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Help Singaporeans stay home by helping the over-40s
I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Migrating Singaporeans'.
I live in Sydney and feel that Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's speech needed a response from those who live abroad.
Living and working abroad for two years now, let me say it is very different from working at home.
I worked in China from 2007 to 2008 and found the experience liberating. Although the work must be done, it is not the same as in Singapore where it is often stressful and taxing. Abroad, there is still life after work.
The same cannot be said for home. Many labour long hours at work and suffer the consequences of not spending enough time with their loved ones. Also, lax labour laws that favour employers do not give workers enough say about their job scope.
It is no secret that the lifestyle one leads at home is not very balanced and, after a while, one begins to look for a better place to spend one's life. Many people I know left Singapore in search of greener pastures, both in terms of a more balanced lifestyle and better career opportunities.
It is also well known that Singapore employers are biased against older workers, preferring them to be below 40 years old. The influx of foreign workers competing for employment has also given Singaporeans an added incentive to search for work abroad. The job market in the past few years has become an employer's market, pushing many more Singaporeans to look at alternatives.
I was unemployed for close to 18 months during the Sars period and I began to look earnestly for an alternative place to live and work - one that does not discriminate against age.
I realise that life will be very difficult for someone who is over 40 and unskilled. My family took the plunge last year when we were offered a four-year work visa in Australia and we have never looked back. Many at home envy our so-called second chance at a life - abroad.
Although I appreciate SM Goh's intention to try to help Singaporeans settle in their own country after graduation, I am afraid his efforts will be in vain unless employment opportunities improve, especially for those over 40. We also need to work less and play more.
Gilbert Goh
Help Singaporeans stay home by helping the over-40s
I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Migrating Singaporeans'.
I live in Sydney and feel that Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's speech needed a response from those who live abroad.
Living and working abroad for two years now, let me say it is very different from working at home.
I worked in China from 2007 to 2008 and found the experience liberating. Although the work must be done, it is not the same as in Singapore where it is often stressful and taxing. Abroad, there is still life after work.
The same cannot be said for home. Many labour long hours at work and suffer the consequences of not spending enough time with their loved ones. Also, lax labour laws that favour employers do not give workers enough say about their job scope.
It is no secret that the lifestyle one leads at home is not very balanced and, after a while, one begins to look for a better place to spend one's life. Many people I know left Singapore in search of greener pastures, both in terms of a more balanced lifestyle and better career opportunities.
It is also well known that Singapore employers are biased against older workers, preferring them to be below 40 years old. The influx of foreign workers competing for employment has also given Singaporeans an added incentive to search for work abroad. The job market in the past few years has become an employer's market, pushing many more Singaporeans to look at alternatives.
I was unemployed for close to 18 months during the Sars period and I began to look earnestly for an alternative place to live and work - one that does not discriminate against age.
I realise that life will be very difficult for someone who is over 40 and unskilled. My family took the plunge last year when we were offered a four-year work visa in Australia and we have never looked back. Many at home envy our so-called second chance at a life - abroad.
Although I appreciate SM Goh's intention to try to help Singaporeans settle in their own country after graduation, I am afraid his efforts will be in vain unless employment opportunities improve, especially for those over 40. We also need to work less and play more.
Gilbert Goh