<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffee Shop Talk - Making lemonade out of lemons </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">sgnews <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">Dec-27 2:52 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>17584.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Making lemonade out of lemons
Three ways to do it: upgrade skills; do good; re-evaluate your life
By Lydia Lim, Senior Political Correspondent
SOME weeks ago, over dinner with two friends, one said that the multinational information technology firm she worked for was set to lay off a fifth of its global workforce.
Job losses are of course a fairly common occurrence in the IT sector where firms regularly restructure their operations. In previous rounds of retrenchments, this friend had hoped to be axed - and receive a nice payout in the process to enable her to take some time out from work to pursue other interests. But that never materialised.
Assuming that was still her plan, I asked chirpily: 'Hey, this time you have a good chance, right, as they are cutting one in five jobs? So what will you do if it finally happens?'
She replied curtly: 'I don't want to be retrenched. It won't be easy to find another job.'
I sobered up, and the conversation turned to other friends of ours who had either lost their jobs or feared they would. The signs are that 2009, which dawns in just five days' time, will be when the effects of the global economic downturn will really set in here.
After seven straight years of economic growth, the Singapore economy may shrink next year. The official growth forecast for 2009 is anywhere from -1 to 2 per cent. And the unemployment rate could more than double from this year's 2.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent or higher. Even for those who keep their jobs, pay cuts are on the horizon.
Between August and November this year, market research company Synovate surveyed the attitudes of 7,400 consumers in 10 economies. It found that here in Singapore, even before the Government announced in October that the economy was in a technical recession, the top fear of four in 10 people was 'losing my job', followed by being 'unable to afford sufficient food'.
Anxiety is in the air.
In such trying times, one instinctive response is to withdraw, cut back, batten down the hatches and focus on how to get oneself and one's immediate family through the slump without too much damage. But is there a more positive, forward-looking response?
In the November issue of British current affairs magazine Prospect, its editor David Goodhart reflected on 'whether there could be such a thing as a 'good' recession - one that blows away debt culture and financial excess...A good recession that makes us see things more clearly - both in our own lives and in the outside world. Not so much a hangover as a cleansing'.
Since the world is handing out lemons this season, here are three suggestions for making lemonade.
Upgrade
In boom times, the focus of many is to upgrade to a bigger house, a posher car, the latest must-have designer bag or cutting-edge gadget.
In a recession year, the smart thing to do is to upgrade one's skills.
The opportunity cost of training plummets when there is less demand for goods and services, and therefore less work to go round.
The Government has announced a new $600 million two-year training scheme called Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience or Spur, which kicked off on Dec 1.
Employers will receive a subsidy of up to 90 per cent of course fees if they send workers to any of the Continuing Education and Training Centres, or run certified in-house programmes for them.
The Government will also foot up to 90 per cent of a worker's salary, up to a cap of $6.80 an hour.
As for jobless Singaporeans, the low-skilled among them will be paid $4 an hour for every hour they are on course, and the higher-skilled up to $1,000 a month.
In this year's Budget, the Government also announced a new scheme to help adults who missed out on a tertiary education foot the bill for their first university degree. It will subsidise up to 40 per cent of the cost of part-time degree courses for working adults at the three local universities and private institution, SIM University (UniSim).
The Government already has in place schemes to help adults defray the costs of advanced and specialist diplomas at the polytechnics.
Given the change in economic outlook since last February's Budget, one refinement the Government might consider is to extend these subsidies to eligible adults who have lost their jobs.
Do good
Demand may be drying up in many parts of the economy but not in the charity sector. The needs of society's vulnerable are set to increase. So if you want to be where the action is this coming year, you might consider re-directing your attention and efforts here. Charities will need more help fund-raising.
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was the only occasion in the Community Chest's 25-year history that it fell short, raising only $35 million of its $39 million target. The fund-raising arm of the National Council of Social Service has to date raised only $30 million of its goal of $52 million for the financial year ending next March.
In the lead-up to Christmas this year, groups like the Salvation Army suffered a drop in the number of volunteers for annual fund-raising and outreach events.
The Boys' Brigade's Sharity Gift Box was in need of more basics like rice, cooking oil and diapers, for distribution to 3,000 Public Assistance recipients and 171 volunteer welfare organisations.
During years of strong growth, Singapore catches up with the rich nations on wealth measures such as per capita GDP (gross domestic product). In this coming recession year, it could set its sights on catching up on such heart measures as the volunteer rate.
A survey by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in 2004 found that the volunteer rate here stood at 15.2 per cent. That figure was lower than Hong Kong's 22 per cent and the United States' 26.2 per cent, according to the latest Bureau of Labour Statistics data.
Re-evaluate
Next year is a chance to reflect on those aspects of life with value beyond the monetary. Now that the glare of the material world has dimmed, perhaps we may be able to see more clearly that which is essential but invisible to the eye, to borrow a line from the French classic, The Little Prince.
So here's to a good recession, and a Happy New Year.
[email protected]
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Three ways to do it: upgrade skills; do good; re-evaluate your life
By Lydia Lim, Senior Political Correspondent
SOME weeks ago, over dinner with two friends, one said that the multinational information technology firm she worked for was set to lay off a fifth of its global workforce.
Job losses are of course a fairly common occurrence in the IT sector where firms regularly restructure their operations. In previous rounds of retrenchments, this friend had hoped to be axed - and receive a nice payout in the process to enable her to take some time out from work to pursue other interests. But that never materialised.
Assuming that was still her plan, I asked chirpily: 'Hey, this time you have a good chance, right, as they are cutting one in five jobs? So what will you do if it finally happens?'
She replied curtly: 'I don't want to be retrenched. It won't be easy to find another job.'
I sobered up, and the conversation turned to other friends of ours who had either lost their jobs or feared they would. The signs are that 2009, which dawns in just five days' time, will be when the effects of the global economic downturn will really set in here.
After seven straight years of economic growth, the Singapore economy may shrink next year. The official growth forecast for 2009 is anywhere from -1 to 2 per cent. And the unemployment rate could more than double from this year's 2.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent or higher. Even for those who keep their jobs, pay cuts are on the horizon.
Between August and November this year, market research company Synovate surveyed the attitudes of 7,400 consumers in 10 economies. It found that here in Singapore, even before the Government announced in October that the economy was in a technical recession, the top fear of four in 10 people was 'losing my job', followed by being 'unable to afford sufficient food'.
Anxiety is in the air.
In such trying times, one instinctive response is to withdraw, cut back, batten down the hatches and focus on how to get oneself and one's immediate family through the slump without too much damage. But is there a more positive, forward-looking response?
In the November issue of British current affairs magazine Prospect, its editor David Goodhart reflected on 'whether there could be such a thing as a 'good' recession - one that blows away debt culture and financial excess...A good recession that makes us see things more clearly - both in our own lives and in the outside world. Not so much a hangover as a cleansing'.
Since the world is handing out lemons this season, here are three suggestions for making lemonade.
Upgrade
In boom times, the focus of many is to upgrade to a bigger house, a posher car, the latest must-have designer bag or cutting-edge gadget.
In a recession year, the smart thing to do is to upgrade one's skills.
The opportunity cost of training plummets when there is less demand for goods and services, and therefore less work to go round.
The Government has announced a new $600 million two-year training scheme called Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience or Spur, which kicked off on Dec 1.
Employers will receive a subsidy of up to 90 per cent of course fees if they send workers to any of the Continuing Education and Training Centres, or run certified in-house programmes for them.
The Government will also foot up to 90 per cent of a worker's salary, up to a cap of $6.80 an hour.
As for jobless Singaporeans, the low-skilled among them will be paid $4 an hour for every hour they are on course, and the higher-skilled up to $1,000 a month.
In this year's Budget, the Government also announced a new scheme to help adults who missed out on a tertiary education foot the bill for their first university degree. It will subsidise up to 40 per cent of the cost of part-time degree courses for working adults at the three local universities and private institution, SIM University (UniSim).
The Government already has in place schemes to help adults defray the costs of advanced and specialist diplomas at the polytechnics.
Given the change in economic outlook since last February's Budget, one refinement the Government might consider is to extend these subsidies to eligible adults who have lost their jobs.
Do good
Demand may be drying up in many parts of the economy but not in the charity sector. The needs of society's vulnerable are set to increase. So if you want to be where the action is this coming year, you might consider re-directing your attention and efforts here. Charities will need more help fund-raising.
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was the only occasion in the Community Chest's 25-year history that it fell short, raising only $35 million of its $39 million target. The fund-raising arm of the National Council of Social Service has to date raised only $30 million of its goal of $52 million for the financial year ending next March.
In the lead-up to Christmas this year, groups like the Salvation Army suffered a drop in the number of volunteers for annual fund-raising and outreach events.
The Boys' Brigade's Sharity Gift Box was in need of more basics like rice, cooking oil and diapers, for distribution to 3,000 Public Assistance recipients and 171 volunteer welfare organisations.
During years of strong growth, Singapore catches up with the rich nations on wealth measures such as per capita GDP (gross domestic product). In this coming recession year, it could set its sights on catching up on such heart measures as the volunteer rate.
A survey by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in 2004 found that the volunteer rate here stood at 15.2 per cent. That figure was lower than Hong Kong's 22 per cent and the United States' 26.2 per cent, according to the latest Bureau of Labour Statistics data.
Re-evaluate
Next year is a chance to reflect on those aspects of life with value beyond the monetary. Now that the glare of the material world has dimmed, perhaps we may be able to see more clearly that which is essential but invisible to the eye, to borrow a line from the French classic, The Little Prince.
So here's to a good recession, and a Happy New Year.
[email protected]
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