Today is my son's NUS Commencement Ceremony. Strangely I was not as excited as I should be. Maybe it is just getting a university undergraduate degree is no longer a bit deal in Singapore since almost 40% of each year's cohorts can achieve it? Also maybe because he has been working since 6 months ago help? Still, congratulation to him and all the best in his future!
1. SMRT NS and EW Lines down - well, I won't 'throw rocks at a person who is drowning'. Suffice to say that the CEO of LTA and CEO of SMRT Corp had apologised and the engineers/people seemed to have identified 3 possible causes working overnight. Also, the 2 lines are running fairly normally today most of the time.
2. "More checks on firms hiring foreign PMEs among measures to support Singapore workers - CNA 08 July 2015
SINGAPORE: A slew of measures to enhance support for local Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) was announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Jul 8), as part of ongoing efforts to “strengthen the Singaporean core”. The measures do not apply to Singapore PRs.
Starting Oct 1, firms will be required to publish the salary range of job vacancies they post in the Jobs Bank to comply with the Fair Consideration Framework's advertising requirement.
From October as well, Employers who apply for Employment Passes (EP) where the job advertisement did not state a salary range will have their applications rejected, MOM said.
The ministry said it will also step up its scrutiny of EP applications for selected firms which have a “weaker Singaporean core” of PMEs relative to others in their industry. These employers will be required to submit more information to check whether Singaporeans were considered fairly, MOM said.
About 150 firms from industries such as IT, finance and services are currently on a watchlist.
Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said, with more firms expected to be under additional scrutiny. The watchlist includes firms which have received complaints of discriminatory hiring practices.
Under a two-year pilot scheme, employers who employ mature PMEs who have been out of work for at least six months, in mid-level jobs that pay at least S$4,000, will receive wage support. The tiered subsidies will cover up to 40 per cent of the employee’s gross monthly salary, with a subsidy cap of S$2,800 a month.
Named the Career Support Programme, the scheme aims to encourage employers to tap on the wealth of experience that mature Singaporean PMEs can bring to the workplace, MOM said.
PMEs who register with the Workforce Development Agency's Career Centres and e2i will be eligible for the programme, which will also be launched on Oct 1.
With immediate effect, the authorities will reject work pass applications that contain "doubtful" qualifications such as those from degree mills. This is to ensure that foreign PMEs are of a “suitable quality and experience”, MOM said.
The ministry intends to progressively encourage and facilitate the transfer of expertise from foreign professionals to Singaporean PMEs over time, Mr Lim said.
From the first quarter of next year, dispute resolution for local PMEs will be stepped up with the establishment of the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT). PMEs who earn more than S$4,500 a month and are not covered by the Employment Act will then have an avenue to resolve statutory and contractual salary-related disputes, the ministry said.
In addition, the tripartite partners have agreed to enhance coverage under the Tripartite Mediation Framework to cover re-employment and employment statutory issues, remove the salary cap of S$4,500 to cover all PME union members and to include rank-and-file union members in non-unionised companies.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said it welcomes MOM's enhanced support for Singaporean PMEs, and added it was "heartened" to see its recommendations and feedback reflected in the announcement.
For instance, it had suggested that a salary range be published on the National Jobs Bank, the removal of a salary ceiling for tripartite mediation, as well as more support for mature PMEs - all of which were implemented by MOM.
"We look forward to working closely with the tripartite partners to reach out to more workers who require the necessary assistance, and for the changes to have a positive impact on Singaporean PMEs," said Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the Labour Movement."
Sorry I PRODUCED in tact, the NEWS REPORT on this TOPIC as it is a GOOD NEWS for the older Singaporean PMEs who had been reflecting that they WERE BEEN DISCRIMINATED by their employers and potential employers all these years!
Lessons for me are:
a. I have raised this issue of 'Foreign Talent' to ESM Goh, DPM Teo Chee Hean and other Ministers who were GOH of the REACH Forum in the past on the need to distinguish: Foreign REAL Talent - those that we DO NOT have YET, and Foreign FAKE Talent - those that got in due to fake qualification or the HR or Hiring Managers been from the SAME FOREIGN COUNTRY!
The replies that were: with total unemployment been so low, the big picture does not tell that we have a problem of unemployed older PMEs!
Perhaps it HAS HIT the Critical Tilting Point now?
b. my focus then turned to 'are our LOCAL TALENTs COMPETITIVE in our OWN BACKYARD?' IF foreign employers or employers in Singapore PREFERRED foreign 'fake' talent?
My conclusion has to be: our Local Talent MUST be competitive since we boast to have a world class educational system that others around the world come to learn from! Also, about 10-15 years ago, we WERE already having LOCAL TALENTs helming some of the Asia Pacific Regional HQ operations and businesses in Singapore. e.g. Mr Koh Boon Hwee (of HP fame), Mr John Wong (of IBM fame), etc.
How is that in recent times, we are seeing MORE and MORE Foreign Talent (fake?) helming many foreign MNCs and even GLCs?
So, with this 'PROTECTION COVER ON' for older Local Talents, we have to be SURE that OUR LTs are REALLY competitive and NOT just hiding behind this 'protective shield'!
Sure, the voters will like it. BUT do we have a DEEPER problem of 'LTs been UNCOMPETITIVE in Singapore or not'?
c. whatever it is, it is GOOD that such measures have been introduced. Let's MONITOR the progress and perhaps MOM can PUBLICLY announcement in The Straits Times the Actual vs. Expectation numbers on a monthly basis for the next 6 months so that WE can see the impact such measures create!
Singaporean PMEs, especially the OLDER ONES, must be truly COMPETITIVE in its own backyard for the nation to have a SUSTAINABLE solution!
1. SMRT NS and EW Lines down - well, I won't 'throw rocks at a person who is drowning'. Suffice to say that the CEO of LTA and CEO of SMRT Corp had apologised and the engineers/people seemed to have identified 3 possible causes working overnight. Also, the 2 lines are running fairly normally today most of the time.
2. "More checks on firms hiring foreign PMEs among measures to support Singapore workers - CNA 08 July 2015
SINGAPORE: A slew of measures to enhance support for local Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) was announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Jul 8), as part of ongoing efforts to “strengthen the Singaporean core”. The measures do not apply to Singapore PRs.
Starting Oct 1, firms will be required to publish the salary range of job vacancies they post in the Jobs Bank to comply with the Fair Consideration Framework's advertising requirement.
From October as well, Employers who apply for Employment Passes (EP) where the job advertisement did not state a salary range will have their applications rejected, MOM said.
The ministry said it will also step up its scrutiny of EP applications for selected firms which have a “weaker Singaporean core” of PMEs relative to others in their industry. These employers will be required to submit more information to check whether Singaporeans were considered fairly, MOM said.
About 150 firms from industries such as IT, finance and services are currently on a watchlist.
Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said, with more firms expected to be under additional scrutiny. The watchlist includes firms which have received complaints of discriminatory hiring practices.
Under a two-year pilot scheme, employers who employ mature PMEs who have been out of work for at least six months, in mid-level jobs that pay at least S$4,000, will receive wage support. The tiered subsidies will cover up to 40 per cent of the employee’s gross monthly salary, with a subsidy cap of S$2,800 a month.
Named the Career Support Programme, the scheme aims to encourage employers to tap on the wealth of experience that mature Singaporean PMEs can bring to the workplace, MOM said.
PMEs who register with the Workforce Development Agency's Career Centres and e2i will be eligible for the programme, which will also be launched on Oct 1.
With immediate effect, the authorities will reject work pass applications that contain "doubtful" qualifications such as those from degree mills. This is to ensure that foreign PMEs are of a “suitable quality and experience”, MOM said.
The ministry intends to progressively encourage and facilitate the transfer of expertise from foreign professionals to Singaporean PMEs over time, Mr Lim said.
From the first quarter of next year, dispute resolution for local PMEs will be stepped up with the establishment of the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT). PMEs who earn more than S$4,500 a month and are not covered by the Employment Act will then have an avenue to resolve statutory and contractual salary-related disputes, the ministry said.
In addition, the tripartite partners have agreed to enhance coverage under the Tripartite Mediation Framework to cover re-employment and employment statutory issues, remove the salary cap of S$4,500 to cover all PME union members and to include rank-and-file union members in non-unionised companies.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said it welcomes MOM's enhanced support for Singaporean PMEs, and added it was "heartened" to see its recommendations and feedback reflected in the announcement.
For instance, it had suggested that a salary range be published on the National Jobs Bank, the removal of a salary ceiling for tripartite mediation, as well as more support for mature PMEs - all of which were implemented by MOM.
"We look forward to working closely with the tripartite partners to reach out to more workers who require the necessary assistance, and for the changes to have a positive impact on Singaporean PMEs," said Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the Labour Movement."
Sorry I PRODUCED in tact, the NEWS REPORT on this TOPIC as it is a GOOD NEWS for the older Singaporean PMEs who had been reflecting that they WERE BEEN DISCRIMINATED by their employers and potential employers all these years!
Lessons for me are:
a. I have raised this issue of 'Foreign Talent' to ESM Goh, DPM Teo Chee Hean and other Ministers who were GOH of the REACH Forum in the past on the need to distinguish: Foreign REAL Talent - those that we DO NOT have YET, and Foreign FAKE Talent - those that got in due to fake qualification or the HR or Hiring Managers been from the SAME FOREIGN COUNTRY!
The replies that were: with total unemployment been so low, the big picture does not tell that we have a problem of unemployed older PMEs!
Perhaps it HAS HIT the Critical Tilting Point now?
b. my focus then turned to 'are our LOCAL TALENTs COMPETITIVE in our OWN BACKYARD?' IF foreign employers or employers in Singapore PREFERRED foreign 'fake' talent?
My conclusion has to be: our Local Talent MUST be competitive since we boast to have a world class educational system that others around the world come to learn from! Also, about 10-15 years ago, we WERE already having LOCAL TALENTs helming some of the Asia Pacific Regional HQ operations and businesses in Singapore. e.g. Mr Koh Boon Hwee (of HP fame), Mr John Wong (of IBM fame), etc.
How is that in recent times, we are seeing MORE and MORE Foreign Talent (fake?) helming many foreign MNCs and even GLCs?
So, with this 'PROTECTION COVER ON' for older Local Talents, we have to be SURE that OUR LTs are REALLY competitive and NOT just hiding behind this 'protective shield'!
Sure, the voters will like it. BUT do we have a DEEPER problem of 'LTs been UNCOMPETITIVE in Singapore or not'?
c. whatever it is, it is GOOD that such measures have been introduced. Let's MONITOR the progress and perhaps MOM can PUBLICLY announcement in The Straits Times the Actual vs. Expectation numbers on a monthly basis for the next 6 months so that WE can see the impact such measures create!
Singaporean PMEs, especially the OLDER ONES, must be truly COMPETITIVE in its own backyard for the nation to have a SUSTAINABLE solution!
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