably, and the birthrate had continued to decline relentlessly.
The other factors are that many Singaporeans are spending too much time in National Service (here, I refer to the males) and going to universities.
Recently, I asked a Poly student what he thought about "National Service". He said, "wasting time". He explained that he is already 19 years and will complete National Service by 22 and will only start work at 26, after completing university. His classmate said that she will go to an university outside of Singapore, as she would not be able to qualify for a local university. She would only start work at 23.
Forty five years ago, I started work at 18 after completing Secondary Four. More than 80% of my cohort started work around that time - as only 20% went to college and university. We were trained in our jobs at the workplace and fitted well. We did not need to have any degree in "business management" or "marketing" to do the clerical, executive, sales or service work that were needed by business. We learned on the job, and the learning was more relevant!
Today, far too many people are spending their time in universities, either in Singapore or overseas, learning knowledge that they will not apply in their future work. For example, we have many qualified engineers making more money as insurance and property agents or financial traders. If we want them to do these vocational jobs, why do they have to spend four years in university?
Our local people have to compete with foreigners who hold university degrees. Many of these foreign degrees are given out quite liberally, with the result that the holders do not match the degrees. Many Singaporeans pursuing overseas degrees in low grade universities be in a similar situation. Why spend so much time and money on these useless qualifications? At least, the foreigners spend a fraction of the cost spend by Singaporeans on getting these papers.
One key factor for this "paper chase" is the refusal by the Government to implement a minimum wage in Singapore. There is also a culture of blind adherence to salary grades based on paper qualifications. Many people pursue a degree, even a useless one, in the hope that they can qualify for the higher salary band. It is sad to see human resource managers over-rely on paper qualifications, rather than judgment on work performance, in fixing salaries.
We have to re-think our approach towards paper qualifications and spend our time and money more wisely to produce people that can fit the real needs of business and industry.
Tan Kin Lian
:.
0 comments:
Post a Comment