Singapore. A glaring lack of artisans and tradesmen

[Watchman]

Singapore. A glaring lack of artisans and tradesmen
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was reading the SDP's excellent articles on the the Singapore economy which I strongly recommend, "The SDP's alternative economic programme Part I and 2: Getting rich quick, The Party - Manifesto" Monday, 08 February 2010 Singapore Democrats, www.yoursdp.org.

It describes among other things, the lack of Singaporeans productivity, something which I have always noticed.

I see an extreme shortage of motor mechanics, plumbers and technicians of all sorts and anyone who is in it apparently appears to have learnt his trade from an apprenticeship of sorts. Usually no formal training, and neither is it required by law. There appears, by and large, no formal education for any of this, unlike the United States and every other developed country.

Being Singaporean myself, with personal first hand knowledge of the mentality, I see at least 2 reasons for it. One the Asian mentality that looks upon manual work as menial and fit only for the ignorant. Smart students are supposed to study medicine and become doctors.

So every child that goes to school opts only for academic education and stay away from the technical trades.

The other reason is the very low pay and lack of respect given to tradesmen. Singapore society as a whole disrespects a tradesman mainly because he earns very little compared to office workers. Second he has to dirty his hands which is not appreciated.

Here in California the situation is very different. You can become very rich by working as a plumber and very often earn very much more than many lawyers even though the lawyer wears a tie and looks affluent. Air conditioning technicians, motor mechanics, construction workers are all very highly paid people.

And not only that, the society looks upon them as professionals too and know they are very skilled and certified, having spent several years training and studying for them.

So in this society, you see people who actually have ambitions to become mechanics and spend an entire lifetime brushing up their trade; having to attend periodical seminars and educational conferences to keep abreast of developments.

In Singapore many tradesmen receive no respect at all, are paid minimum wage and are shunned by society. They are looked upon as life's failures unable to become doctors. No wonder productivity of Singapore workers continue to fall. And since Lee Kuan Yew and his government have no real plans to address the problem other than to periodically write some high sounding reports, can it be assumed therefore that the bully boys are now on the receiving end of the economic equation, or rather the lack of it.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: [email protected]
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

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[kingrant]

It won't be long before Singapore follows in the footsteps of places like Australia,Canada and US. White collar workers will be flooding the island as every mother f***er's son wants to be a white collar employee in finance, banking and the civil service, while blue collar workers will dwindle due to poor prospects, as have happened to Chinese educated middle school students. As their supply begins to disappear, demands for them will rise to undertake dirty jobs like plumbing and dangerous jobs like domestic wiring installation, so their wages will go up dramatically until there is an equilibrium again. People should pick up a trade and master it and get a certificate if they could, in their spare time. Prosperity awaits them in the not too distant future.

 

[MFTao]

Mr brother is a car mechanic for the longest time. He lives and breathes cars. Amazingly he went to a top school, straight As, the works. He got the bug from my dad when daddy bought his first Toyota - there on it's in our family history. He opened his own mechanic shop for sometime but thought managing was not his thing. He likes the dirt and grime, the nuts and bolts. I wish I were him in all aspects.

 

[kingrant]

Then why don't you help him with the marketing, the accounts, and even advertising?

Mr brother is a car mechanic for the longest time. He lives and breathes cars. Amazingly he went to a top school, straight As, the works. He got the bug from my dad when daddy bought his first Toyota - there on it's in our family history. He opened his own mechanic shop for sometime but thought managing was not his thing. He likes the dirt and grime, the nuts and bolts. I wish I were him in all aspects.

 

[MFTao]

Sibling rivalry..his turf his call, his way or the highway..

 

[HTOLAS]

The scenario you painted should have happened a long time ago. It would also have generated respect for these jobs. Competition would also have forced businesses to automate and become more productive.

BUT, the PAPzis decided that putting so much money and respect in the hands of artisans was not a good idea and thus opened the floodgates to initially trained, then now largely untrained foreign workers. They actually come here to get training!

With this, all need to raise productivity disappeared. Also, with uneven enforcement of workplace rules, many workshops and sites are still the dangerous and unpleasant places they used to be many years ago.

It won't be long before Singapore follows in the footsteps of places like Australia,Canada and US. White collar workers will be flooding the island as every mother f***er's son wants to be a white collar employee in finance, banking and the civil service, while blue collar workers will dwindle due to poor prospects, as have happened to Chinese educated middle school students. As their supply begins to disappear, demands for them will rise to undertake dirty jobs like plumbing and dangerous jobs like domestic wiring installation, so their wages will go up dramatically until there is an equilibrium again. People should pick up a trade and master it and get a certificate if they could, in their spare time. Prosperity awaits them in the not too distant future.