Based upon studies, Singaporean employers - many whom had little education but thru sheer hardwork & sacrifices over years, had been able to rise above competition & made their companies great if not existent till today.
There were appalled by equally UNSUSTAINABLE expectations from employees - high salaries, high benefits & heck, even secretaries or assistants, from ITE to Poly & UNI grads.....
Thus their hesitancy in hiring locals, whereby CHEAP grads from overseas are readily available without such expectations, & would stay longer to build up a company, as in truth, it only needs the 3 Rs, improve oneself with training to elevate to higher responsibilities.
However, it is only a huge mistake employees had made, as Singaporean grads from ITE, Poly to Uni, while not perfect as no mortal is, they are highly trained & would progress a company further than some cheap grad from a dubious & low ranking uni where cheating is a way of life. Worse still, in the pursuit of degrees, they come from degree mills where just the ability to make a cup of coffee is offered a Uni degree.
However, IT IS A MYTH that local grads demand such. It is only a DESIRE, but NOT a REALITY of most. Some from wealthy families may have such feelings, but MOST Singaporeans come from mid classes & only NEEDS the OPPORTUNITY, a CHANCE to prove themselves of their worth to a company.
And LOCAL SMEs or MNCs DO have the responsibilities to offer such chances to locals, because ultimately, if locals are shunned at employment, eventually the company itself will collapse as no locals, being unemployed, will be able to purchase any product or services offered, a proven case which happened in USA in 2009 when tightening, retrenchments & jobs were off-shored which led to its National financial crisis.
It is just about BALANCING expectations from both employer & employees. Furthermore, most employees, regardless if UNI grad or N level grad, will understand if properly explained at an interview by more cautious employers that they would have to start at the bottom to prove their worth, regardless of their diplomas but at a shorter time frame than others with lesser qualifications, before rising to higher RESPONSIBILITIES as a PARTNER in the growth, prosperity & evolution of a company....
It takes two to clap, & fortunately in Singapore, with MOM & our Tripartite Council to intervene when necessary...
