27 Jan 2009
Source: The Telegraph
As many as 40 million Chinese who moved from the country to the city to find work are expected to lose their jobs this week as the New Year celebrations come to a close.
Instead of returning to work after the public holiday, many will remain in their remote rural homes, having been told not to come back.
Others will make the long journey to China's economic heartlands only to find their source of income has evaporated.
The gloomy prediction came from an official at the Central Communist Party School, who estimated that between 20 and 30 per cent of the 130 million provincial Chinese who moved to the city for employment would find themselves obsolete.
To make matters worse, they will find no guarantee of work at home as sophisticated farming methods reduce the need for labourers and agricultural hands.
In Shanghai, the New Year was ushered in with an unparalleled pyrotechnic display as the population let off steam.
Firework sales rose by a third from last year, and it took more than 30,000 street sweepers to clear the 1,200 tonnes of debris from the streets.
But even in China's financial capital, a sober mood emerged as the economy continued slowing down, raising fears that it may have ground to a halt entirely in the last quarter of 2008.
Xie Xuren, China's finance minister, was moved to issue a sombre New Year greeting. The situation, he said, was now "very severe".
His warning spurred some to ignore the holiday and try to make themselves indispensable.
Fen Yi, a 26, software developer said: "One of my New Year resolutions is not getting sacked. I am working again on the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, giving up my holiday time.
"The unemployment rate is rising and the economy is falling, 2009 will be a dangerous year for China, and a sensitive year with all the anniversaries coming up, like the one for the riots in Tiananmen Square. "The general mood is not as bullish as it is supposed to be for the year of the Bull."
In the southern province of Guangdong, where millions of factory workers have lost their jobs, a daily queue has started to form in front of a giant golden bull: one of capitalism's most potent symbols.
The Charging Bull, a three-tonne sculpture cast in the 1980s to symbolise the might of Wall Street, may be tarnished in the eyes of the West.
But a replica of the statue at Changlu Farm in Shunde is attracting tens of thousands of Chinese visitors every day, hoping for a touch of luck in the coming year.
"The Wall Street bull is famous and influential," said He Siyuan, the manager of the farm. "It's very impressive, so we built our own and organised a 'touch the gold bull, boost the stock market' initiative for Chinese New Year. People like to ride it and take pictures."
According to Chinese astrology, the Ox stands for prosperity through fortitude and hard work, an attitude that the Chinese government has encouraged amid plunging exports and job losses.
People born under the sign are thought to be natural leaders, and include Barack Obama, Saddam Hussein, Margaret Thatcher, Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte. The People's Republic of China was also created in the year of the Ox.
Older Chinese reflected, however, on the transformation of the country since the last year of the Ox. "Twelve years is like a blink. Last year of the Ox, we did not have air conditioner, now my place has three," said Wang Jing, a 56-year-old property manager.
"We didn't have a computer or a car. Everything looks brighter now, but the people have also changed. We used to be simpler and more honest. Now everyone worships money."
In 2008, the glory of the Olympics provided little cheer after the traumas of the riots in Tibet, the frozen harvests and the Sichuan earthquake, which killed 90,000 people.
One popular text message, sent by millions of Chinese, read: "Goodbye to the snows of 08, the quake of 08, the pain of 08, the bitterness of 08. May 2009 be bullish for you."
Friday, January 30, 2009
27,000 jobs to go at NEC and Hitachi
30 January 2009
Source: The Guardian
NEC and Hitachi, the Japanese electronics makers, will between them cut at least 27,000 jobs worldwide to try to counter falling demand and plummeting prices.
NEC said today that its third-quarter losses had reached ¥130bn from ¥5.2bn for the same period last year. It also forecast losses for the full year.
Hitachi, which makes everything from home appliances and TVs to IT systems and medical equipment, predicted it would post a huge net loss this fiscal year and said it would slash about 7,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring plan.
NEC, a major producer of semiconductors, said about half of the job losses would affect full-time employees and that 40% would be in Japan.
"We are aiming for 20,000 or more," NEC's president, Kaoru Yano, told a news conference. "It is regrettable that we have to announce such a big downgrade. We must cut waste."
The redundancies, to be made by the end of March next year, will help bring savings of ¥80bn over two years, the company said.
NEC expects a net loss of ¥290bn for the year to the end of March, having predicted a ¥15bn profit only three months ago. It also cut its sales estimate to ¥4.2tn compared with an initial forecast of ¥4.6tn.
The firm announced its earnings results after its shares fell 6.5% during trading in Tokyo.
Officials refused to comment on reports that NEC is planning to merge its semiconductor business with Toshiba's chip operation. Toshiba, which is also battling falling prices and demand, has warned it is on course for its biggest-ever annual loss.
Analysts said a merger would bring little comfort to either company amid plummeting demand for electronic parts for personal computers and cars.
"It's a losers' union," SMBC Friend Securities manager Fumiyuki Nakanishi told Reuters. "The domestic chip industry appears at the brink of death."
Battered by plunging demand, Hitachi today forecast a net loss of ¥700bn ($7.7bn) for the fiscal year to 31 March, a stark reversal from the ¥15bn profit it forecast in October.
Hitachi also cut its operating profit projection by 90% to ¥40bn.
The company blamed sharply falling sales in most of its main businesses, including electronic devices, power and industrial systems, and consumer products.
Source: The Guardian
NEC and Hitachi, the Japanese electronics makers, will between them cut at least 27,000 jobs worldwide to try to counter falling demand and plummeting prices.
NEC said today that its third-quarter losses had reached ¥130bn from ¥5.2bn for the same period last year. It also forecast losses for the full year.
Hitachi, which makes everything from home appliances and TVs to IT systems and medical equipment, predicted it would post a huge net loss this fiscal year and said it would slash about 7,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring plan.
NEC, a major producer of semiconductors, said about half of the job losses would affect full-time employees and that 40% would be in Japan.
"We are aiming for 20,000 or more," NEC's president, Kaoru Yano, told a news conference. "It is regrettable that we have to announce such a big downgrade. We must cut waste."
The redundancies, to be made by the end of March next year, will help bring savings of ¥80bn over two years, the company said.
NEC expects a net loss of ¥290bn for the year to the end of March, having predicted a ¥15bn profit only three months ago. It also cut its sales estimate to ¥4.2tn compared with an initial forecast of ¥4.6tn.
The firm announced its earnings results after its shares fell 6.5% during trading in Tokyo.
Officials refused to comment on reports that NEC is planning to merge its semiconductor business with Toshiba's chip operation. Toshiba, which is also battling falling prices and demand, has warned it is on course for its biggest-ever annual loss.
Analysts said a merger would bring little comfort to either company amid plummeting demand for electronic parts for personal computers and cars.
"It's a losers' union," SMBC Friend Securities manager Fumiyuki Nakanishi told Reuters. "The domestic chip industry appears at the brink of death."
Battered by plunging demand, Hitachi today forecast a net loss of ¥700bn ($7.7bn) for the fiscal year to 31 March, a stark reversal from the ¥15bn profit it forecast in October.
Hitachi also cut its operating profit projection by 90% to ¥40bn.
The company blamed sharply falling sales in most of its main businesses, including electronic devices, power and industrial systems, and consumer products.
Thousands layed off in Singapore in fourth quarter: Govt
Jan 30, 2009
Source: AFP
Companies in Singapore laid off 7,000 workers in the last three months of 2008, as the economy slipped deeper into recession, the government said Friday.
More than half of the layoffs were in the key manufacturing sector, which has been hit by a sharp decline in demand for the city-state's exports, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement citing preliminary estimates.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.6 percent in December, up from 2.2 percent in September and 1.7 percent in December 2007, it said.
The 7,000 workers laid off in the December quarter compared with 2,346 employees who lost their jobs in the preceding three months and 1,966 for the same period in 2007, the ministry said.
For the whole of 2008, there were 13,400 workers laid off, up from 7,675 the year before.
Employment also slowed significantly to 26,900 in the fourth quarter of last year, from 55,700 people who were hired in the preceding quarter and 62,500 in the same period in 2007.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned last week the country is facing its worst recession since independence 44 years ago and announced a record stimulus package of more than 13 billion US dollars.
Singapore in October became the first Asian economy to enter recession, falling victim to a global slowdown sparked by a crisis in the US housing market.
Source: AFP
Companies in Singapore laid off 7,000 workers in the last three months of 2008, as the economy slipped deeper into recession, the government said Friday.
More than half of the layoffs were in the key manufacturing sector, which has been hit by a sharp decline in demand for the city-state's exports, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement citing preliminary estimates.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.6 percent in December, up from 2.2 percent in September and 1.7 percent in December 2007, it said.
The 7,000 workers laid off in the December quarter compared with 2,346 employees who lost their jobs in the preceding three months and 1,966 for the same period in 2007, the ministry said.
For the whole of 2008, there were 13,400 workers laid off, up from 7,675 the year before.
Employment also slowed significantly to 26,900 in the fourth quarter of last year, from 55,700 people who were hired in the preceding quarter and 62,500 in the same period in 2007.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned last week the country is facing its worst recession since independence 44 years ago and announced a record stimulus package of more than 13 billion US dollars.
Singapore in October became the first Asian economy to enter recession, falling victim to a global slowdown sparked by a crisis in the US housing market.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Finance crisis claims government, 85,000 jobs
January 27, 2009
Source: The Straits Times / AFP
NEW YORK (AFP) - - Companies forecast more than 85,000 job cuts in a single day as the rampant financial crisis hit workers in factories and offices across the globe and brought down a government on Monday.
In a sign of the deepening social impact of the US-born crisis, several companies announced an avalanche of cuts, piling pressure on US President Barack Obama as he pushes a stimulus plan for the world's biggest economy.
The financial catastrophe also claimed a scalp as Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced the resignation of his government after months of protests over economic policies that brought the country close to bankruptcy.
Obama warned the recession-hit United States could not afford delays in Congress over his 825-billion-dollar (630-billion-euro) stimulus plan.
He called for "swift and extraordinary" action, after earlier saying the downturn could get "dramatically worse."
In New York, construction equipment giant Caterpillar said it planned 20,000 job cuts worldwide to cope with plunging sales.
New York-based drug maker Pfizer announced it would acquire its rival Wyeth for 68 billion dollars, the largest pharmaceutical takeover deal in nearly a decade amid a dearth of corporate dealmaking due in part to a credit squeeze.
It said it would also cut its global workforce by around 10 percent -- meaning at least 8,000 posts cut in a company that currently employs almost 82,000 people in more than 150 countries.
General Motors announced plans Monday to cut 2,000 jobs at two US plants as it prepares to submit a long-term viability plan in exchange for billions in loans from the US government.
US telecom operator Sprint Nextel announced 8,000 cuts -- 14 percent of its staff -- and top US home improvement retailer Home Depot said it would cut 7,000.
Japan's top 12 automakers expect to cut a total of 25,000 jobs between now and the end of March, a survey by Jiji Press concluded on Monday.
Dutch banking and insurance group ING announced 7,000 job cuts and a deal for the Dutch state to guarantee billions of euros' worth of troubled assets.
Dutch electronics giant Philips said it would eliminate 6,000 jobs.
The announcements by the two Dutch companies came ahead of confirmation that Europe's second-biggest steelmaker, Indian-owned Corus, said it would cut more than 3,500 jobs around the world, most of them in Britain.
Workers arriving early Monday were gloomy about their prospects. "People feel gutted. I have already had to take a 10 percent pay cut," said 45-year-old Douglas Mayhill, a worker at a Corus plant in Port Talbot, southern Wales.
"I was told on Friday I have a choice -- either accept a 10 percent pay cut or take redundancy -- that is no choice."
The US Congress was meanwhile due to begin debate this week on Obama's stimulus bill, designed to haul the US economy out of a paralysing recession.
In his first presidential radio address at the weekend, Obama raised the spectre of double-digit unemployment and a massive erosion of family incomes if Congress did not act on the bill.
Obama was to meet later this week with Republican leaders hostile to the bill. The lower House of Representatives was expected to vote Wednesday on the stimulus, with the Senate to follow later.
European shares surged on Monday however with sharp gains in the banking sector on positive news from British group Barclays, whose share price surged more than 75 percent on unexpectedly strong profit expectations, analysts said.
London closed 3.86 percent higher, Paris added 3.73 percent and Frankfurt climbed 3.54 percent.
US stocks opened narrowly mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.25 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.08 percent.
Source: The Straits Times / AFP
NEW YORK (AFP) - - Companies forecast more than 85,000 job cuts in a single day as the rampant financial crisis hit workers in factories and offices across the globe and brought down a government on Monday.
In a sign of the deepening social impact of the US-born crisis, several companies announced an avalanche of cuts, piling pressure on US President Barack Obama as he pushes a stimulus plan for the world's biggest economy.
The financial catastrophe also claimed a scalp as Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced the resignation of his government after months of protests over economic policies that brought the country close to bankruptcy.
Obama warned the recession-hit United States could not afford delays in Congress over his 825-billion-dollar (630-billion-euro) stimulus plan.
He called for "swift and extraordinary" action, after earlier saying the downturn could get "dramatically worse."
In New York, construction equipment giant Caterpillar said it planned 20,000 job cuts worldwide to cope with plunging sales.
New York-based drug maker Pfizer announced it would acquire its rival Wyeth for 68 billion dollars, the largest pharmaceutical takeover deal in nearly a decade amid a dearth of corporate dealmaking due in part to a credit squeeze.
It said it would also cut its global workforce by around 10 percent -- meaning at least 8,000 posts cut in a company that currently employs almost 82,000 people in more than 150 countries.
General Motors announced plans Monday to cut 2,000 jobs at two US plants as it prepares to submit a long-term viability plan in exchange for billions in loans from the US government.
US telecom operator Sprint Nextel announced 8,000 cuts -- 14 percent of its staff -- and top US home improvement retailer Home Depot said it would cut 7,000.
Japan's top 12 automakers expect to cut a total of 25,000 jobs between now and the end of March, a survey by Jiji Press concluded on Monday.
Dutch banking and insurance group ING announced 7,000 job cuts and a deal for the Dutch state to guarantee billions of euros' worth of troubled assets.
Dutch electronics giant Philips said it would eliminate 6,000 jobs.
The announcements by the two Dutch companies came ahead of confirmation that Europe's second-biggest steelmaker, Indian-owned Corus, said it would cut more than 3,500 jobs around the world, most of them in Britain.
Workers arriving early Monday were gloomy about their prospects. "People feel gutted. I have already had to take a 10 percent pay cut," said 45-year-old Douglas Mayhill, a worker at a Corus plant in Port Talbot, southern Wales.
"I was told on Friday I have a choice -- either accept a 10 percent pay cut or take redundancy -- that is no choice."
The US Congress was meanwhile due to begin debate this week on Obama's stimulus bill, designed to haul the US economy out of a paralysing recession.
In his first presidential radio address at the weekend, Obama raised the spectre of double-digit unemployment and a massive erosion of family incomes if Congress did not act on the bill.
Obama was to meet later this week with Republican leaders hostile to the bill. The lower House of Representatives was expected to vote Wednesday on the stimulus, with the Senate to follow later.
European shares surged on Monday however with sharp gains in the banking sector on positive news from British group Barclays, whose share price surged more than 75 percent on unexpectedly strong profit expectations, analysts said.
London closed 3.86 percent higher, Paris added 3.73 percent and Frankfurt climbed 3.54 percent.
US stocks opened narrowly mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.25 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.08 percent.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Help to save jobs
Jan 24, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
Budget 2009
MM: Help to save jobs
Govt measures call for response from banks, employers and landlords
A DAY after the Government unveiled a $20.5 billion package to deal with the downturn, this message rang out to employers, banks and retail landlords: It's your turn to take the help given and do the right thing.
For employers, it means keeping workers on the payroll, now that the Government is pitching in to subsidise wage bills.
For banks, it means lending to companies, now that the Government will bear more risk of the loans defaulting.
And for landlords, it means passing savings from property tax rebates to their shop tenants.
Saving jobs was uppermost on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's mind, when asked his reaction to this year's Budget.
'The Budget is meant to save jobs,' he told reporters during a visit to the East Coast Park.
'That's the first thing we have to do because there's no better way of fighting this recession than to save jobs.'
He said there was a big question over when the downturn would end.
'We're prepared for all eventualities. It might last one year, two years, may go on to three years. We don't know, but we've got to be prepared for it,' he said.
The lower-income and those out of work or retrenched would need help to get through this rough patch, he noted. The $2.6 billion worth of measures to help them were neither over-generous nor ungenerous, he said.
A key plank of the Budget is a novel $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme through which the Government will pay a portion of employers' wage bill - 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of the monthly wage of Singaporeans and permanent residents.
But the question is whether employers will, in turn, help their workers.
'With the Government doing its part, there is now a great deal of moral responsibility put onto businesses to do their part - keep jobs intact,' said political observer Gillian Koh from the Institute of Policy Studies.
Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers' Federation, said the subsidy could mean a 5 to 10 per cent cut in wage costs, which was 'quite significant'. But he felt it was too early to judge how employers will act.
The labour movement was optimistic.
In a statement, labour chief Lim Swee Say and NTUC president John De Payva said that the $20.5 billion 'resilience package' would have a significant impact on workers, companies and the economy.
'This is reflective of the Government's clear commitment and best efforts to save jobs for Singaporeans,' they added.
'It gives us tremendous assurance, encouragement and confidence to stay the path of tripartism, a unique advantage Singapore has over other nations.'
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Ahmad Magad thinks it will all boil down to companies' cash flow.
'It will undoubtedly save some jobs, especially in bigger organisations which have deeper pockets,' he said.
But for smaller companies, he added, much would depend on how much revenue they can generate.
This is where the second plank of the Budget - access to bank credit - comes in.
The Government introduced a Special Risk Sharing Initiative yesterday which will see it set aside $5.8 billion in capital to take on more risk in bank lending to companies.
Giving details yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said he hoped banks would now play their part and extend credit to companies that need working capital.
Source: The Straits Times
Budget 2009
MM: Help to save jobs
Govt measures call for response from banks, employers and landlords
A DAY after the Government unveiled a $20.5 billion package to deal with the downturn, this message rang out to employers, banks and retail landlords: It's your turn to take the help given and do the right thing.
For employers, it means keeping workers on the payroll, now that the Government is pitching in to subsidise wage bills.
For banks, it means lending to companies, now that the Government will bear more risk of the loans defaulting.
And for landlords, it means passing savings from property tax rebates to their shop tenants.
Saving jobs was uppermost on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's mind, when asked his reaction to this year's Budget.
'The Budget is meant to save jobs,' he told reporters during a visit to the East Coast Park.
'That's the first thing we have to do because there's no better way of fighting this recession than to save jobs.'
He said there was a big question over when the downturn would end.
'We're prepared for all eventualities. It might last one year, two years, may go on to three years. We don't know, but we've got to be prepared for it,' he said.
The lower-income and those out of work or retrenched would need help to get through this rough patch, he noted. The $2.6 billion worth of measures to help them were neither over-generous nor ungenerous, he said.
A key plank of the Budget is a novel $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme through which the Government will pay a portion of employers' wage bill - 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of the monthly wage of Singaporeans and permanent residents.
But the question is whether employers will, in turn, help their workers.
'With the Government doing its part, there is now a great deal of moral responsibility put onto businesses to do their part - keep jobs intact,' said political observer Gillian Koh from the Institute of Policy Studies.
Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers' Federation, said the subsidy could mean a 5 to 10 per cent cut in wage costs, which was 'quite significant'. But he felt it was too early to judge how employers will act.
The labour movement was optimistic.
In a statement, labour chief Lim Swee Say and NTUC president John De Payva said that the $20.5 billion 'resilience package' would have a significant impact on workers, companies and the economy.
'This is reflective of the Government's clear commitment and best efforts to save jobs for Singaporeans,' they added.
'It gives us tremendous assurance, encouragement and confidence to stay the path of tripartism, a unique advantage Singapore has over other nations.'
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Ahmad Magad thinks it will all boil down to companies' cash flow.
'It will undoubtedly save some jobs, especially in bigger organisations which have deeper pockets,' he said.
But for smaller companies, he added, much would depend on how much revenue they can generate.
This is where the second plank of the Budget - access to bank credit - comes in.
The Government introduced a Special Risk Sharing Initiative yesterday which will see it set aside $5.8 billion in capital to take on more risk in bank lending to companies.
Giving details yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said he hoped banks would now play their part and extend credit to companies that need working capital.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
More spending on education
Jan 22, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
Singapore Budget 2009
DESPITE the recession, the Government will upgrade both the 'hardware' and 'software' of the education system, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday afternoon.
The Education Ministry (MOE) will hire more teachers and enhance the quality of the teaching force.
It will also bring in 'many others' to schools to collaborate with teachers to give each child better attention, said Mr Tharman, without elaborating.
On the hardware part, the MOE will provide better facilities for an 'all-round education' in every school and accelerate some projects like the roll-out of indoor sports halls.
The Government expects to spend an average of $9,200 per student each year over the next five years. This is an increase of about 60% compared to the previous five years, he added.
Source: The Straits Times
Singapore Budget 2009
DESPITE the recession, the Government will upgrade both the 'hardware' and 'software' of the education system, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday afternoon.
The Education Ministry (MOE) will hire more teachers and enhance the quality of the teaching force.
It will also bring in 'many others' to schools to collaborate with teachers to give each child better attention, said Mr Tharman, without elaborating.
On the hardware part, the MOE will provide better facilities for an 'all-round education' in every school and accelerate some projects like the roll-out of indoor sports halls.
The Government expects to spend an average of $9,200 per student each year over the next five years. This is an increase of about 60% compared to the previous five years, he added.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Asia's economies reeling
Jan 22, 2009
Source: The Straits Times / AFP
BEIJING - ASIA'S major economies reported a slew of gloomy news on Thursday showing the global crisis was hitting harder, as export-dependent nations feel the pinch from the worldwide slowdown.
China's economy slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2008 to just 6.8 per cent as thousands of factories that sold to overseas markets shut, pulling the full-year growth figure down to 9.0 per cent, official data showed.
South Korea said its economy was in the worst shape since the East Asian financial crisis a decade ago, following a 5.6-per cent contraction quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of last year.
Japan meanwhile announced a 35 per cent plunge in exports in December as consumers worldwide tightened their belts even more, driving Asia's biggest economy further into recession.
'Exports tumbled so much that you cannot believe your eyes,' said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at Monex Securities in Japan.
The three nations have the biggest economies in Asia, and the data reflected similar gloom across the rest of the region.
National Australia Bank group chief economist Alan Oster described Asia's economic health as 'in a word, poor - and decelerating quickly.
'One of the big problems is when we look at industrial production and GDP across the region, we see quite rapid declines,' Mr Oster told AFP.
Many of the region's national economies were 'trade-exposed' and faced growing problems as global fortunes declined, he said.
'We broadly see the global economy as going into a period where 2009 looks like its going to be the worst year since World War II.'
Singapore reported on Wednesday it was facing its worst-ever recession after the economy contracted by 16.9 per cent in the final quarter, its biggest fall on record.
In China, as many as six million people from the countryside have lost their jobs in the cities because of the economic crisis, the National Bureau of Statistics said as it released the economic data for 2008.
Many of these rural migrants worked in factories that sold products overseas, and the bureau's announcement confirmed the growing problem facing China as export markets evaporate.
'The international financial crisis is deepening and spreading with a continuing negative impact on the domestic economy,' said Ma Jiantang, the head of the statistics bureau.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had already warned this week that 2009 would be 'the most difficult year for China's economic development so far this century'.
Economists said the latest data showed it would be extremely difficult for China economy to grow this year by 8.0 per cent, a rate considered by many to be a minimum to maintain employment at a level that ensures social stability.
In South Korea, the government could not hide its shock at how quickly its economy was falling apart.
'We have forecast a bleak economic outlook but things are getting worse faster than has been expected,' Vice Finance Minister Hur Kyung-Wook told reporters.
Year-on-year, the economy shrank 3.4 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with 3.8 per cent growth in the third. The annualised figure showed the biggest fall since the fourth quarter of 1998 when it contracted six per cent.
For the whole of 2008, South Korea's economy grew 2.5 percent, sharply down from a five percent expansion in 2007, the central bank said.
The trade data out of Japan led analysts to predict that the economy there would suffer its worst performance since 1974 in the fourth quarter of 2008.
'It's inevitable that we will see a 10 per cent or steeper drop,' said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research. -- AFP
Source: The Straits Times / AFP
BEIJING - ASIA'S major economies reported a slew of gloomy news on Thursday showing the global crisis was hitting harder, as export-dependent nations feel the pinch from the worldwide slowdown.
China's economy slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2008 to just 6.8 per cent as thousands of factories that sold to overseas markets shut, pulling the full-year growth figure down to 9.0 per cent, official data showed.
South Korea said its economy was in the worst shape since the East Asian financial crisis a decade ago, following a 5.6-per cent contraction quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of last year.
Japan meanwhile announced a 35 per cent plunge in exports in December as consumers worldwide tightened their belts even more, driving Asia's biggest economy further into recession.
'Exports tumbled so much that you cannot believe your eyes,' said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at Monex Securities in Japan.
The three nations have the biggest economies in Asia, and the data reflected similar gloom across the rest of the region.
National Australia Bank group chief economist Alan Oster described Asia's economic health as 'in a word, poor - and decelerating quickly.
'One of the big problems is when we look at industrial production and GDP across the region, we see quite rapid declines,' Mr Oster told AFP.
Many of the region's national economies were 'trade-exposed' and faced growing problems as global fortunes declined, he said.
'We broadly see the global economy as going into a period where 2009 looks like its going to be the worst year since World War II.'
Singapore reported on Wednesday it was facing its worst-ever recession after the economy contracted by 16.9 per cent in the final quarter, its biggest fall on record.
In China, as many as six million people from the countryside have lost their jobs in the cities because of the economic crisis, the National Bureau of Statistics said as it released the economic data for 2008.
Many of these rural migrants worked in factories that sold products overseas, and the bureau's announcement confirmed the growing problem facing China as export markets evaporate.
'The international financial crisis is deepening and spreading with a continuing negative impact on the domestic economy,' said Ma Jiantang, the head of the statistics bureau.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had already warned this week that 2009 would be 'the most difficult year for China's economic development so far this century'.
Economists said the latest data showed it would be extremely difficult for China economy to grow this year by 8.0 per cent, a rate considered by many to be a minimum to maintain employment at a level that ensures social stability.
In South Korea, the government could not hide its shock at how quickly its economy was falling apart.
'We have forecast a bleak economic outlook but things are getting worse faster than has been expected,' Vice Finance Minister Hur Kyung-Wook told reporters.
Year-on-year, the economy shrank 3.4 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with 3.8 per cent growth in the third. The annualised figure showed the biggest fall since the fourth quarter of 1998 when it contracted six per cent.
For the whole of 2008, South Korea's economy grew 2.5 percent, sharply down from a five percent expansion in 2007, the central bank said.
The trade data out of Japan led analysts to predict that the economy there would suffer its worst performance since 1974 in the fourth quarter of 2008.
'It's inevitable that we will see a 10 per cent or steeper drop,' said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research. -- AFP
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Another 40,000 job cuts
Jan 17, 2009
Source: The Straits Times / AP
NEW YORK - THIS is the point in the recession where one round of job cuts leads to another.
Employers announced a total of nearly 40,000 job cuts on Friday, almost all of them related to problems in other parts of the economy.
Circuit City Stores Inc. said it is liquidating, closing all its U.S. stores and cutting 30,000 jobs after being hobbled, in part, by declining consumer spending.
Rental car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is eliminating 4,000 jobs worldwide as families and business travelers forgo trips. Insurer WellPoint Inc. is cutting about 1,500 jobs, with rising unemployment leading to fewer people with health insurance.
For the moment, every economic action seems to precipitate a negative reaction.
Consumers made nervous by job cuts, tumbling home prices and swooning stocks aren't spending. That's hurt retailers and manufacturers, who have closed stores, cutting their employees' jobs or hours, which has made workers more nervous, so they spend less. And the spiral continues.
Even falling gas prices will have hurt some workers. Petroleum company ConocoPhillips said on Friday it will cut about 1,300 jobs, or 4 per cent of its work force.
'There does seem to be a painful cycle emerging,' said Ms Dana Saporta, US economist at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort in New York. 'Halting this cycle will require very aggressive fiscal and monetary policy'.
Touring a factory in Ohio on Friday, President-elect Barack Obama promoted an $825 billion (S$1.2 trillion) stimulus plan unveiled by House Democrats a day earlier.
'It's not too late to change course - but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible,' Mr Obama said. 'The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.'
With unemployment at a 16-year high of 7.2 per cent in December and about 11 million Americans out of work, many economists expect worse news to come. Some say the unemployment rate could be headed for 10 per cent - or higher - by year's end.
Some companies laying off workers also are cutting pay and stopping contributions to retirement accounts. Those steps typically decrease spending and investing by their remaining employees.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc announced its third round of layoffs in a year Friday and will slash pay for top managers by 15 per cent, other salaried workers by 10 per cent and hourly workers' salaries by 5 per cent.
In retail, Saks Inc said on Thursday it is slashing 1,100 jobs. The luxury retailer also eliminated merit raises in 2009, suspended matching contributions to its 401(k) plan for at least one year and suspended benefit accruals for workers who remain in the company's pension plan.
'Our financial performance is increasingly being challenged by some of the most difficult economic conditions our company has faced in its 84-year history,' Mr Steve Sadove, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
'It is our expectation that the economic environment will remain extremely challenging through 2009, if not beyond.'
Cuts this week have come in nearly every sector. In consumer products, mobile phone company Motorola Inc said on Wednesday it will eliminate 4,000 jobs, its second round of layoffs in four months, because of dropping sales.
When the latest cuts are complete, Motorola's work force will have shrunk by 18 per cent from its 2007 level.
Other companies announcing job cuts on Friday include: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Honda Motor Co and scientific instrument maker Varian Inc Drug company Pfizer Inc may cut as many as 2,400 sales jobs, according to a various media reports.
Also announcing layoffs this week were paper and plastics maker MeadWestvaco Corp, software company Autodesk Inc, Textron Inc's Cessna Aircraft Co, hard-disk drive maker Seagate Technology and engine maker Cummins Inc.
Even Internet search leader Google Inc, which seemed impervious to the economy's troubles, earlier this week said it will close three engineering offices and cut 100 recruiters.
'Given the state of the economy, we recognized that we needed fewer people focused on hiring,' Mr Laszlo Bock, a Google vice president, wrote in a blog posting announcing the layoffs.
The cycle will stop when housing prices stabilize and some economic confidence returns, said Mr David Wyss, Standard & Poor's chief economist.
'People cut back on spending on things they don't need, but there are always thing they do need,' Mr Wyss said. 'Eventually, they use up the last light bulb in the closet and they have to buy some more. It takes a while.'
Source: The Straits Times / AP
NEW YORK - THIS is the point in the recession where one round of job cuts leads to another.
Employers announced a total of nearly 40,000 job cuts on Friday, almost all of them related to problems in other parts of the economy.
Circuit City Stores Inc. said it is liquidating, closing all its U.S. stores and cutting 30,000 jobs after being hobbled, in part, by declining consumer spending.
Rental car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is eliminating 4,000 jobs worldwide as families and business travelers forgo trips. Insurer WellPoint Inc. is cutting about 1,500 jobs, with rising unemployment leading to fewer people with health insurance.
For the moment, every economic action seems to precipitate a negative reaction.
Consumers made nervous by job cuts, tumbling home prices and swooning stocks aren't spending. That's hurt retailers and manufacturers, who have closed stores, cutting their employees' jobs or hours, which has made workers more nervous, so they spend less. And the spiral continues.
Even falling gas prices will have hurt some workers. Petroleum company ConocoPhillips said on Friday it will cut about 1,300 jobs, or 4 per cent of its work force.
'There does seem to be a painful cycle emerging,' said Ms Dana Saporta, US economist at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort in New York. 'Halting this cycle will require very aggressive fiscal and monetary policy'.
Touring a factory in Ohio on Friday, President-elect Barack Obama promoted an $825 billion (S$1.2 trillion) stimulus plan unveiled by House Democrats a day earlier.
'It's not too late to change course - but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible,' Mr Obama said. 'The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.'
With unemployment at a 16-year high of 7.2 per cent in December and about 11 million Americans out of work, many economists expect worse news to come. Some say the unemployment rate could be headed for 10 per cent - or higher - by year's end.
Some companies laying off workers also are cutting pay and stopping contributions to retirement accounts. Those steps typically decrease spending and investing by their remaining employees.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc announced its third round of layoffs in a year Friday and will slash pay for top managers by 15 per cent, other salaried workers by 10 per cent and hourly workers' salaries by 5 per cent.
In retail, Saks Inc said on Thursday it is slashing 1,100 jobs. The luxury retailer also eliminated merit raises in 2009, suspended matching contributions to its 401(k) plan for at least one year and suspended benefit accruals for workers who remain in the company's pension plan.
'Our financial performance is increasingly being challenged by some of the most difficult economic conditions our company has faced in its 84-year history,' Mr Steve Sadove, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
'It is our expectation that the economic environment will remain extremely challenging through 2009, if not beyond.'
Cuts this week have come in nearly every sector. In consumer products, mobile phone company Motorola Inc said on Wednesday it will eliminate 4,000 jobs, its second round of layoffs in four months, because of dropping sales.
When the latest cuts are complete, Motorola's work force will have shrunk by 18 per cent from its 2007 level.
Other companies announcing job cuts on Friday include: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Honda Motor Co and scientific instrument maker Varian Inc Drug company Pfizer Inc may cut as many as 2,400 sales jobs, according to a various media reports.
Also announcing layoffs this week were paper and plastics maker MeadWestvaco Corp, software company Autodesk Inc, Textron Inc's Cessna Aircraft Co, hard-disk drive maker Seagate Technology and engine maker Cummins Inc.
Even Internet search leader Google Inc, which seemed impervious to the economy's troubles, earlier this week said it will close three engineering offices and cut 100 recruiters.
'Given the state of the economy, we recognized that we needed fewer people focused on hiring,' Mr Laszlo Bock, a Google vice president, wrote in a blog posting announcing the layoffs.
The cycle will stop when housing prices stabilize and some economic confidence returns, said Mr David Wyss, Standard & Poor's chief economist.
'People cut back on spending on things they don't need, but there are always thing they do need,' Mr Wyss said. 'Eventually, they use up the last light bulb in the closet and they have to buy some more. It takes a while.'
Jobs in construction
Jan 18, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
Tradesmen, foremen and professionals still wanted by firms, with attractive pay offered.
If you are looking for a job, the construction industry wants you.
Companies need tradesmen and foremen, as well as professionals in areas such as the management of green buildings.
And the pay is nothing to be sniffed at either.
A crane operator can command a basic pay of $1,400 to $1,700. With experience, he could take home $3,800 to $5,000.
At the supervisory level, starting salaries range from $1,600 to $2,500, and can rise to $4,000 with experience.
Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, revealed this yesterday at a scholarship, training and career fair organised by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
More than 380 jobs were offered by 33 exhibitors at the one-day event at the BCA Academy in Braddell Road. More than 1,000 people turned up.
She noted that the value of construction contracts awarded last year totalled $34.6 billion, up from the previous high of $24.5 billion in 2007.
While construction demand is expected to moderate over the next two to three years given the global downturn, the level of demand will still be much higher than the average annual demand of $13 billion from 1998 to 2006, she said.
In a recent BCA survey of 1,500 mostly contracting firms, half the respondents indicated they were short of manpower.
BCA's Building Careers website, launched last month, has more than 600 job vacancies posted.
Ms Fu highlighted these two points as 'good news that the industry is still hiring'.
Tradesmen and foremen in higher value-add trades such as crane and construction-plant operation, electrical works and plumbing are in high demand.
As for professionals, managers, executives and technicians, one area of focus is the design, construction and management of green, or environmentally friendly, buildings.
To support the development of a 'green-collar workforce', the BCA aims to train at least 8,000 specialists over the next five years.
Twenty-six undergraduate scholarships, sponsored by industry players, are offered this year - double that of last year's.
Diploma programmes - subsidised under schemes such as the Skills Development Fund and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience - and tie-up degree programmes with Carnegie Mellon University in the United States and Nottingham University in Britain will also be available for those seeking to upgrade themselves.
Source: The Straits Times
Tradesmen, foremen and professionals still wanted by firms, with attractive pay offered.
If you are looking for a job, the construction industry wants you.
Companies need tradesmen and foremen, as well as professionals in areas such as the management of green buildings.
And the pay is nothing to be sniffed at either.
A crane operator can command a basic pay of $1,400 to $1,700. With experience, he could take home $3,800 to $5,000.
At the supervisory level, starting salaries range from $1,600 to $2,500, and can rise to $4,000 with experience.
Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, revealed this yesterday at a scholarship, training and career fair organised by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
More than 380 jobs were offered by 33 exhibitors at the one-day event at the BCA Academy in Braddell Road. More than 1,000 people turned up.
She noted that the value of construction contracts awarded last year totalled $34.6 billion, up from the previous high of $24.5 billion in 2007.
While construction demand is expected to moderate over the next two to three years given the global downturn, the level of demand will still be much higher than the average annual demand of $13 billion from 1998 to 2006, she said.
In a recent BCA survey of 1,500 mostly contracting firms, half the respondents indicated they were short of manpower.
BCA's Building Careers website, launched last month, has more than 600 job vacancies posted.
Ms Fu highlighted these two points as 'good news that the industry is still hiring'.
Tradesmen and foremen in higher value-add trades such as crane and construction-plant operation, electrical works and plumbing are in high demand.
As for professionals, managers, executives and technicians, one area of focus is the design, construction and management of green, or environmentally friendly, buildings.
To support the development of a 'green-collar workforce', the BCA aims to train at least 8,000 specialists over the next five years.
Twenty-six undergraduate scholarships, sponsored by industry players, are offered this year - double that of last year's.
Diploma programmes - subsidised under schemes such as the Skills Development Fund and Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience - and tie-up degree programmes with Carnegie Mellon University in the United States and Nottingham University in Britain will also be available for those seeking to upgrade themselves.
New polytechnics courses
Jan 18, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
AS THE popularity of traditional engineering courses wanes, Singapore polytechnics are rolling out programmes this year in newly popular fields such as clean energy and aeronautical engineering.
Polytechnic lecturers said interest in these disciplines is booming, in part because of the glamour of the jobs but largely because the clean energy and aerospace industries are flowering amid a bonanza of investment.
About 10,000 jobs will be created when the $60 million Seletar Aerospace Park is completed in 2018.
With heavy government investments, the clean energy industry is expected to bring Singapore $1.7 billion a year in gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.
The courses are drawing some of the top engineering students at the expense of programmes like electrical and mechanical engineering.
Source: The Straits Times
AS THE popularity of traditional engineering courses wanes, Singapore polytechnics are rolling out programmes this year in newly popular fields such as clean energy and aeronautical engineering.
Polytechnic lecturers said interest in these disciplines is booming, in part because of the glamour of the jobs but largely because the clean energy and aerospace industries are flowering amid a bonanza of investment.
About 10,000 jobs will be created when the $60 million Seletar Aerospace Park is completed in 2018.
With heavy government investments, the clean energy industry is expected to bring Singapore $1.7 billion a year in gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.
The courses are drawing some of the top engineering students at the expense of programmes like electrical and mechanical engineering.
More firms closing down
Jan 18, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
OVER 130 Singapore small business closed down last year, a nearly 25 per cent jump over 2007 and the highest number since the dotcom bust seven years ago, according to new Government statistics.
The deepening recession has apparently claimed everything from fruit stalls to shoe shops, and experts say more small companies - which usually have little margin for error - are poised to wind up in the coming months.
Almost 40 per cent of the 131 small business that shut in 2008 went belly up from September through December, numbers from the Ministry of Law revealed.
The late year surge - which accompanied the onset of the recession - pushed failings above the total for 2007. It marked the first annual increase since the dotcom bust of 2002, when over 260 businesses bit the dust.
No details were provided on which sectors were worst hit or the reason for the increase, but experts said it is a sign that the recession is taking hold.
The downturn began in earnest in September after stock markets around the world crashed, and the local housing and export markets withered.
Source: The Straits Times
OVER 130 Singapore small business closed down last year, a nearly 25 per cent jump over 2007 and the highest number since the dotcom bust seven years ago, according to new Government statistics.
The deepening recession has apparently claimed everything from fruit stalls to shoe shops, and experts say more small companies - which usually have little margin for error - are poised to wind up in the coming months.
Almost 40 per cent of the 131 small business that shut in 2008 went belly up from September through December, numbers from the Ministry of Law revealed.
The late year surge - which accompanied the onset of the recession - pushed failings above the total for 2007. It marked the first annual increase since the dotcom bust of 2002, when over 260 businesses bit the dust.
No details were provided on which sectors were worst hit or the reason for the increase, but experts said it is a sign that the recession is taking hold.
The downturn began in earnest in September after stock markets around the world crashed, and the local housing and export markets withered.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Over 1,100 firms benefited from scheme to help companies re-employ mature workers
15 January 2009
Source: CNA
SINGAPORE: More than 1,100 companies have benefited from the government's ADVANTAGE! scheme, which aims to help companies re-employ workers past the age of 62 years old.
Salleh Udi, a stable assistant above 70 years of age, accepted re-employment by the Singapore Polo Club and is on a renewable year-to-year contract.
He said: "As long as I'm healthy and the club needs my services, I will keep working."
The general manager of the Singapore Polo Club, Torrey Dorsey, said: "It's not a glamorous job -- it's hot, it's dirty, it requires long hours. That's not to say we don't employ younger workers, but I think it's such a niche area that it's not a job a lot of people aspire to do. Our older workers add great value. They have knowledge beyond a textbook."
One of the physically demanding aspects of this job is walking the horses three times around a track daily.
But the company has found a way around this.
Costing up to S$100,000, a mechanical horse walker was built to make the facilities more age-friendly. The Polo Club tapped on the government's ADVANTAGE! scheme to pay for up to 80 per cent of its cost.
More than 30 per cent of the Polo Club's total workforce are above 50 years old, and of these, almost half of the employees are retirees or about to reach retirement age.
The club provides consultation sessions to help workers who are due for retirement make the transition into re-employment.
Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said: "Although Singapore is facing a slowdown, the process of ageing will not slow down and we will continue to face the challenge of an ageing workforce and ageing population. Even younger workers that you have today will grow old one day. So you need to retain them."
Singapore plans to push up its job rate of those aged 55 to 64 from the current 57 per cent to 65 per cent by 2012.
Source: CNA
SINGAPORE: More than 1,100 companies have benefited from the government's ADVANTAGE! scheme, which aims to help companies re-employ workers past the age of 62 years old.
Salleh Udi, a stable assistant above 70 years of age, accepted re-employment by the Singapore Polo Club and is on a renewable year-to-year contract.
He said: "As long as I'm healthy and the club needs my services, I will keep working."
The general manager of the Singapore Polo Club, Torrey Dorsey, said: "It's not a glamorous job -- it's hot, it's dirty, it requires long hours. That's not to say we don't employ younger workers, but I think it's such a niche area that it's not a job a lot of people aspire to do. Our older workers add great value. They have knowledge beyond a textbook."
One of the physically demanding aspects of this job is walking the horses three times around a track daily.
But the company has found a way around this.
Costing up to S$100,000, a mechanical horse walker was built to make the facilities more age-friendly. The Polo Club tapped on the government's ADVANTAGE! scheme to pay for up to 80 per cent of its cost.
More than 30 per cent of the Polo Club's total workforce are above 50 years old, and of these, almost half of the employees are retirees or about to reach retirement age.
The club provides consultation sessions to help workers who are due for retirement make the transition into re-employment.
Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said: "Although Singapore is facing a slowdown, the process of ageing will not slow down and we will continue to face the challenge of an ageing workforce and ageing population. Even younger workers that you have today will grow old one day. So you need to retain them."
Singapore plans to push up its job rate of those aged 55 to 64 from the current 57 per cent to 65 per cent by 2012.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
NTUC offers more places for childcare
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Source: Today
SINGAPORE’S largest childcare operator revealed its part in the Government’s grand plan to boost the national birth rate yesterday, announcing not only a rebranding exercise, but also more centres, higher salaries for teachers, and higher qualifying cap for fees assistance.
NTUC First Campus — formerly known as NTUC Childcare Group — :will set up25 new childcare centres in the next 12 to 18 months, adding 2,500 more places to the current 5,500.
Meanwhile, all of its future heartland centres will offer infant-care services.
And at a time when jobs are a top worry, it has given its teachers an 8.4 per cent pay raise to attract the best. Those with early childhood education diplomas now earn $1,843 on average, up from $1,700.
Promising that fees would remain affordable, chief executive Chan Tee Seng said they would be kept 15 to 20 per cent below the national median of $630 - average fees for its 40 heartland My First Skool childcare centres (formerly known as NTUC Childcare) are about $500 monthly.
Fees are higher for its more exclusive Little Skool-House International brand – the 10 centres located mostly at workplaces and community clubs charge $800 to $900 monthly.
“Many operators increased fees by $70 to $80 sometime in September last year. We have held back because of the economic situation,” said Mr Chan. A five to 10 per cent hike was originally planned by My First Skool this month, but has been postponed, he said.
First Campus – the largest pre-school operator here in terms of enrolment – is not the only one on an expansion path. The Government expects 200 new centres in the next five years, and a PAP Community Foundation spokesperson told TODAY it would open 28 new centres by 2011. Another operator, Learning Vision, opened a branch at Changi Business Park earlier this month.
SUBHEAD: MORE HELP, HIGHER QUALITY
First Campus will do more for needy families. Its Bright Horizons Fund has raised its qualifying income cap from $1,800 to $2,200, and expects to help about 400 families this year.
“At the end of the day, we hope that we can minimise the impact of this downturn not just for workers, but also for families and especially the children,” said NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say.
But expansion will not come at the expense of quality, said Mr Lim. First Campus is expanding its training arms - the RTRC Asia and Caterpillar’s Cove, a centre promoting research and best practices.
The Government had announced last year that by 2013, three-quarters of all childcare teachers would need at least a diploma. RTRC Asia – a Continuing Education and Training Centre for childhood education – will ramp up yearly training capacity from 1,400 to 2,000 in the next three years. Fifty diploma and degree scholarships will be awarded by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports over the next five years.
Those at First Campus who demonstrate leadership potential will also be put on the career fast-track, becoming principals in three years instead of the usual five.
The changes spelled out yesterday will cost First Campus an extra $1.5 million yearly, but this is already part of operating costs and will not be passed on to parents, assured Mr Chan.
Parents like Mrs Elizabeth Chai said these measures, especially better-qualified teachers, would boost confidence in the pre-school provider. “School fees are also a concern and I hope they won’t be raised,” said Mrs Chai, 32, whose three-year-old son is enrolled in a My First Skool playgroup.
Source: Today
SINGAPORE’S largest childcare operator revealed its part in the Government’s grand plan to boost the national birth rate yesterday, announcing not only a rebranding exercise, but also more centres, higher salaries for teachers, and higher qualifying cap for fees assistance.
NTUC First Campus — formerly known as NTUC Childcare Group — :will set up25 new childcare centres in the next 12 to 18 months, adding 2,500 more places to the current 5,500.
Meanwhile, all of its future heartland centres will offer infant-care services.
And at a time when jobs are a top worry, it has given its teachers an 8.4 per cent pay raise to attract the best. Those with early childhood education diplomas now earn $1,843 on average, up from $1,700.
Promising that fees would remain affordable, chief executive Chan Tee Seng said they would be kept 15 to 20 per cent below the national median of $630 - average fees for its 40 heartland My First Skool childcare centres (formerly known as NTUC Childcare) are about $500 monthly.
Fees are higher for its more exclusive Little Skool-House International brand – the 10 centres located mostly at workplaces and community clubs charge $800 to $900 monthly.
“Many operators increased fees by $70 to $80 sometime in September last year. We have held back because of the economic situation,” said Mr Chan. A five to 10 per cent hike was originally planned by My First Skool this month, but has been postponed, he said.
First Campus – the largest pre-school operator here in terms of enrolment – is not the only one on an expansion path. The Government expects 200 new centres in the next five years, and a PAP Community Foundation spokesperson told TODAY it would open 28 new centres by 2011. Another operator, Learning Vision, opened a branch at Changi Business Park earlier this month.
SUBHEAD: MORE HELP, HIGHER QUALITY
First Campus will do more for needy families. Its Bright Horizons Fund has raised its qualifying income cap from $1,800 to $2,200, and expects to help about 400 families this year.
“At the end of the day, we hope that we can minimise the impact of this downturn not just for workers, but also for families and especially the children,” said NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say.
But expansion will not come at the expense of quality, said Mr Lim. First Campus is expanding its training arms - the RTRC Asia and Caterpillar’s Cove, a centre promoting research and best practices.
The Government had announced last year that by 2013, three-quarters of all childcare teachers would need at least a diploma. RTRC Asia – a Continuing Education and Training Centre for childhood education – will ramp up yearly training capacity from 1,400 to 2,000 in the next three years. Fifty diploma and degree scholarships will be awarded by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports over the next five years.
Those at First Campus who demonstrate leadership potential will also be put on the career fast-track, becoming principals in three years instead of the usual five.
The changes spelled out yesterday will cost First Campus an extra $1.5 million yearly, but this is already part of operating costs and will not be passed on to parents, assured Mr Chan.
Parents like Mrs Elizabeth Chai said these measures, especially better-qualified teachers, would boost confidence in the pre-school provider. “School fees are also a concern and I hope they won’t be raised,” said Mrs Chai, 32, whose three-year-old son is enrolled in a My First Skool playgroup.
Do your homework when choosing a school
Tue, Jan 13, 2009
Source: The New Paper
Internet is helpful, but you should visit the campus if you can. -TNP
THERE is such a mind-boggling array of private schools out there.
So how do you decide which one to apply to?
After all, the fees are high at private schools, as they are not subsidised like government schools are.
It makes sense to be sure that your parents' - or your own - hard-earned money will get you a quality education.
You also want assurance that the paper qualifications from your school will be recognised by potential employers.
First things first.
Check whether the school you are interested in is accredited, or if it provides quality courses.
Right now, there is no formal accrediting body for private schools in Singapore.
But that will soon change.
The Edutrust seal of approval, which will be awarded to private schools of academic quality, will be launched later this year.
The Association for Private Schools and Colleges Singapore lists only four private schools here as having accredited courses.
It is currently inviting private schools to submit applications to be entered in its register of accredited courses.
In the meantime, you will have to do your own homework.
Many of the private education providers here offer diplomas and degrees awarded by foreign colleges and universities.
Thanks to the Internet, it is possible to check if the foreign schools are accredited, without making expensive overseas calls.
It may take more than one click of the mouse, but it is not likely to be hard work.
Accreditation is done by the government in most countries, usually the Ministry of Education or the equivalent.
But in the US, accreditation is done by private associations.
There are six regional accreditors in the US, so it helps to know where the school you are checking on is located.
There is also a list of bona fide US accreditation bodies that you can refer to as bogus schools have been known to set up their own fake accreditation bodies in the past.
Some of the foreign colleges and universities will also mention on their websites that they have a Singapore-based education partner.
Some private education providers offer courses that are not accredited by academic bodies.
Instead, the specialist courses are accredited by industrial associations or professional organisations.
A quick check online or in the Business Listings directory will tell you if the association or organisation exists.
It is harder to conjure up an association with thousands of commercial members out of thin air than to create a website for a fake foreign academic accreditation board.
Make a visit yourself
Apart from doing your due diligence online, it is a good idea to check out the school in person.
If the school consists of just two classrooms and a reception area, alarm bells should go off in your head.
The visit also lets you see if the school facilities will be adequate for your study needs.
While you are there, speak to the academic staff to find out more about the course structure and syllabus.
Better yet, ask for copies of the past year's syllabus. That way, you can compare the course content with what is offered by other schools.
Besides speaking to the staff, try to speak to any students who happen to be in school.
They should be able to tell you if there is anything to worry about.
Do the teachers in the school keep leaving so that students have to keep adapting to a new teacher every fortnight?
Are the lecturers unable to answer questions about the course syllabus?
On a less alarming note, are students able to approach their teachers after class for extra help or to clarify questions they may have?
If the current students are unhappy with the school, chances are that you will be too if you enrol.
In the end, you have to assess a combination of factors - formal accreditation, the course content, the teaching staff and school facilities - to decide which school you should pick.
Source: The New Paper
Internet is helpful, but you should visit the campus if you can. -TNP
THERE is such a mind-boggling array of private schools out there.
So how do you decide which one to apply to?
After all, the fees are high at private schools, as they are not subsidised like government schools are.
It makes sense to be sure that your parents' - or your own - hard-earned money will get you a quality education.
You also want assurance that the paper qualifications from your school will be recognised by potential employers.
First things first.
Check whether the school you are interested in is accredited, or if it provides quality courses.
Right now, there is no formal accrediting body for private schools in Singapore.
But that will soon change.
The Edutrust seal of approval, which will be awarded to private schools of academic quality, will be launched later this year.
The Association for Private Schools and Colleges Singapore lists only four private schools here as having accredited courses.
It is currently inviting private schools to submit applications to be entered in its register of accredited courses.
In the meantime, you will have to do your own homework.
Many of the private education providers here offer diplomas and degrees awarded by foreign colleges and universities.
Thanks to the Internet, it is possible to check if the foreign schools are accredited, without making expensive overseas calls.
It may take more than one click of the mouse, but it is not likely to be hard work.
Accreditation is done by the government in most countries, usually the Ministry of Education or the equivalent.
But in the US, accreditation is done by private associations.
There are six regional accreditors in the US, so it helps to know where the school you are checking on is located.
There is also a list of bona fide US accreditation bodies that you can refer to as bogus schools have been known to set up their own fake accreditation bodies in the past.
Some of the foreign colleges and universities will also mention on their websites that they have a Singapore-based education partner.
Some private education providers offer courses that are not accredited by academic bodies.
Instead, the specialist courses are accredited by industrial associations or professional organisations.
A quick check online or in the Business Listings directory will tell you if the association or organisation exists.
It is harder to conjure up an association with thousands of commercial members out of thin air than to create a website for a fake foreign academic accreditation board.
Make a visit yourself
Apart from doing your due diligence online, it is a good idea to check out the school in person.
If the school consists of just two classrooms and a reception area, alarm bells should go off in your head.
The visit also lets you see if the school facilities will be adequate for your study needs.
While you are there, speak to the academic staff to find out more about the course structure and syllabus.
Better yet, ask for copies of the past year's syllabus. That way, you can compare the course content with what is offered by other schools.
Besides speaking to the staff, try to speak to any students who happen to be in school.
They should be able to tell you if there is anything to worry about.
Do the teachers in the school keep leaving so that students have to keep adapting to a new teacher every fortnight?
Are the lecturers unable to answer questions about the course syllabus?
On a less alarming note, are students able to approach their teachers after class for extra help or to clarify questions they may have?
If the current students are unhappy with the school, chances are that you will be too if you enrol.
In the end, you have to assess a combination of factors - formal accreditation, the course content, the teaching staff and school facilities - to decide which school you should pick.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Survey shows three quarters of Singaporeans feel secure in their jobs
13 Jan 2009
Source: Channel NewsAsia / 938LIVE
SINGAPORE: Despite the gloomy unemployment forecast, more than three quarters of working Singaporeans feel confident that their present job is secure.
Based on a survey by TNS and Gallup International, just 30 per cent of Singaporean workers think there is a chance they might join the ranks of the unemployed this year.
But if they do get retrenched, the majority fear it would take them a long time before they secure another job.
Only 17 per cent of Singaporeans believe they would be able to find a new job fairly quickly.
In this respect, Singaporeans are more pessimistic compared to the global average of 31 per cent.
More than three quarters (78 per cent) say that unemployment will rise this year.
Singaporeans also expect this year to be worse for them than last year.
Just one in five (20 per cent) Singaporeans think that it will be better.
Source: Channel NewsAsia / 938LIVE
SINGAPORE: Despite the gloomy unemployment forecast, more than three quarters of working Singaporeans feel confident that their present job is secure.
Based on a survey by TNS and Gallup International, just 30 per cent of Singaporean workers think there is a chance they might join the ranks of the unemployed this year.
But if they do get retrenched, the majority fear it would take them a long time before they secure another job.
Only 17 per cent of Singaporeans believe they would be able to find a new job fairly quickly.
In this respect, Singaporeans are more pessimistic compared to the global average of 31 per cent.
More than three quarters (78 per cent) say that unemployment will rise this year.
Singaporeans also expect this year to be worse for them than last year.
Just one in five (20 per cent) Singaporeans think that it will be better.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Executive retraining boost
Jan 11, 2009
Source: The Straits Times
Govt plans to launch more programmes to train professionals for a mid-career switch
MORE professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are expected to be adversely affected in this recession than during previous recessions, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Saturday.
This is why the Government is rolling out more training programmes to target this group, he said.id.
Among them are the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP), which will help to train and place mid-career professionals in jobs in growing sectors that are hiring staff.
Mr Gan launched one such programme on Saturday.
The PCP for tourism will allow workers to pursue qualifications in that sector. The year-long programme will feature both theory and practical classes and include internships with tourism outlets in Sentosa.
Trainees will also get a stipend.
Mr Gan said that over the last month, four PCPs in pre-school education, pharmaceutical manufacturing, health care and workplace safety and health have been developed.
Three other programmes in other industries are currently in place and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) plans to roll out about 15 more such programmes this year.
Other measures to help PMETs include increasing the frequency of workshops which will share tips, knowledge and skills in job search and career transitions.
WDA and community development council career centres which provide services such as career-personality profiling and job referrals are also beefing up their resources.
The fate of PMETs has worried many.
As of the third quarter of last year, 2,248 of this group of workers were retrenched, according to the Ministry of Manpower.
Last Tuesday, in a letter to The Straits Times Forum page, a reader called for more to be done to help them. He suggested providing them access to programmes like support group activities and job counselling.
In a reply to the letter, National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Josephine Teo pointed out that the recent expansion of funding from 150 to 800 courses for the Skills Programme for Upgrading Resilience (Spur) would encourage companies to train PMETs to do their jobs better and help employers cut cost and save jobs.
Mr Gan said yesterday that it was important to tailor PCPs to fit the needs of this group and to respond to market demand for them.
'PMETs are slightly different from rank and file,' he said.
'The more important thing is to make sure that the training is relevant to the industry needs because if we roll out many programmes just to meet the numbers, and the training is not relevant, after the training, they will still have difficulties finding jobs.'
He added that some PMETs might have to accept an adjustment in salary or position.
'I will encourage them to keep an open mind, to be realistic in their expectations, to be flexible, try something new. And even if it starts a little bit lower, it doesn't matter. Continue to work hard. Opportunities will be there for them to move upwards.'
Training must hit the mark
'PMETs are slightly different from rank and file. The more important thing is to make sure that the training is relevant to the industry needs because if we roll out many programmes just to meet the numbers, and the training is not relevant, after the training, they will still have difficulties finding jobs.'
ACTING MANPOWER MINISTER GAN KIM YONG
Source: The Straits Times
Govt plans to launch more programmes to train professionals for a mid-career switch
MORE professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are expected to be adversely affected in this recession than during previous recessions, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Saturday.
This is why the Government is rolling out more training programmes to target this group, he said.id.
Among them are the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP), which will help to train and place mid-career professionals in jobs in growing sectors that are hiring staff.
Mr Gan launched one such programme on Saturday.
The PCP for tourism will allow workers to pursue qualifications in that sector. The year-long programme will feature both theory and practical classes and include internships with tourism outlets in Sentosa.
Trainees will also get a stipend.
Mr Gan said that over the last month, four PCPs in pre-school education, pharmaceutical manufacturing, health care and workplace safety and health have been developed.
Three other programmes in other industries are currently in place and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) plans to roll out about 15 more such programmes this year.
Other measures to help PMETs include increasing the frequency of workshops which will share tips, knowledge and skills in job search and career transitions.
WDA and community development council career centres which provide services such as career-personality profiling and job referrals are also beefing up their resources.
The fate of PMETs has worried many.
As of the third quarter of last year, 2,248 of this group of workers were retrenched, according to the Ministry of Manpower.
Last Tuesday, in a letter to The Straits Times Forum page, a reader called for more to be done to help them. He suggested providing them access to programmes like support group activities and job counselling.
In a reply to the letter, National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Josephine Teo pointed out that the recent expansion of funding from 150 to 800 courses for the Skills Programme for Upgrading Resilience (Spur) would encourage companies to train PMETs to do their jobs better and help employers cut cost and save jobs.
Mr Gan said yesterday that it was important to tailor PCPs to fit the needs of this group and to respond to market demand for them.
'PMETs are slightly different from rank and file,' he said.
'The more important thing is to make sure that the training is relevant to the industry needs because if we roll out many programmes just to meet the numbers, and the training is not relevant, after the training, they will still have difficulties finding jobs.'
He added that some PMETs might have to accept an adjustment in salary or position.
'I will encourage them to keep an open mind, to be realistic in their expectations, to be flexible, try something new. And even if it starts a little bit lower, it doesn't matter. Continue to work hard. Opportunities will be there for them to move upwards.'
Training must hit the mark
'PMETs are slightly different from rank and file. The more important thing is to make sure that the training is relevant to the industry needs because if we roll out many programmes just to meet the numbers, and the training is not relevant, after the training, they will still have difficulties finding jobs.'
ACTING MANPOWER MINISTER GAN KIM YONG
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
What will employers normally do during financial crisis?
What will employers normally do during financial crisis? How if it is cost cutting? Is there any possibility on talent development?
We appreciate your input / comments / suggestions to the above question. Thanks.
We appreciate your input / comments / suggestions to the above question. Thanks.
Govt spending on children rising
Source: The Straits Times
Jan 7, 2009
GOVERNMENT expenditure on children has risen over the years, especially in education, health and social programmes such as the Baby Bonus.
Details released yesterday by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) in a report to the United Nations revealed that on education alone, the Government budget in 2007 was $6.5 billion, up from $4.8 billion in 2003. This expenditure was for all levels of education, including for special needs.
Another large expenditure on children and families was for the Baby Bonus scheme. The scheme, which started in April 2001, was enhanced in August last year.
The bonus consists of cash and a co-saving component, in which savings contributed by parents will be matched dollar for dollar by the Government.
For example, the first child gets a cash gift of $4,000 and a maximum government contribution of $6,000 to the co-savings plans. The amount increases from the third child to $18,000 in total.
The expenditure on Baby Bonuses in 2007 was $220 million, nearly treble the $81 million spent in 2003. This bumped up the total expenditure on social services and support for children and families to $421 million - more than double the $162 million spent in 2003.
Health expenditure also rose. In 2003, $23.5million was spent on health care for children in both primary and secondary schools. This rose to $27 million in 2007.
The MCYS also spent more on disability programmes for children, running special student-care centres and early intervention programmes for infants and children. The total amount climbed from about $4.4 million in 2003 to $6.4 million in 2007.
Sociologist Paulin Straughan said the Government is obviously interested in investing in children and their future.
She said: 'With lowered birth rates, the trend is to look at the individual children as valuable assets.'
Just as parents would, 'the state is making the same kind of investment in their well-being and education'.
Jan 7, 2009
GOVERNMENT expenditure on children has risen over the years, especially in education, health and social programmes such as the Baby Bonus.
Details released yesterday by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) in a report to the United Nations revealed that on education alone, the Government budget in 2007 was $6.5 billion, up from $4.8 billion in 2003. This expenditure was for all levels of education, including for special needs.
Another large expenditure on children and families was for the Baby Bonus scheme. The scheme, which started in April 2001, was enhanced in August last year.
The bonus consists of cash and a co-saving component, in which savings contributed by parents will be matched dollar for dollar by the Government.
For example, the first child gets a cash gift of $4,000 and a maximum government contribution of $6,000 to the co-savings plans. The amount increases from the third child to $18,000 in total.
The expenditure on Baby Bonuses in 2007 was $220 million, nearly treble the $81 million spent in 2003. This bumped up the total expenditure on social services and support for children and families to $421 million - more than double the $162 million spent in 2003.
Health expenditure also rose. In 2003, $23.5million was spent on health care for children in both primary and secondary schools. This rose to $27 million in 2007.
The MCYS also spent more on disability programmes for children, running special student-care centres and early intervention programmes for infants and children. The total amount climbed from about $4.4 million in 2003 to $6.4 million in 2007.
Sociologist Paulin Straughan said the Government is obviously interested in investing in children and their future.
She said: 'With lowered birth rates, the trend is to look at the individual children as valuable assets.'
Just as parents would, 'the state is making the same kind of investment in their well-being and education'.
S'pore kids faring well
Source: The Straits Times
Jan 7, 2009
Report to UN cites progress in health, education
SINGAPORE'S children are among the best cared for, with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, according to a government report released on Tuesday..
And as they grow up, fewer are dropping out of school and getting into trouble with the law.
The Government's report to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child, which tracks key developments in child welfare and protection, shows that steps have been made in the right direction between 2003 and 2007 to ensure that children are safe and being educated for the future.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund, Singapore had the world's lowest infant mortality rate at 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2007.
Measures to help pupils stay in school, such as helping lower primary pupils struggling with English and maths, brought down the dropout rate from 3.2 per cent in 2003 to 1.6 per cent in 2007.
The number of children aged between seven and 15 who were arrested also dropped from 2,637 in 2004 to 2,131 in 2007.
But not all developments have been positive.
The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases among youngsters aged 10 to 19 has been rising steadily every year, with 820 infected in 2007, more than double the 368 in 2003.
As well as a reflection of increasing sexual activity among youth, the numbers could also be a sign that more are seeking diagnosis.
Furthermore, some children as young as eight are so wayward that their parents request the State to discipline them.
In 2007, the parents of 140 children went to court saying their kids were beyond parental control (BPC). Five were aged between eight and 10.
In 2003, only two of the 164 children considered beyond parental control were in that age group.
Dr Carol Balhetchet, director of youth services at the Singapore Children's Society, observed that more younger children are getting into trouble these days.
Dr Balhetchet, whose agency counsels BPC cases, added: 'Today's young kids, at seven or eight, are bolder and more willing to experiment than the seven- and eight-year-olds a decade ago.'
The report card combines Singapore's second and third updates to the UN. It is a requirement of the Republic's accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The report highlights the measures taken by the Government to boost children's social, physical and emotional well-being here.
One of these was to introduce compulsory education in 2003, so that all children born after 1996 have at least six years of schooling.
The Government also amended the Penal Code to give youth more protection from sexual exploitation.
Since February last year, for example, it has been a crime to pay for sex with someone under 18.
Two months ago, a pimp who arranged for a teen from China to prostitute herself in Singapore was jailed for one year.
Last year, the Government also ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which sets the minimum age for compulsory recruitment into the armed forces at 18, among other things.
Jan 7, 2009
Report to UN cites progress in health, education
SINGAPORE'S children are among the best cared for, with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, according to a government report released on Tuesday..
And as they grow up, fewer are dropping out of school and getting into trouble with the law.
The Government's report to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child, which tracks key developments in child welfare and protection, shows that steps have been made in the right direction between 2003 and 2007 to ensure that children are safe and being educated for the future.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund, Singapore had the world's lowest infant mortality rate at 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2007.
Measures to help pupils stay in school, such as helping lower primary pupils struggling with English and maths, brought down the dropout rate from 3.2 per cent in 2003 to 1.6 per cent in 2007.
The number of children aged between seven and 15 who were arrested also dropped from 2,637 in 2004 to 2,131 in 2007.
But not all developments have been positive.
The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases among youngsters aged 10 to 19 has been rising steadily every year, with 820 infected in 2007, more than double the 368 in 2003.
As well as a reflection of increasing sexual activity among youth, the numbers could also be a sign that more are seeking diagnosis.
Furthermore, some children as young as eight are so wayward that their parents request the State to discipline them.
In 2007, the parents of 140 children went to court saying their kids were beyond parental control (BPC). Five were aged between eight and 10.
In 2003, only two of the 164 children considered beyond parental control were in that age group.
Dr Carol Balhetchet, director of youth services at the Singapore Children's Society, observed that more younger children are getting into trouble these days.
Dr Balhetchet, whose agency counsels BPC cases, added: 'Today's young kids, at seven or eight, are bolder and more willing to experiment than the seven- and eight-year-olds a decade ago.'
The report card combines Singapore's second and third updates to the UN. It is a requirement of the Republic's accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The report highlights the measures taken by the Government to boost children's social, physical and emotional well-being here.
One of these was to introduce compulsory education in 2003, so that all children born after 1996 have at least six years of schooling.
The Government also amended the Penal Code to give youth more protection from sexual exploitation.
Since February last year, for example, it has been a crime to pay for sex with someone under 18.
Two months ago, a pimp who arranged for a teen from China to prostitute herself in Singapore was jailed for one year.
Last year, the Government also ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which sets the minimum age for compulsory recruitment into the armed forces at 18, among other things.
China steps up poultry checks
Source: The Straits Times / AFP
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - CHINESE authorities said on Wednesday they had stepped up monitoring at poultry markets and closed down some sellers of live birds after a woman in Beijing died of bird flu.
The death on Monday of the 19-year-old was China's first in nearly a year, highlighting the heightened risk of the deadly and highly contagious H5N1 strain of the virus during the winter, when it is most virulent.
Authorities in neighbouring Hebei province disinfected the market where the woman, Huang Yanqing, on December 19 reportedly bought nine ducks suspected of being the source of her infection, Xinhua news agency reported.
Four live poultry sellers were shut down, it added.
Authorities in Sanhe city, where the market was located, have also examined 15 people involved in the poultry trade, inspected farms and checked on all local cases of fever, the city government said in a statement.
'So far, nothing unusual has been found,' said the statement faxed to AFP.
Huang, who lived in Beijing, apparently contracted the disease on December 24 after cleaning the internal organs of the ducks.
Contact with infected poultry or surfaces and objects contaminated by their faeces is considered the main route of human infection, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Beijing also ordered stepped-up monitoring of the live poultry trade in the Chinese capital, with experts launching inspections at slaughterhouses and poultry farms, a city government statement said.
Xinhua reported earlier that 116 people - 14 of Huang's relatives and 102 medical workers - had come in contact with her and that one, a nurse, had contracted a fever but subsequently recovered.
Huang's death was the first in China since a woman died of the disease in the south of the country last February.
The WHO said on Tuesday there was no immediate fear of a wider outbreak.
Authorities in Vietnam announced Tuesday an eight-year-old girl had tested positive for H5N1 in the north of the country.
H5N1 bird flu has now killed 248 people since it re-appeared in Asia in 2003, according to the WHO. Twenty-one of the deaths have been in China.
Scientists fear the virus could eventually mutate into a form more easily transmissible between humans, triggering a global pandemic.
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - CHINESE authorities said on Wednesday they had stepped up monitoring at poultry markets and closed down some sellers of live birds after a woman in Beijing died of bird flu.
The death on Monday of the 19-year-old was China's first in nearly a year, highlighting the heightened risk of the deadly and highly contagious H5N1 strain of the virus during the winter, when it is most virulent.
Authorities in neighbouring Hebei province disinfected the market where the woman, Huang Yanqing, on December 19 reportedly bought nine ducks suspected of being the source of her infection, Xinhua news agency reported.
Four live poultry sellers were shut down, it added.
Authorities in Sanhe city, where the market was located, have also examined 15 people involved in the poultry trade, inspected farms and checked on all local cases of fever, the city government said in a statement.
'So far, nothing unusual has been found,' said the statement faxed to AFP.
Huang, who lived in Beijing, apparently contracted the disease on December 24 after cleaning the internal organs of the ducks.
Contact with infected poultry or surfaces and objects contaminated by their faeces is considered the main route of human infection, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Beijing also ordered stepped-up monitoring of the live poultry trade in the Chinese capital, with experts launching inspections at slaughterhouses and poultry farms, a city government statement said.
Xinhua reported earlier that 116 people - 14 of Huang's relatives and 102 medical workers - had come in contact with her and that one, a nurse, had contracted a fever but subsequently recovered.
Huang's death was the first in China since a woman died of the disease in the south of the country last February.
The WHO said on Tuesday there was no immediate fear of a wider outbreak.
Authorities in Vietnam announced Tuesday an eight-year-old girl had tested positive for H5N1 in the north of the country.
H5N1 bird flu has now killed 248 people since it re-appeared in Asia in 2003, according to the WHO. Twenty-one of the deaths have been in China.
Scientists fear the virus could eventually mutate into a form more easily transmissible between humans, triggering a global pandemic.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
China issues bird flu alert
Source: The Straits Times / Reuters
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - CHINA issued a bird flu alert on Wednesday after a woman died of the virus, the first such death in the country in almost a year, and closed poultry markets for disinfecting in a province surrounding Beijing.
The 19-year-old woman died of the H5N1 virus after coming into contact with poultry in Hebei province, bringing the total death toll in China to date to 21.
In Hebei's Yanjiao, where the dead woman had bought ducks, poultry markets were closed and the sale of live birds stopped as workers in masks and white coats sprayed disinfectant.
The World Health Organisation said it appeared to be an isolated case.
'We are concerned by any case of human H5N1 infection, however, this single case, which appears to have occurred during the slaughtering and preparation of poultry, does not change our risk assessment,' the WHO said in a statement.
'WHO expects the ministry will continue to keep it updated on this case, and is prepared to offer technical assistance if requested,' it added, referring to the Health Ministry.
The virus is generally more active during the cooler months between October and March, although the new Chinese case points to holes in surveillance of the virus in poultry.
No poultry, no outbreak
Paul Chan, microbiologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, said it was worrying that this case was not accompanied by the detection of the virus in poultry nearby.
'The source of this infection seems to be poultry or the market (where the girl bought the ducks). If that is true, we need to know why we missed the outbreak of the virus in poultry or in the market,' he said.
'If there was an outbreak in the market, there should have been large numbers of poultry deaths. If people in the markets and the government can't recognise this, then we have a serious problem on our hands,' Mr Chan added.
The H5N1 strain remains largely a disease among birds but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people worldwide.
The last human H5N1 death in China was in February last year when a 44-year-old woman died in the southern province of Guangdong.
With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of farmers raising birds in their backyards, China is seen as crucial in the global fight against bird flu.
Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has infected 391 people, killing 247 of them, according to WHO figures released in mid-December.
Vietnam's agriculture ministry has confirmed an outbreak of bird flu among poultry in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, where a girl was hospitalised with the deadly disease last week.
Thanh Hoa is the second province in two weeks to report an outbreak of the bird-borne illness among poultry, the other being Thai Nguyen, directly north of the capital.
The health ministry has said an 8-year-old girl from Thanh Hoa was infected with bird flu after eating poultry.
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - CHINA issued a bird flu alert on Wednesday after a woman died of the virus, the first such death in the country in almost a year, and closed poultry markets for disinfecting in a province surrounding Beijing.
The 19-year-old woman died of the H5N1 virus after coming into contact with poultry in Hebei province, bringing the total death toll in China to date to 21.
In Hebei's Yanjiao, where the dead woman had bought ducks, poultry markets were closed and the sale of live birds stopped as workers in masks and white coats sprayed disinfectant.
The World Health Organisation said it appeared to be an isolated case.
'We are concerned by any case of human H5N1 infection, however, this single case, which appears to have occurred during the slaughtering and preparation of poultry, does not change our risk assessment,' the WHO said in a statement.
'WHO expects the ministry will continue to keep it updated on this case, and is prepared to offer technical assistance if requested,' it added, referring to the Health Ministry.
The virus is generally more active during the cooler months between October and March, although the new Chinese case points to holes in surveillance of the virus in poultry.
No poultry, no outbreak
Paul Chan, microbiologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, said it was worrying that this case was not accompanied by the detection of the virus in poultry nearby.
'The source of this infection seems to be poultry or the market (where the girl bought the ducks). If that is true, we need to know why we missed the outbreak of the virus in poultry or in the market,' he said.
'If there was an outbreak in the market, there should have been large numbers of poultry deaths. If people in the markets and the government can't recognise this, then we have a serious problem on our hands,' Mr Chan added.
The H5N1 strain remains largely a disease among birds but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people worldwide.
The last human H5N1 death in China was in February last year when a 44-year-old woman died in the southern province of Guangdong.
With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of farmers raising birds in their backyards, China is seen as crucial in the global fight against bird flu.
Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has infected 391 people, killing 247 of them, according to WHO figures released in mid-December.
Vietnam's agriculture ministry has confirmed an outbreak of bird flu among poultry in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, where a girl was hospitalised with the deadly disease last week.
Thanh Hoa is the second province in two weeks to report an outbreak of the bird-borne illness among poultry, the other being Thai Nguyen, directly north of the capital.
The health ministry has said an 8-year-old girl from Thanh Hoa was infected with bird flu after eating poultry.
China grads seek maid jobs
Source: The Straits Times / Reuters
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - DESPERATE Chinese graduates, facing grim job prospects amid slowing economic growth, are clamouring to find posts as nannies and domestic helpers for the rich in one southern province, state media reported on Wednesday.
Thousands of university students had applied for nanny work through an agency in China's export heartland of Guangdong, the Guangzhou Daily newspaper said.
'There have been five or six hundred people applying every month, with more than 90 per cent of them university students, including 28 Masters students,' the paper quoted a housekeeping recruitment agent as saying.
Only 300 out of 2,000 students had landed jobs over the past few months, however, as slowing growth had seen companies go bankrupt and foreign businessmen desert the province in droves, the agency said.
Chinese labour officials have repeatedly warned the country's 6.1 million graduates that they will face tough times finding work this year and told them not to be fussy.
Fearing rising discontent from students, who led pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989 brutally put down by the government, local labour authorities have issued a slew of measures to encourage company recruitment.
Beijing's labour and social security bureau said it would slash employee health and injury insurance costs among other incentives to encourage companies to hire, the Beijing Times said in a separate report.
University students are also being encouraged to stay at school longer in south-eastern Fujian province, which will push 20,000 more students into second or higher degrees, state media said.
Jan 7, 2009
BEIJING - DESPERATE Chinese graduates, facing grim job prospects amid slowing economic growth, are clamouring to find posts as nannies and domestic helpers for the rich in one southern province, state media reported on Wednesday.
Thousands of university students had applied for nanny work through an agency in China's export heartland of Guangdong, the Guangzhou Daily newspaper said.
'There have been five or six hundred people applying every month, with more than 90 per cent of them university students, including 28 Masters students,' the paper quoted a housekeeping recruitment agent as saying.
Only 300 out of 2,000 students had landed jobs over the past few months, however, as slowing growth had seen companies go bankrupt and foreign businessmen desert the province in droves, the agency said.
Chinese labour officials have repeatedly warned the country's 6.1 million graduates that they will face tough times finding work this year and told them not to be fussy.
Fearing rising discontent from students, who led pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989 brutally put down by the government, local labour authorities have issued a slew of measures to encourage company recruitment.
Beijing's labour and social security bureau said it would slash employee health and injury insurance costs among other incentives to encourage companies to hire, the Beijing Times said in a separate report.
University students are also being encouraged to stay at school longer in south-eastern Fujian province, which will push 20,000 more students into second or higher degrees, state media said.
China faces wave of unrest
Source: The Straits Time / Reuters
Jan 6, 2009
BEIJING - CHINA faces surging protests and riots in 2009 as rising unemployment stokes discontent, a state-run magazine said in a blunt warning of the hazards to Communist Party control from a sharp economic downturn.
The unusually stark report in this week's Outlook (Liaowang) Magazine, issued by the official Xinhua news agency, said faltering growth could spark anger among millions of migrant workers and university graduates left jobless.
'Without doubt, now we're entering a peak period for mass incidents,' a senior Xinhua reporter, Huang Huo, told the magazine, using the official euphemism for riots and protests.
'In 2009, Chinese society may face even more conflicts and clashes that will test even more the governing abilities of all levels of the Party and government.'
President Hu Jintao has vowed to make China a 'harmonious society', but his promise is being tested by rising tension over shrinking jobs and incomes, as well as long-standing anger over corruption and land seizures.
China also faces a year of politically tense anniversaries, especially the 20th year since the June 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. That date has already galvanised the 'Charter 08' campaign by dissidents and advocates demanding deep democratic reforms.
While foreign commentary about risks to China's recipe of fast economic growth and one-party control are common, the nation's leaders are usually reticent about such threats.
This report and other recent open warnings may be intended to help snap officials to attention, said one Chinese expert.
'The candour about these problems reflects the severity of the unemployment problem. It's meant to attract the attention of all levels of government,' said Mao Shoulong, a professor of public policy at Renmin University in Beijing.
'The government wants to show that stability is at the top of its agenda.'
Jobless and bitter
The biggest threats to China's social fabric will come from graduating university students, facing a shrinking job market and diminished incomes, and from a tide of migrant labourers who have lost their jobs as export-driven factories have shut.
Factory closures, sackings and difficulties paying social security had already unleashed a surge of protests, the report said. Officials in provinces that have provided tens of millions of low-paid workers for coastal factories have reported a leap in the number returning to their farm homes without work.
State statistical authorities estimated that close to 10 million rural migrant workers had lost their jobs, the magazine said, without specifying when the sackings happened.
Including students who graduated in 2008 and had not found work, there would be more than 7 million university and college graduates hunting for jobs this year, Mr Huang calculated.
The government's goal of annual GDP growth for 2009 of 8 per cent would generate only 8 million new jobs for the whole country, he added. In 1989, discontented students formed the core of the pro-democracy protests.
'If in 2009 there is a large number of unemployed rural migrant labourers who cannot find work for half a year or longer, milling around in cities with no income, the problem will be even more serious,' said Mr Huang.
Mr Huang is Xinhua's bureau chief in the southwest city of Chongqing, which has long been a cauldron of unrest. Other parts of China have also seen intense but brief and localised protests over police abuses, corruption and factory closures.
Ian Bremmer, president of the prominent political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said he foresaw no departure from that pattern and no overwhelming crisis.
'The party has built a large stockpile of domestic goodwill over the past three decades,' he told Reuters in an interview this week, offering a more optimistic outlook.
'Toughening economic times will erode some of that credit, but the reserves are too deep for China to reach a crisis point in 2009.'
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the government would be able to deal with the tough times.
'We have the ability and the confidence to ensure the Chinese economy's stable and relatively fast growth and to ensure social stability,' he told a news briefing.
China's economy expanded by 9.9 per cent from a year earlier in the first nine months of 2008. But some economists doubt that the government can achieve its goal of 8 per cent growth for 2009.
The Outlook report also stressed the nation's strains were about more than growth rates. Protests were increasingly politicised, making it harder for officials to douse them by force or cash hand-outs, the report said.
'Social conflicts have already formed a certain social, mass base so that as soon as there is an appropriate fuse it always swiftly explodes and clashes escalate quickly,' said Mr Huang.
Jan 6, 2009
BEIJING - CHINA faces surging protests and riots in 2009 as rising unemployment stokes discontent, a state-run magazine said in a blunt warning of the hazards to Communist Party control from a sharp economic downturn.
The unusually stark report in this week's Outlook (Liaowang) Magazine, issued by the official Xinhua news agency, said faltering growth could spark anger among millions of migrant workers and university graduates left jobless.
'Without doubt, now we're entering a peak period for mass incidents,' a senior Xinhua reporter, Huang Huo, told the magazine, using the official euphemism for riots and protests.
'In 2009, Chinese society may face even more conflicts and clashes that will test even more the governing abilities of all levels of the Party and government.'
President Hu Jintao has vowed to make China a 'harmonious society', but his promise is being tested by rising tension over shrinking jobs and incomes, as well as long-standing anger over corruption and land seizures.
China also faces a year of politically tense anniversaries, especially the 20th year since the June 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. That date has already galvanised the 'Charter 08' campaign by dissidents and advocates demanding deep democratic reforms.
While foreign commentary about risks to China's recipe of fast economic growth and one-party control are common, the nation's leaders are usually reticent about such threats.
This report and other recent open warnings may be intended to help snap officials to attention, said one Chinese expert.
'The candour about these problems reflects the severity of the unemployment problem. It's meant to attract the attention of all levels of government,' said Mao Shoulong, a professor of public policy at Renmin University in Beijing.
'The government wants to show that stability is at the top of its agenda.'
Jobless and bitter
The biggest threats to China's social fabric will come from graduating university students, facing a shrinking job market and diminished incomes, and from a tide of migrant labourers who have lost their jobs as export-driven factories have shut.
Factory closures, sackings and difficulties paying social security had already unleashed a surge of protests, the report said. Officials in provinces that have provided tens of millions of low-paid workers for coastal factories have reported a leap in the number returning to their farm homes without work.
State statistical authorities estimated that close to 10 million rural migrant workers had lost their jobs, the magazine said, without specifying when the sackings happened.
Including students who graduated in 2008 and had not found work, there would be more than 7 million university and college graduates hunting for jobs this year, Mr Huang calculated.
The government's goal of annual GDP growth for 2009 of 8 per cent would generate only 8 million new jobs for the whole country, he added. In 1989, discontented students formed the core of the pro-democracy protests.
'If in 2009 there is a large number of unemployed rural migrant labourers who cannot find work for half a year or longer, milling around in cities with no income, the problem will be even more serious,' said Mr Huang.
Mr Huang is Xinhua's bureau chief in the southwest city of Chongqing, which has long been a cauldron of unrest. Other parts of China have also seen intense but brief and localised protests over police abuses, corruption and factory closures.
Ian Bremmer, president of the prominent political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said he foresaw no departure from that pattern and no overwhelming crisis.
'The party has built a large stockpile of domestic goodwill over the past three decades,' he told Reuters in an interview this week, offering a more optimistic outlook.
'Toughening economic times will erode some of that credit, but the reserves are too deep for China to reach a crisis point in 2009.'
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the government would be able to deal with the tough times.
'We have the ability and the confidence to ensure the Chinese economy's stable and relatively fast growth and to ensure social stability,' he told a news briefing.
China's economy expanded by 9.9 per cent from a year earlier in the first nine months of 2008. But some economists doubt that the government can achieve its goal of 8 per cent growth for 2009.
The Outlook report also stressed the nation's strains were about more than growth rates. Protests were increasingly politicised, making it harder for officials to douse them by force or cash hand-outs, the report said.
'Social conflicts have already formed a certain social, mass base so that as soon as there is an appropriate fuse it always swiftly explodes and clashes escalate quickly,' said Mr Huang.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Singapore's economy will continue to need a diverse mix of talents
Source: MediaCorp 938 Live
Such talent includes those who prefer the polytechnic pathway since it provides industry-relevant tertiary education through an applied and practice-oriented approach to learning.
This was a point Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew made after a lively dialogue session with 10 students from Nanyang Polytechnic who are mostly in their third (final) year.
Mr Lee was very keen to find out more about why they had chosen a particular course at Nanyang Polytechnic.
Some of these students aspire to further their education but may face financial difficulties as many come from single-income families.
He also wanted to know more about their future plans.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Lee feels it's not just scoring in examinations that would give these students a good life.
"Some people are good with their hands, and an economy needs all kinds of talented people. It's diversity that we now require. We have to become a more diverse economy and provide our students with different outlets that fits their particular strengths, their particular profile."
When asked for his views on the changing education landscape such as the addition of a fourth university, he said it will only expand the academic and education sector in to a certain extent.
What is more important is to tap into the diverse pool of talent that the education system has been able to identify.
"I think we now have to try and bring up people who do not necessarily do well at university but who will do well in life. I think that's the concentration that we should give. Because I think people who go to University, (they make up) about 25 per cent, (people who go to) poly (technic), about forty plus per cent, and you have special schools, arts, sports school, we got to go in that direction."
Mr Lee had earlier toured the Poly's Digital Media Design Centre and School of Engineering to view the developments and student achievements in these areas.
Mr Lee was also told that over the last four years, more than 90 per cent of Nanyang Polytechnics graduates have found jobs upon graduation.
This is Mr Lee's first visit to Nanyang Poly, two other visits in the past in the 1970s were to Singapore Polytechnic.
Such talent includes those who prefer the polytechnic pathway since it provides industry-relevant tertiary education through an applied and practice-oriented approach to learning.
This was a point Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew made after a lively dialogue session with 10 students from Nanyang Polytechnic who are mostly in their third (final) year.
Mr Lee was very keen to find out more about why they had chosen a particular course at Nanyang Polytechnic.
Some of these students aspire to further their education but may face financial difficulties as many come from single-income families.
He also wanted to know more about their future plans.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Lee feels it's not just scoring in examinations that would give these students a good life.
"Some people are good with their hands, and an economy needs all kinds of talented people. It's diversity that we now require. We have to become a more diverse economy and provide our students with different outlets that fits their particular strengths, their particular profile."
When asked for his views on the changing education landscape such as the addition of a fourth university, he said it will only expand the academic and education sector in to a certain extent.
What is more important is to tap into the diverse pool of talent that the education system has been able to identify.
"I think we now have to try and bring up people who do not necessarily do well at university but who will do well in life. I think that's the concentration that we should give. Because I think people who go to University, (they make up) about 25 per cent, (people who go to) poly (technic), about forty plus per cent, and you have special schools, arts, sports school, we got to go in that direction."
Mr Lee had earlier toured the Poly's Digital Media Design Centre and School of Engineering to view the developments and student achievements in these areas.
Mr Lee was also told that over the last four years, more than 90 per cent of Nanyang Polytechnics graduates have found jobs upon graduation.
This is Mr Lee's first visit to Nanyang Poly, two other visits in the past in the 1970s were to Singapore Polytechnic.
MM Lee says S’pore needs more diversity to cater to different strengths of students
Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, January 6, 2009 SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said the country needs to become a more diverse economy, providing students with different outlets that fit their strengths and interests.
He was speaking after a visit to the Nanyang Polytechnic to see the latest developments in polytechnic education.
Mr Lee said Singapore’s economy needs all kinds of talented people.
That was exactly what he saw when he visited the interactive and digital media and engineering schools in Nanyang Polytechnic on Monday.
Mr Lee feels that it is not just scoring in examinations that would give these students a good life. Some of them are good with their hands, while others are proficient with robots.
R Muthukumaran, a Nanyang Polytechnic student who is studying for a Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering, said: "I am from the SAF and everybody in the SAF is now modernising. I want to stay relevant to the system and this will definitely help me to last longer in the SAF."
Mohammad Noh Abdul Rahim, who is studying for a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering, said: "In poly, we learn skills like how to use computer programmes and the final—year project did help widen our outlook on the economy."
Nanyang Polytechnic too is expanding its courses. Its seven schools currently offer 33 full—time diploma courses and the number is increasing to 45 soon to cater to 15,225 students.
Minister Mentor Lee said: "We now have to try and bring up people who do not necessarily do well in the universities, but who will do well in life.
"That’s the concentration that we should give because people who go to university (make up) about 25 per cent; poly — about forty plus per cent; and you have special schools, arts, sports schools and so on. You’ve got to go in that direction."
During his interactive sessions with the students, Mr Lee was very keen to find out more about why they had chosen a particular course at Nanyang Polytechnic. He also wanted to know more about their future plans.
Mr Lee was also told that over the last four years, more than 90 per cent of Nanyang Polytechnic graduates have found jobs upon graduation.
He was speaking after a visit to the Nanyang Polytechnic to see the latest developments in polytechnic education.
Mr Lee said Singapore’s economy needs all kinds of talented people.
That was exactly what he saw when he visited the interactive and digital media and engineering schools in Nanyang Polytechnic on Monday.
Mr Lee feels that it is not just scoring in examinations that would give these students a good life. Some of them are good with their hands, while others are proficient with robots.
R Muthukumaran, a Nanyang Polytechnic student who is studying for a Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering, said: "I am from the SAF and everybody in the SAF is now modernising. I want to stay relevant to the system and this will definitely help me to last longer in the SAF."
Mohammad Noh Abdul Rahim, who is studying for a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering, said: "In poly, we learn skills like how to use computer programmes and the final—year project did help widen our outlook on the economy."
Nanyang Polytechnic too is expanding its courses. Its seven schools currently offer 33 full—time diploma courses and the number is increasing to 45 soon to cater to 15,225 students.
Minister Mentor Lee said: "We now have to try and bring up people who do not necessarily do well in the universities, but who will do well in life.
"That’s the concentration that we should give because people who go to university (make up) about 25 per cent; poly — about forty plus per cent; and you have special schools, arts, sports schools and so on. You’ve got to go in that direction."
During his interactive sessions with the students, Mr Lee was very keen to find out more about why they had chosen a particular course at Nanyang Polytechnic. He also wanted to know more about their future plans.
Mr Lee was also told that over the last four years, more than 90 per cent of Nanyang Polytechnic graduates have found jobs upon graduation.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
SM Goh says investing in education is key when dealing with economic uncertainty
Channel NewsAsia - Sunday, January 4, 2009 SINGAPORE: Investing and staying competitive in education are key when dealing with the current economic uncertainties, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
He made this point while speaking to more than 160 students and their parents at the Edusave Merit Bursary and Scholarship Presentation at the Marine Parade Constituency on Saturday afternoon.
Mr Goh said with the looming recession, Singapore is like a small boat sailing in the rough seas. But being a "small, speedy boat", he said Singapore will recover swiftly once the global economy recovers.
But as things remain uncertain in the next few years, investing in education is key.
"Because education broadens our knowledge, education allows us to learn more skills. When you have the skills and you’ve got the knowledge, you have the whole world of jobs before you. So when the economy recovers, those with better education and skills will stand a better chance of getting a job," the senior minister said.
He also stressed the importance of competing regionally.
"The countries in Asia are good in Maths and Science, so they are our competitors in jobs which require science and mathematical background. And they are emphasising on education like we do.
"We want our children to go as far as they can go because from the data that we have, generally there is a correlation between your level of education and your pay package," Mr Goh added.
He also gave the assurance that the government will always extend support and help to those in need.
"Our emphasis is on getting them to do well in school and not allowing your financial resources to be a hindrance, so we have all kinds of schemes, bursaries in school and now the Edusave scheme," he said.
Some 169 students from the Marine Parade Constituency received their Edusave bursaries and scholarships at the ceremony, with a total sum of S$51,050 disbursed.
He made this point while speaking to more than 160 students and their parents at the Edusave Merit Bursary and Scholarship Presentation at the Marine Parade Constituency on Saturday afternoon.
Mr Goh said with the looming recession, Singapore is like a small boat sailing in the rough seas. But being a "small, speedy boat", he said Singapore will recover swiftly once the global economy recovers.
But as things remain uncertain in the next few years, investing in education is key.
"Because education broadens our knowledge, education allows us to learn more skills. When you have the skills and you’ve got the knowledge, you have the whole world of jobs before you. So when the economy recovers, those with better education and skills will stand a better chance of getting a job," the senior minister said.
He also stressed the importance of competing regionally.
"The countries in Asia are good in Maths and Science, so they are our competitors in jobs which require science and mathematical background. And they are emphasising on education like we do.
"We want our children to go as far as they can go because from the data that we have, generally there is a correlation between your level of education and your pay package," Mr Goh added.
He also gave the assurance that the government will always extend support and help to those in need.
"Our emphasis is on getting them to do well in school and not allowing your financial resources to be a hindrance, so we have all kinds of schemes, bursaries in school and now the Edusave scheme," he said.
Some 169 students from the Marine Parade Constituency received their Edusave bursaries and scholarships at the ceremony, with a total sum of S$51,050 disbursed.
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