Red Dot Pinoys

Singapore to reduce quotas for foreign workers

2012-02-18T00:44:00.002+08:00

Feb 18, 2012

Singapore government just announced that it will lower the proportion of foreign workers companies can hire in a bid to slow increases in the number of foreign workers in the city-state.

This means lower employment opportunity for Filipinos once new rules kicks in.

Starting from July 1 this year, manufacturing companies will have to cap the percentage of foreigners they hire to 60 per cent of the workforce, down from 65 per cent currently.
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Filipina PR fined $50k for unlicensed agency

2012-02-03T17:59:00.002+08:00

Posted on: Feb 03, 2012

Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, looking for a job in Singapore has been very though. Gone are the days when Singapore employers will offer you a job after one interview and via phone call.

Now, one has to engage employment agencies no matter what job you are looking for. These agencies ask for a fee or deposit which typically ranges from $20 to $5000.

But, please get a legitimate agency only ---
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Job cuts in RBS and Morgan Stanley Singapore

2012-01-16T17:33:00.004+08:00

Posted on: Jan 16, 2012

RBS Equities Asia Division is going downhill. To save the company, it is planning to conduct layoffs in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley chops 10 fixed income jobs in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Job cuts in RBS will also happen in Hong Kong and Japan.

However, RBS may be able to spare further job losses if it can find a buyer. The bank doesn’t want to jeopardise talks with potential acquirers by listing the number of people who could lose their jobs in Asia if there is no sale.

The retrenchments in Morgan Stanley are mostly in sales and trading positions. The U.S. investment bank said in December it will cut 1,600 employees in the first quarter as it trims costs in a difficult period for trading and banking revenue. They said a smaller number of jobs in equities and commodities have also been eliminated in Singapore.

Read more in:
eFinancialcareers
Reuters

Apply now: Foreign Service Officers wanted

2012-01-01T15:29:00.001+08:00

Posted on: Jan 01, 2012

Attention job seekers: The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is now accepting applications for the 2012 Foreign Service Officers (FSO) Examination.

Those interested may submit their duly accomplished application forms, together with all necessary supporting documents, in person at Window 1 of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, 5 January 2012.

Application forms may also be submitted in person to the DFA Main Office (in the Philippines) until 5:00pm on Friday, 13 January 2012.
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Diligent, overqualified coffee servers

2008-07-31T10:15:00.002+08:00

There was a July article in Singapore's leading English newspaper that most f&b service jobs are being filled by Filipinos. Most are serving drinks and clearing tables, but they come a lot more qualified than their foreigner counterparts doing the same job on work permits. The Filipinos are here on S-passes, typically granted to those with at least a diploma, or employment passes, which are granted to graduates.

Long hours at a low salary and having only two days off a month are not a problem for Eric Dellosa, even if these are exactly the reasons many Singaporeans shun the job. Eric is an electrical engineering graduate who is serving up cups of teh-O, kopi and Milo Dinosaur at a Holland Village coffee shop.

Click here to read more.

Employment/S-Pass Self-Assessment Tool

2008-03-06T16:05:00.010+08:00

If you are a foreigner hoping to find work in Singapore, I suggest that you assess your luck first before filing your resignation and buying your plane tickets. Try the very useful Employment/S-Pass Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) provided by MOM (Ministry of Manpower).

It is a free online tool that calculates your likelihood of obtaining an Employment or S Pass. It will determine your eligibility based on the information you provide including salary, highest qualifications attained, occupation, and work experience.

The following link will take you to SAT:
http://sat.mom.gov.sg/

If you're wondering what salary to key in, check out the 2007 survey done by Kelly Services, a US company that provides staffing services in Singapore. Click this link to take you to the survey (needs a PDF reader). This link was also featured in the Tomorrow blog.

This post is dedicated to my very good friend Melissa :)

[Image via Dogs in The News.]

PSIA wants stricter visa requirements

2007-09-30T04:25:00.000+08:00

Is this true? That the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) has requested Singapore government to impose additional requirements on Filipinos securing work visas? That a copy of the applicant's resignation letter and clearance from his or her latest employer should be required?

Click here.

Read our initial post about this issue.

Author: Celpaby

More pharmacists needed in Singapore

2007-09-18T00:44:00.000+08:00

According to Sept-17 Channel NewsAsia, Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking to recruit more pharmacists from overseas over the next five years as the supply of local graduates will not be enough to meet the demand. Like last year, the National University of Singapore's pharmacy department produced 150 graduates, up from 41 in 1996. But there should be 200 new pharmacy graduates to join the workforce every year.
So, among the amendments to the Pharmacist Registration Act, which will be debated in Parliament this week, is one to allow the conditional and temporary registration of foreign-trained pharmacists.

Filipino IT engineers flocking to Singapore

2007-08-29T02:00:00.000+08:00

Another newspaper article about Pinoys in SG. This was in Today newspaper 23-Aug.

It discussed how Philippine software companies are affected by the exodus of IT professionals to Singapore.

There was also an interview of PSIA which stands for Philippines Software Industry Association. As the name implies, it is an organization of software companies in PH.

Article's opening statements:

"THEY flock to Singapore, drawing three times what they are paid in the Philippines. They gain valuable experience here working for multi-national firms, contributing to their country's economy with their remittances to families back home. The downside: Some quit their jobs in a hurry, leaving behind unfinished projects, resulting in unhappy customers and beleaguered employers scrambling to fill the vacuum.

Such is the predicament facing the Philippines' software industry as engineers leave their jobs in haste. The aggressive tactics employed by some Singaporean recruitment agencies have worsened the situation, say members of the industry."

But what's really revolting and make me want to puke is PSIA's @$#*% suggestion of stricter visa restrictions for Pinoy IT engineers in SG!

"The Philippines Software Industry Association (PSIA) released a statement last month highlighting the problem, and called for stricter visa restrictions from the Singapore Government to address the issue."
Why suggest this?! Isn't like punishing IT professionals when instead what PSIA should do is ask software companies to provide enough and descent salaries! We, IT professionals, first of all, do not really desire to leave our families and live in a foreign country. We did not expect this to happen to us but due to the meager salaries that we receive in PH, we don't have a choice but work in other countries.

As the article mentioned, we are receiving 3 times more than we receive in PH. Imagine that! That's how low PH salary is!

Click here to read TXT version of the article