Let us face THE TRUTH...

Written By Policy Unit, Yayasan MENDAKI

Stretching Personal Limits

Introduction

• As technological changes evolve at bullet speed, labour authorities across the world play catch-up trying to tailor the current profile of workers to that required for upcoming vocations and fields. The employability issue, therein lies, a race against time.

Issue

• In 2009, MOM forecasts that the Singapore economy can only accommodate 45%¹ of workers without post-secondary education. Based on Census 2000, 75% of the Malay workforce possesses secondary education or below. This is higher than the national average of 60% in 2002. This means that an approximate 30% of Malay workers may be displaced in 5 years’ time, which translates to a figure of about 78,000 workers.

• As at 2004, 75% of Malay P1 cohort attained post-secondary education, leaving the remaining quarter at-risk. The young entrants to the workforce run the risk of losing out in the job scene, having no marketable skills or qualifications to offer. If this trend continues, we can expect a higher number of such unskilled workforce in our community in the coming years. This will have an impact on the community’s development and progress.

Emergent trends

• Singapore’s economy made a resounding leap of GDP 5.2%² in Q2 this year from a modest 2.4%³ in the first quarter. The impressive growth augurs promising annual growth, as indicated by regional economists. In line with the economic surge, jobs created stood at 45,500¹ in the first six months.

• The unemployment rate in Q2, however, remains high, rising at 1% from Q1, to arrive at 3.4%⁴. Although the increase may be minimal, the rise in unemployment is an issue of concern as Malay workers form the predominant group amongst the unemployed. In January 2005, Panasonic retrenched 200 workers and Malay workers comprised almost 45%⁵ of the total number. Malay workers were also over-represented at the retrenchment exercises by HDB and URA in May, whereby about 500 workers lost their jobs. In line with the weakening electronics industry worldwide, the withdrawal of jobs from the Singapore labour market by Maxtor, Sanyo and Hewlett Packard also pose a gloomy outlook for Malay workers, specifically those with low education.

• Studies have shown that occupational half-life has declined from between 7 to 14 years previously to between 3 to 5 years now.⁶ Rapid changes in the job market and technological advancement will cause the obsolescence of information to take effect at accelerating speeds. This will necessitate training for virtually every worker.

• In February 2005, it was reported⁷ that only 20% of Malay workers were keen to take up the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP). This is far from encouraging, considering 4 out of every 10 workers retrenched are Malays. Newly created jobs, including non-administrative positions churned from the Jobs Re-creation Programme⁸, require workers who are skilled, so as to substantiate the minimum $1000 wage. Thus, Malay workers are left with no other option but to position skills training as central priority and imbibe life-long learning for life-long employability.

• Based on a survey conducted on job-seekers at CareerLink Centres, reasons quoted for not pursuing training were - no time to attend, no one to baby-sit children, no money for transport, language barrier and just not interested. Two issues compounding the inertia towards retraining are possibly ignorance of structural changes and the lack of optimism or drive to brave the odds.

Intervention programmes

• In support of the Employability Network, SENSE, a co-operative under Yayasan MENDAKI, embarked on the Skills Training Campaign ‘Kalau Hendak Seribu Daya’ in August 2005. The objective of the campaign is to create awareness on the importance of skills training to workers within the Malay/Muslim community. Over 90 courses, highly subsidised up to 90%, would be marketed at the campaign.

• The Career Rejuvenation Programme by SENSE is designed to assist retrenched workers to re-enter the labour market. The programme is conducted in collaboration with companies involved in the retrenchment exercises. A Training Needs Assessment is conducted to identify areas of skills training required by each participant.

What more can be done to help the Malay/Muslim community?

• Reports show that our Malay workers are reluctant to attend skills training. What more can be done to encourage our Malay workers to upgrade their skills and imbibe life long learning for life long employability?

¹ Source : Speech - Committee of Supply : Responses by Minister of Manpower, Dr Ng Eng Hen to Member of Parliament on Manpower Challenges to Shortage of Workers, 18 March 2004, www.mom.gov.sg

² Source : 4% growth in first 6 months - Straits Times, 9 August 2005

³ Source : Weak 2.4% Q1 growth puts year’s target at risk - Business Times, 12 April 2005

⁴ Source : Employment Situation Report in Second Quarter 2005, MOM

⁵ Source : ‘Pekerja Melayu masih berat ikuti latihan semula’ - Berita Harian 25 February 2005

⁶ Source: Hiemstra, Roger - Lifelong Learning: An Exploration of Adult and Continuing Education within a Setting of Lifelong Learning Needs; Chapter One. ‘Occupational half-life is based on the assumption that enough new developments, techniques, and/or knowledge evolve in a short period of time, say 5-15 years, so that a person becomes roughly half as competent to do the job for which his or her initial training was intended. Consequently, adults frequently must turn to learning activities in and out of workplace just to maintain or regain competence’.

⁷ Source: ‘Pekerja Melayu masih berat ikuti latihan semula’ - Berita Harian 25 February 2005

⁸ In March 2005, the government launched the Job Recreation Programme (JRP) and identified 12 domestic sectors⁸ for replication of the successful working model in the environment sector. This programme aimed at converting 10,000 jobs into more attractive and better paying positions within 12 to 18 months through incorporation of greater mechanisation, work scope enlargement, flexible hours and performance-based contracts.