Has Minister Ng Eng Hen helped locals to fill jobs created?

robertteh SG

I prefer a more creative approach. Pro-foreign employment policy may not work to our interest in the short and long term because of underlying problems which were not properly studied.

Probably the government is partial in this policy because the senior civil servants in and ministers in EDB and MTI etc are the ones who were trying to woo foreign companies to invest in Singapore and have to react to their feedbacks.

It is not always true that we do not have enough skilled workers or foreign workers.

Usually if there is a shortage of skilled workers in Singapore it may exist only in certain high-technology fields. But do not let our senior officers or ministers dealing with foreign investors over-react to foreign investors' feedbacks into generally believing a total skill shortage in so many fields.

MTI or EDB have a duty to serve the interest of Singaporeans first and not generalize the wishes of a few foreign companies and over-react to their feedbacks.

There is a certain imperfection in the job market where the match between employees and employers did not always fit.

Many unskilled workers or semi-skilled citizens have the passion and aptitudes to work as skilled workers but were often by-passed by unthinking employers who do not give them the chance either to understudy and become skilled workers.

On the other hand, many foreigners given the work permits were found to be unskilled or not so skilled and some could not even speak proper English but were allowed to take over our local job opportunities under our pro-foreign employment policy just to please the employers for some small petty saving.

In the long run when we consider all the social problems and congestions of roads and living space and pollutions and social frictions it may not be worth it to adopt a liberal pro-foreign employment policy.

Such abuses were already seen in cases of many foreigners coming in as study mamas but actually were found working as waittresses in lounges or masseurs without any discrimination by MOM.

We have also many poly and ITE graduates who were unemployed or under-employed but could not be reached or were not given the opportunity to be employed with a little hand-holding or re-training to become technicians or engineers in diverse industries.

Did the MOM consider all such factors as mentioned in the foregoing to avoid becoming over-reliant on foreign workers many of whom were merely taking advantage of our ministers' own lack of understanding of such training possibility and practices.

MOM should study all available options or alternatives which are many and not take the shortcut out of any transient labour shortage to affect the social harmony among their own citizens who paid him to perform such a duty.

MOM should pay proper regard to future problems or widespread abuse which is already happening in many companies.

He should not over-liberalise the issuing of work or employment passes without any check.

He should be discerning and not open the flood gate to allow too many doubtful foreigners feigning skills or talents and taking advantage of our open-door short-sighted policy to come in and take over our local jobs by default thereby causing more social unrest and frictions in the long term.

Because of certain imperfection in the employment market he should step in and help with job placements so that our own skilled and other unemployed workers may not be conveniently by-passed by employers who may be more tempted by saving a few dollars in wages.

Let us study how does McDonald goes about training the housewives and students to serve in their stores whereas our many of our employers simply cannot do so and always insist on employing those who are ready made cashiers or managers to do such jobs.

The solution lies somewhere between adopting a training culture and establishment of our own needed skills with hand-holding.

Anyone can be retrained to take on any jobs depending on perspective. For example the government has hired many retired army generals without commercial experience to work as CEOs or senior officers of our government linked companies.

So why must we be so strict with only opening certain jobs to ready made foreign workers when a local is interested and is easily trained from other categories to take over.

Surely it is the responsibility of our ministers or employers to try out more options instead of always relying on foreigners to take short cut and sacrifice our own citizens just to save a few initial dollars of wages.

Create a training culture with hand-holding patience to allow many of our unskilled unemployed workers to become skilled workers in stages working as assistant carpenters or assistant plasterers or assistant mechanic. Over one to three years many of them could make good skilled workers like our newly trained nurses in the hospitals to upgrade our workforce.

Had the government ministers considered all the available options?

I doubt they have studies the options when it comes to the citizens' problems which were often pushed aside.

Truly if we need foreigners more desperately it may be in the category of ministers and senior positions in the public service many of whom are simply overpaid and unable to help local with lowering the rising costs of living or restructure the economy to create more jobs.

A bit of competition in the highly paid category of employments will be good for Singapore.

If we need to take shortcut the best shortcut will be to employ more talented ministers or senior officers who were currently overpaid and we could save many millions yet benefit from better value-adding creative solutions.

We should consider letting foreigners to take over non-critical senior positions or even as ministers or mentors as many of them are more creative and dare to speak the truths as compared with our current crops of ministers and MPs.

There should be no protectionism in making policies affecting their own positions or interests by the ministers. This attitude of opening the door for foreigners to fill our lower posts but not doing the same for higher positions is protectionistic. In fact by opening the senior positions to foreigners we could save even more monies and give our taxpayers a better value-for-money return.

The solution to our labor problem is not to open the floodgate but be discerning on which category of skills we truly need and other than these let the locals be given every available opportunity to receive the same training and under-study granted to foreigners.

This is the purpose of workfare scheme too. Surely we can use some grants from the workfare scheme to provide such hand holding to our own citizens and offer them the needed help to fill whatever jobs created.

The doubtful employment statistics adopted by the MOM should also be dropped to prevent further protectionism.

reddressman SG

Fellow forummers, LEND ME YOU EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hearby declare that I can create 100 jobs.

Each job is a whopping $1000 super solid currency cash in sgd per month salary, with cpf, 13 month, performance bonus and super undisclosed secret performance bonus.

He must be degree holder and willing to work anything I command. From 7am to 7pm daily 7 days a week only and 24x7 on standby.

Lifetime job security guaranteed where 'lifetime' means the lifetime of the machine spareparts and not the human. Maternity provided for upto 6 months with only 1 single little condition - no pay but 100% secured job guarantee!!

This is not all!!....

To top it off, first 10 to sign contract to work with me for life at this salary will enjoy a whopping super sign-on bonus of new subaru imprezza 1.5r voucher worth. .... tell you when you join Smile

and then hor, I super guarantee you, every year, as long as you help company remain profitable by growth of 10% on average, each year your salary will auto increment by 10% but not inclusive of inflationary effect and interest rate.

But then, sg people so choosey, they dooon wan to take up jobs I created leh even tho I really can create and advertise for 100 such jobs leh and their qualification requirement is basic degree . This means I have create degree holder jobs leh, dooon pray and pray leh.

see, I can create jobs.

I have another idea. I am coming up another business plan to create 10000 jobs. All salaries will be even more solid and competitive than ever in the history of sg.

I just wanna prove I can create many many the jobs. So easy. but not sure any takers. ??? huh ??? Rolling Eyes

reddressman SG

Hello Uncle Robert,

Why ask such question?? I can see that you are very concerned citizen. That is good nevertheless.

The reality I see is that Majority of sg support them and the answer to your question really does not matter already.