<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - 1 in 3 poly or univ grad on contract job</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>7:40 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right>(1 of 7) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>30443.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>One in three poly or varsity graduate on contract job
March 22, 2010 by admin
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http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/22/one-in-three-poly-or-varsity-graduate-on-contract-job/
Written by Our Correspondent
Saved for the recession year of 2008, Singapore has been growing at a rate between 3 to 7 percent in the last decade. As GDP figures and the salaries of PAP ministers continue to grow, one will expect Singaporeans to hold full-time jobs which pay better, but this is not the case.
Recent figures from the Ministry of Manpower revealed that the number of Singaporeans on contract jobs has been growing over the last four years and as high as 34.3 percent of employees on term contracts hold a polytechnic diploma or a degree.
This means that one in three poly or varsity graduate in Singapore is unable to secure a full-time job.
The Straits Times has been trying desperately hard to promote contract jobs as a form of “flexible workforce” which is becoming increasingly acceptable in Singapore.
It quoted anonymous “human resource experts” as saying that “working under such contracts is becoming the norm, especially as the concept of a ‘flexible workforce’ becomes increasingly in vogue.”
According to Ms Lynne Ng, regional director of HR Company Adecco South East Asia, contract jobs are not necessarily bad for both employees and employers:
“Employers sometimes adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to taking on full-time staff and utilising contract and temporary employees after a time of economic slowdown…. This is an excellent way of moving forward while still being cautionary,” she told the Straits Times.
Contract temporary jobs are used to be scorned upon by Singaporeans as they pay little and do not offer any long-term career prospects. However, with the labor market tighening, many young fresh polytechnic and university graduates have no choice but to take them up.
The situation is further exacerbated by the relentless influx of cheap foreign workers into Singapore who are willing to accept such temporary jobs at much lower pay and longer working hours.
Neither MOM or Straits Times offer a possible reason for the rise in contract jobs.
Local undergraduates are on the losing end as they are burdened with a student loan right after graduation.
They are also likely to postpone marriage and starting a family of their own if they are unable to secure a full-time job thereby compounding the problem of Singapore’s declining birth rates.
The root cause of the problem lies with the ease in which foreigners are given work permits, E and S passes to work in Singapore.
Most Singaporeans shun contract jobs but not foreigners whose presence gives employers another option.
It is the social corporate responsiblity of companies making money in Singapore to offer Singaporeans a stable job which pays well enough for them to sustain themselves.
Foreign workers should not be allowed to compete directly with Singaporeans in jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them.
The onus is on employers to offer attractive terms to recruit and retain Singapore workers and not by taking the easy way out via hiring foreign workers.
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March 22, 2010 by admin
Filed under Headlines
Leave a comment
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/22/one-in-three-poly-or-varsity-graduate-on-contract-job/
Written by Our Correspondent
Saved for the recession year of 2008, Singapore has been growing at a rate between 3 to 7 percent in the last decade. As GDP figures and the salaries of PAP ministers continue to grow, one will expect Singaporeans to hold full-time jobs which pay better, but this is not the case.
Recent figures from the Ministry of Manpower revealed that the number of Singaporeans on contract jobs has been growing over the last four years and as high as 34.3 percent of employees on term contracts hold a polytechnic diploma or a degree.
This means that one in three poly or varsity graduate in Singapore is unable to secure a full-time job.
The Straits Times has been trying desperately hard to promote contract jobs as a form of “flexible workforce” which is becoming increasingly acceptable in Singapore.
It quoted anonymous “human resource experts” as saying that “working under such contracts is becoming the norm, especially as the concept of a ‘flexible workforce’ becomes increasingly in vogue.”
According to Ms Lynne Ng, regional director of HR Company Adecco South East Asia, contract jobs are not necessarily bad for both employees and employers:
“Employers sometimes adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to taking on full-time staff and utilising contract and temporary employees after a time of economic slowdown…. This is an excellent way of moving forward while still being cautionary,” she told the Straits Times.
Contract temporary jobs are used to be scorned upon by Singaporeans as they pay little and do not offer any long-term career prospects. However, with the labor market tighening, many young fresh polytechnic and university graduates have no choice but to take them up.
The situation is further exacerbated by the relentless influx of cheap foreign workers into Singapore who are willing to accept such temporary jobs at much lower pay and longer working hours.
Neither MOM or Straits Times offer a possible reason for the rise in contract jobs.
Local undergraduates are on the losing end as they are burdened with a student loan right after graduation.
They are also likely to postpone marriage and starting a family of their own if they are unable to secure a full-time job thereby compounding the problem of Singapore’s declining birth rates.
The root cause of the problem lies with the ease in which foreigners are given work permits, E and S passes to work in Singapore.
Most Singaporeans shun contract jobs but not foreigners whose presence gives employers another option.
It is the social corporate responsiblity of companies making money in Singapore to offer Singaporeans a stable job which pays well enough for them to sustain themselves.
Foreign workers should not be allowed to compete directly with Singaporeans in jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them.
The onus is on employers to offer attractive terms to recruit and retain Singapore workers and not by taking the easy way out via hiring foreign workers.
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