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[h=1]GILBERT GOH: TOP TEN INDUSTRIES STAFFED MOSTLY BY SINGAPOREANS[/h]
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11 Sep 2014 - 10:05pm
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Top ten industries staffed mostly by Singaporeans:-
1. Security industry - many matured Singaporeans end up working in the low-waged security industry whereby wages are low and work conditions pathetic. 12-hour shift work is usual and the basic pay can be as low as $800 a month. Its the last-option kind of work for many locals aged 50 and above.
2. Taxi industry - the taxi industry gets a boost when flag-up meter jumps to $3.20 on average from the usual $2.20 few years ago. All kinds of peak-hour and city charges help to pump up the earnings of our cabbies. Now, I heard that would-be cabbies have to wait in a long queue for their taxi. A monthly earning of between $2000 to $2500 is achievable if one works full time with no off-day break. Singaporeans as young as 35 years old now take to taxi driving as the wages of full-time work is hitting at an all-time low. Its still a protected industry for Singaporeans only.
3. Property and insurance agents - many jobless engineers and professionals try out the property and insurance industry with the promise of high the-sky-the-limit-income promise. Many were brought down to earth as its the two industries which rely heavily on contacts and personal acumen. Many don't last a year and those who do usually have another side-line to supplement the commission-based fluctuating earning.
4. Civil service - our 100,000-strong civil servants recently just enjoyed a 3-percent increment when the whole private sector is still tightening wages. Its now a strong perception that our civil servants are having a better life now with stable career and better wages than employees in the private sector. They also enjoy solid Performance Bonus which can range from 2 to 4 months of their salary - this is on top of their annual bonuses and AWS. Jobs at the civil service become so attractive that people nowadays don't job hop anymore if they manage to get hold of one. The better salary and work conditions have make the civil service the preferred employer in these dark days.
5. Cleaning industry - the cleaning industry still hires predominately elderly locals age above 65 years old in a quota-sensitive industry for foreign workers. Their salary does not go above $1000 a month usually and people ache to see old hunch-back senior citizens collecting plates and cleaning tables at foodcourt. Its also one of our infamous national disgrace to see so many of our elderly from the pioneer generation still needing to work in order to survive. Some however work to pass time but its still a mystery to realise why our seniors could not retire comfortably going round the world like many westerners do in our high-GDP economic status. There is obviously something fundamentally wrong with our retirement system here.
6. Overseas talents - as many as 300,000 Singaporeans now work and live abroad causing a massive brain drain in the process. Doctors, lawyers, accountants all aspire to live abroad and its not difficult to understand why as Singapore becomes more difficult to make a living especially with the foreign influx. More is expected to leave in the near future as the government intends to achieve a 6.9 million population with mostly foreign intake. The local outflow couples with a heavy foreign influx will eventually create a Singapore that is half-filled with foreigners causing all kinds of identity issues.
7. Hawkers - I was surprised when a friend became a hawker selling western food in a hawker centre. He is an engineer before and was jobless for a while before he took the cuisine plunge. There could be as many as 20,000 hawkers in Singapore and its still a all-local entity but as most hawkers are hail mostly from the second generation Singaporeans, hawking could become a dying trade in the future. PM Lee has thus encouraged Singaporeans to become a hawker as most good jobs go to the foreigners nowadays. Without the need to study for a degree in future, hawkers could truly be the next sought-after job in the future for our children.
8. Administrators - in our job bank, there are many requests for jobs in the administrative sector. Clerks and administrators top the most requested-for jobs followed by engineers. Most MNCs also hire our locals for administrative support and leave the high-end planning work to the foreigners. Nevertheless, most clerks still earn below $2000 a month and starting salaries of $1500 for fresh school leavers are not uncommon. There could be as many as 50,000 Singaporeans working in the clerical sector of our economy here.
9. Sales and marketing - most locals in big MNCs also end up working as sales and marketing personnel and its a logical choice as we know the local environment better. Some end up doing regional sales work and earn a reasonable salary. The top two jobs for locals in most big companies are in the administrative and sales support side. Many engineers also end up in the sales team especially if the products they sell need good technical knowledge.
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
10. Businessmen - despite the fact that Singaporeans are not very business - savvy due to our educational system and environment, I have known a few friends who venture into business and doing rather well. Nevertheless, we really need to start taking risk and look at building a business as jobs are becoming scant and whatever is available pays very little nowadays. Foreign friends I know all told me Singapore is a haven for starting a business but so far not many jobless Singaporeans are ready to take the risk. There could be as many as 50,000 SMEs here and most are started by Singaporeans but few make it into the international arena except for maybe Hyflix and Bread Talk. The rest hardly make an impact globally and we can learn a thing or two from the Taiwanese and Koreans here who have shone intetnationally with their local businesses.
Gilbert Goh
<!-- /.block --> <style>.node-article .field-name-link-line-above-tags{float: right;}.node-article .field-name-ad-box-in-article {float: left;margin: 15px 15px 10px 0;}.node-article .field-tags{clear: both;}</style> Post date:
11 Sep 2014 - 10:05pm
<ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_0" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_0" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
Top ten industries staffed mostly by Singaporeans:-
1. Security industry - many matured Singaporeans end up working in the low-waged security industry whereby wages are low and work conditions pathetic. 12-hour shift work is usual and the basic pay can be as low as $800 a month. Its the last-option kind of work for many locals aged 50 and above.
2. Taxi industry - the taxi industry gets a boost when flag-up meter jumps to $3.20 on average from the usual $2.20 few years ago. All kinds of peak-hour and city charges help to pump up the earnings of our cabbies. Now, I heard that would-be cabbies have to wait in a long queue for their taxi. A monthly earning of between $2000 to $2500 is achievable if one works full time with no off-day break. Singaporeans as young as 35 years old now take to taxi driving as the wages of full-time work is hitting at an all-time low. Its still a protected industry for Singaporeans only.
3. Property and insurance agents - many jobless engineers and professionals try out the property and insurance industry with the promise of high the-sky-the-limit-income promise. Many were brought down to earth as its the two industries which rely heavily on contacts and personal acumen. Many don't last a year and those who do usually have another side-line to supplement the commission-based fluctuating earning.
4. Civil service - our 100,000-strong civil servants recently just enjoyed a 3-percent increment when the whole private sector is still tightening wages. Its now a strong perception that our civil servants are having a better life now with stable career and better wages than employees in the private sector. They also enjoy solid Performance Bonus which can range from 2 to 4 months of their salary - this is on top of their annual bonuses and AWS. Jobs at the civil service become so attractive that people nowadays don't job hop anymore if they manage to get hold of one. The better salary and work conditions have make the civil service the preferred employer in these dark days.
5. Cleaning industry - the cleaning industry still hires predominately elderly locals age above 65 years old in a quota-sensitive industry for foreign workers. Their salary does not go above $1000 a month usually and people ache to see old hunch-back senior citizens collecting plates and cleaning tables at foodcourt. Its also one of our infamous national disgrace to see so many of our elderly from the pioneer generation still needing to work in order to survive. Some however work to pass time but its still a mystery to realise why our seniors could not retire comfortably going round the world like many westerners do in our high-GDP economic status. There is obviously something fundamentally wrong with our retirement system here.
6. Overseas talents - as many as 300,000 Singaporeans now work and live abroad causing a massive brain drain in the process. Doctors, lawyers, accountants all aspire to live abroad and its not difficult to understand why as Singapore becomes more difficult to make a living especially with the foreign influx. More is expected to leave in the near future as the government intends to achieve a 6.9 million population with mostly foreign intake. The local outflow couples with a heavy foreign influx will eventually create a Singapore that is half-filled with foreigners causing all kinds of identity issues.
7. Hawkers - I was surprised when a friend became a hawker selling western food in a hawker centre. He is an engineer before and was jobless for a while before he took the cuisine plunge. There could be as many as 20,000 hawkers in Singapore and its still a all-local entity but as most hawkers are hail mostly from the second generation Singaporeans, hawking could become a dying trade in the future. PM Lee has thus encouraged Singaporeans to become a hawker as most good jobs go to the foreigners nowadays. Without the need to study for a degree in future, hawkers could truly be the next sought-after job in the future for our children.
8. Administrators - in our job bank, there are many requests for jobs in the administrative sector. Clerks and administrators top the most requested-for jobs followed by engineers. Most MNCs also hire our locals for administrative support and leave the high-end planning work to the foreigners. Nevertheless, most clerks still earn below $2000 a month and starting salaries of $1500 for fresh school leavers are not uncommon. There could be as many as 50,000 Singaporeans working in the clerical sector of our economy here.
9. Sales and marketing - most locals in big MNCs also end up working as sales and marketing personnel and its a logical choice as we know the local environment better. Some end up doing regional sales work and earn a reasonable salary. The top two jobs for locals in most big companies are in the administrative and sales support side. Many engineers also end up in the sales team especially if the products they sell need good technical knowledge.
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
10. Businessmen - despite the fact that Singaporeans are not very business - savvy due to our educational system and environment, I have known a few friends who venture into business and doing rather well. Nevertheless, we really need to start taking risk and look at building a business as jobs are becoming scant and whatever is available pays very little nowadays. Foreign friends I know all told me Singapore is a haven for starting a business but so far not many jobless Singaporeans are ready to take the risk. There could be as many as 50,000 SMEs here and most are started by Singaporeans but few make it into the international arena except for maybe Hyflix and Bread Talk. The rest hardly make an impact globally and we can learn a thing or two from the Taiwanese and Koreans here who have shone intetnationally with their local businesses.
Gilbert Goh
