[h=2]Foreign ‘talents’ are often of inferior quality[/h]
January 3rd, 2014 |
Author: Editorial
Sri Lankan construction workers. (Photo: ST)
In the course of working with foreigners, Singaporeans have gradually discovered that many of their foreign co-workers are no “talents” at all.
In fact, a lot of the foreigners are employed either because they are cheaper or because their hirers are of the “same kind”.
Sometimes there is even side-income to be made from recruiting foreigners (‘I sacked 6 pinoys and 1 Indian national!‘).
In any case, the quality of hiring is severely compromised.
Now, the Straits Times has reported that Sri Lankan construction workers are struggling to maintain their brand name, 4 months after arriving in Singapore (‘Sri Lankan construction workers taking time to adjust’, 31 Dec).
Apparently, the new Sri Lankan hires are a disappointment. Employers are complaining that their work is not up to the mark and they struggle to adapt to Singapore’s fast pace.
“We set a deadline of a day for three workers to hack a 1.2m- by-3m wall in a hawker centre. But the Sri Lankan workers were not able to finish in time,” said Yang Seng Engineering operations manager Chang Chee Kit.
Mr Chang, who hires about 20 Sri Lankans on work permit, nevertheless said, “They are not there yet but I can see they are trying their best.”
Where S-Pass and Employment Pass holders are concerned, the standard or quality of their qualifications – even for those with genuine qualifications (some have fake qualifications) – is often questionable.
In the QS World University Rankings 2013 [Link] for the top 400 universities in the world, only the universities of the following countries feature in the top 400:
Philippines
Graduates from the Philippines are particularly weak, because they have a 10-year education system versus Singapore’s 12.
According to their own government agency, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Philippine college graduates are of low quality [Link]:
He said Asian countries including China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia, are adopting the six-year elementary and six-year high school program while Malaysia adopts a seven-year elementary and six-year high school education, making the length of basic education there 13 years.
Because of the “low quality” of graduates, CHED Secretary said Filipino engineers are only considered as technicians when applying for overseas jobs. About 30 percent of new Filipino graduates are unemployed.
The poor performance is attributed to weak state support. A university official said, “Governments are pumping money into their universities, especially in Asia, so in effect we are competing with schools which get subsidies that the Philippine government cannot afford to provide.”
Singaporeans are frustrated working with inferior “foreign talents”, which the government simply allows in. It is even more frustrating for Singaporeans when they are replaced by these inferior “foreign talents”, rendering them jobless.
In the course of working with foreigners, Singaporeans have gradually discovered that many of their foreign co-workers are no “talents” at all.
In fact, a lot of the foreigners are employed either because they are cheaper or because their hirers are of the “same kind”.
Sometimes there is even side-income to be made from recruiting foreigners (‘I sacked 6 pinoys and 1 Indian national!‘).
In any case, the quality of hiring is severely compromised.
Now, the Straits Times has reported that Sri Lankan construction workers are struggling to maintain their brand name, 4 months after arriving in Singapore (‘Sri Lankan construction workers taking time to adjust’, 31 Dec).
Apparently, the new Sri Lankan hires are a disappointment. Employers are complaining that their work is not up to the mark and they struggle to adapt to Singapore’s fast pace.
“We set a deadline of a day for three workers to hack a 1.2m- by-3m wall in a hawker centre. But the Sri Lankan workers were not able to finish in time,” said Yang Seng Engineering operations manager Chang Chee Kit.
Mr Chang, who hires about 20 Sri Lankans on work permit, nevertheless said, “They are not there yet but I can see they are trying their best.”
Where S-Pass and Employment Pass holders are concerned, the standard or quality of their qualifications – even for those with genuine qualifications (some have fake qualifications) – is often questionable.
In the QS World University Rankings 2013 [Link] for the top 400 universities in the world, only the universities of the following countries feature in the top 400:
Philippines
- 380th University of the Philippines
- 222nd Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
- 233rd Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
- 295th Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
- 313rd Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
- 346th Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
- 46th Peking University
- 48th Tsinghua University
- 88th Fudan University
- 123rd Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- 165th Zhejiang University
- 174th University of Science and Technology of China
- 175th Nanjing University
- 252nd Beijing Normal University
- 363rd Nankai University
- 372nd Xi’an Jiaotong University
- 384th Sun Yat-sen University
- 24th NUS
- 41st NTU
Graduates from the Philippines are particularly weak, because they have a 10-year education system versus Singapore’s 12.
According to their own government agency, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Philippine college graduates are of low quality [Link]:
Inadequate basic education is the culprit for the low quality of our college graduates, which in turn makes them less competitive in the global employment market.
CHED Secretary Emmanuel Angeles said their 10-year elementary and high school basic education is not adequate for students seeking higher education. “The Philippines is the only country in Asia that adopts the 10-year basic school program,” Angeles said at a news forum in Quezon City.
He said Asian countries including China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia, are adopting the six-year elementary and six-year high school program while Malaysia adopts a seven-year elementary and six-year high school education, making the length of basic education there 13 years.
Because of the “low quality” of graduates, CHED Secretary said Filipino engineers are only considered as technicians when applying for overseas jobs. About 30 percent of new Filipino graduates are unemployed.
The poor performance is attributed to weak state support. A university official said, “Governments are pumping money into their universities, especially in Asia, so in effect we are competing with schools which get subsidies that the Philippine government cannot afford to provide.”
Singaporeans are frustrated working with inferior “foreign talents”, which the government simply allows in. It is even more frustrating for Singaporeans when they are replaced by these inferior “foreign talents”, rendering them jobless.
