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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Over 40, jobless and overlooked </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">Mar-12 11:35 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 14) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>9062.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Over 40, jobless and overlooked
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AT TIMES like these, I feel that citizens in my category are being left out - that is, those over 40 years old and armed with only a secondary education. I have definitely lost out to a lot of others.
In the past, such an education level was considered good enough to enter the workforce and start a family.
These days, we have to compete with younger, foreign and cheaper workers.
All these years, those of us who started working after secondary school have not had enough free time to upgrade ourselves. The lucky ones who did were helped by their employers. So, what about those who have not been sent for upgrading by employers and who do not have the means to upgrade on their own?
The Government subsidises those who are working, but what about those who are jobless?
Lower expectations, we are told. There is a limit to what we can lower. There are bills that need to be paid.
There should at least be some fairness when it comes to subsidising skills upgrading programmes.
Employed people, who have an income while still learning, have their upgrading paid for by the Government. The unemployed, however, have to pay for the upgrading themselves, with no job and no income. How does this make sense?
John Cheng <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
[email protected]
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AT TIMES like these, I feel that citizens in my category are being left out - that is, those over 40 years old and armed with only a secondary education. I have definitely lost out to a lot of others.
In the past, such an education level was considered good enough to enter the workforce and start a family.
These days, we have to compete with younger, foreign and cheaper workers.
All these years, those of us who started working after secondary school have not had enough free time to upgrade ourselves. The lucky ones who did were helped by their employers. So, what about those who have not been sent for upgrading by employers and who do not have the means to upgrade on their own?
The Government subsidises those who are working, but what about those who are jobless?
Lower expectations, we are told. There is a limit to what we can lower. There are bills that need to be paid.
There should at least be some fairness when it comes to subsidising skills upgrading programmes.
Employed people, who have an income while still learning, have their upgrading paid for by the Government. The unemployed, however, have to pay for the upgrading themselves, with no job and no income. How does this make sense?
John Cheng <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
[email protected]
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