In the 80s and 90s, the thinking by the leadership was that more is merrier...by having more intake in university, opening flood gates and making volume rather than highest quality as a goal. PAP leaders once said the key to stronger economy is to produce more engineers, less lawyers and doctors. Policies to restrict intake into law and medicine remains but engineering more is merrier.
This policy believed by our leaders to make Singapore a technology R&D center is the opposite of the approach taken in other developed countries like France and Germany where engineering is considered highly prestigious profession and high selectivity is needed to maintain standards and quality.
After a decade of "more, cheaper" type of policies, engineering & IT has turned into dumping grounds and shunned by the best students in the country. Our universities now fill the expanded capacity with foreign students and further erode the status of the profession by large imported IT & engineering professionals from India and China. Instead of producing technology powerhouses like Google and Facebook, the entire industry move down
the value chain - run of the mill services that requires the low end skills
that can be filled by someone from China, Philippines and India.
Instead of becoming strong, it became cheaper and weaker. Instead of generating high quality jobs, it is producing jobs at the lower end. Instead fostering innovation and creativity, it is seen as a unwanted job that people prefer to move out and away - the best move on to financial sector or property.
But what has happened in engineering is happening to many other sectors as the PAP continues to pursue growth by workforce expansion rather than creativity, productivity and innovation. The outcomes for Singaporeans will be very poor as the leadership aims for jobs but not quality jobs. We pride ourselves with low unemployment but the leadership refuses to recognized that quality employment in many jobs has declined. This decline translate to decline in quality of life....and the hard sell now by the PAP is so long as you have a job consider yourself lucky....the lowest low hanging fruit to aim for....as long as you can still struggle and stay afloat, please applaud the leadership. These days Singaporeans find it hard even to smile let alone clap.
This policy believed by our leaders to make Singapore a technology R&D center is the opposite of the approach taken in other developed countries like France and Germany where engineering is considered highly prestigious profession and high selectivity is needed to maintain standards and quality.
After a decade of "more, cheaper" type of policies, engineering & IT has turned into dumping grounds and shunned by the best students in the country. Our universities now fill the expanded capacity with foreign students and further erode the status of the profession by large imported IT & engineering professionals from India and China. Instead of producing technology powerhouses like Google and Facebook, the entire industry move down
the value chain - run of the mill services that requires the low end skills
that can be filled by someone from China, Philippines and India.
Instead of becoming strong, it became cheaper and weaker. Instead of generating high quality jobs, it is producing jobs at the lower end. Instead fostering innovation and creativity, it is seen as a unwanted job that people prefer to move out and away - the best move on to financial sector or property.
But what has happened in engineering is happening to many other sectors as the PAP continues to pursue growth by workforce expansion rather than creativity, productivity and innovation. The outcomes for Singaporeans will be very poor as the leadership aims for jobs but not quality jobs. We pride ourselves with low unemployment but the leadership refuses to recognized that quality employment in many jobs has declined. This decline translate to decline in quality of life....and the hard sell now by the PAP is so long as you have a job consider yourself lucky....the lowest low hanging fruit to aim for....as long as you can still struggle and stay afloat, please applaud the leadership. These days Singaporeans find it hard even to smile let alone clap.
