Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS), one of the two Integrated Resorts (IR), had 20,000 job seekers vying for 800 openings during a recent four-day career fair at Suntec City. Among the job-seekers – comprising of both locals and foreigners – were PMETs, fresh grads and retrenched Singaporeans. RWS pledged to honour its commitment to offering 10,000 jobs early next year. The other IR, Marina Bay Sands, is also expected to generate 10,000 jobs, bringing the total to 20,000. Another career fair organized by JobsDB.com attracted 200 employers from the private and public sectors. There were more than 5,000 jobs up for grabs.
The frequent reports that we hear of job openings seem to create the impression that jobs are aplenty. But if one was to consider that, in 2008 alone, 16,880 workers were made redundant (redundancy includes workers who were retrenched and who were released prematurely from contract) and that more jobs are likely to be lost in 2009 and possibly in 2010 as the full impact of the global financial crisis is felt, the reality is that jobs are scarce. The retrenched workers are in addition to the thousands of school leavers seeking to join the labour force each year.
Moreover, merely saying there are 20,000 or more jobs available does not reveal all the vital information. Some questions that need to be asked are: what kind of jobs is being offered and in which industries? What proportion of the jobs are for PMETs and how many are for lower-skilled workers? What are the required qualifications and experience? If these questions are considered, the scarcity of jobs becomes even more pronounced. This is because job requirements further streamline the pool of eligible candidates. PMETs are overqualified for many positions offered during career fairs. The structurally unemployed who acquire new skills to stay employable and fresh school leavers could be sidelined by jobs requiring relevant experience.
The advice given to job seekers to be not picky about jobs may work for some but not for all. Those who have acquired years of experience in an industry – and who have honed and upgraded their skills in the process – will be ridding themselves of their earning potential if they decide to simply switch to another industry which is hiring. Electronics, the main contributor to Singapore’s manufacturing sector’s decline, for instance, is a segment that is currently shedding large number of jobs. But demand for Singapore’s manufacturing exports has always been there albeit with varying degrees of fluctuation. Should an electronics professional be told not be choosy about jobs and join teaching since the Ministry of Education is hiring? Lower-skilled workers have less at stake so the opportunity cost of switching industries may be less costly.
With regards to the plight of retrenched workers, the career fair by JobsDB attracted more than 150,000 applications for the 5,000 positions at stake. Employers generally are unlikely to give special considerations to those who are most in need of a job. Qualifications and relevant experience remain paramount. Retrenched workers do not just compete with others for a job. The jobs available to them also depends on their willingness to take massive pay cuts, make adjustments to their lifestyles, willingness to acquire the relevant skills for the new job and agree to the terms and conditions laid down by employers who know the bargaining power is on their side.
There is no telling for how long more businesses can ride on the government’s Jobs Credit scheme. Even sound business models can find it hard to weather the storm as consumption patterns of consumers change in the face of gloomy economic outlook.
