Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
GROWING up in the eastern Chinese town of Wenzhou, Mr Cai
Wendong went to school and fished in his spare time.
When he finished junior high, he found work as a pipe fitter in a
shipyard. Life was hard, but predictable. Then some friends decided
to work in Singapore and he went along. Life changed forever for
the happy-go-lucky youth.
He arrived in Singapore in 1998. He did not mean to stay, but did.
He met and married compatriot Fuang Ying, 31, in Singapore. Their
first child, daughter Jia Ling, was born last month.
Today, he is a Singapore permanent resident, an officer in a
shipyard and the proud owner of a four-room Housing Board
flat.
He is living the foreign worker's 'Singapore dream'.
Mr Cai, 29, said the comforts and conveniences here - the lack of
crime, low unemployment rates and the 'civilised ways' of the
people - made him realise early on that this was his ticket to a
better life.
His Singapore sojourn began in 1998 with a six-hour journey by bus
to Shanghai for a job interview with Keppel Shipyard.
He was offered a job on the spot and was thrilled with the promise
of earning three times more than in China. He declined to reveal
his starting pay, but The Straits Times understands the industry
norm for such a worker is around $600 a month.
He loved his job at Keppel's Tuas shipyard where he had to fit
pipes that carry water, oil and gas into the hull of ships.
The safety culture impressed him. 'We all feared accidents in
shipyards back home,' said Mr Cai.
In Singapore, each worker has body shields, helmets, safety shoes,
goggles and gloves.
Singapore also felt like home - many people spoke Mandarin and
Chinese food was plentiful.
But the early years were also fraught with anxiety. As an economic
downturn gripped Singapore in the early 2000s, he worried
constantly about losing his job.
'I used to feel sad when my friends were sent back after their
contracts were not renewed,' said Mr Cai. 'I hoped that would never
happen to me.'
He warded off retrenchment the only way he knew how: by throwing
himself into his work.
[b]To impress the bosses, he and some co-workers would work through
lunch, chalk up overtime often and offer to work on weekends
too.
At the same time, he began enrolling in courses.
'I was young and wanted to learn more,' he said. He upgraded
sufficiently to join Ngee Ann Polytechnic and is now on the last
stretch of a three-year diploma course in marine and offshore
technology. All his fees were paid for by his company.
With the economy looking up and rapid promotions coming his way -
he is now in charge of 30 workers - Mr Cai has learnt to relax a
little.
He shares an easy camaraderie with his colleagues and staff, and
counts Indians, Bangladeshis and Filipinos among his good
friends.
'I love roti prata and Indian movies,' he said, breaking into a
Bollywood tune.
As a boss, he dishes out the same advice to rookies that his boss
once gave him.
'I tell them that when you are young, it is good to attend courses
and learn as much as you can,' he said.
The same drive to excel spills over to his recreation. Last year,
he took top honours at a swimming and running biathlon for Keppel
employees, despite taking up swimming only after coming to
Singapore.
His mother has moved here to help look after the baby. 'That way,
my wife and I can concentrate fully on our jobs,' he says. His wife
works in an electronics factory.
Building up a nest egg is also important, now that he has a
family.
Like every employee in his company, he received 7.2 months' bonus
this year, much of which went into the bank. He tries to save at
least $1,000 every month.
He wants his daughter to grow up in Singapore and go to university
some day.
He hopes she can enjoy a life of comfort that he and his
working-class wife never had.
'But for that, we must keep on working.'
Straits Times 28 April
[/b]
I would have preferred article about Singaporean start up and
succeeded. That would be more inspiring. This article completely
detach the reality of what it takes to succeed in Singapore, asking
Singaporean to lower their expectation. Work hard rather than work
smart. How to move to the next level if we continue to work more?
There is only 24 hours a day and there is only so much you can give
in a life time.
