Singapore's media industry is aggressively training and recruiting professionals in support of the burgeoning sector.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) says some 10,000 jobs are expected to be created in the industry over the next six years.
But more immediate are the jobs and apprenticeship places on offer within the creative industries and by the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media Research and Development Programme Office.
Amid the gloomy economic environment, there is a bright spark within the fast changing media industry.
Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) Lee Boon Yang said: "Despite the recession and retrenchments, the demand for creative talent remains robust with companies still on the lookout for good staff."
The good news is that the media industry tends to do better during a downturn.
CEO of MDA, Christopher Chia, said: "It is said that sometimes it is actually anti-cyclical. If the economy generally goes down, the media sector actually comes up and one reason we found behind this is that it (media) allows people to be actually entertained at a cost much lower than say, to travel somewhere else. So it does allow a lot of consumption to actually happen."
For a start, some 300 skilled jobs and over 400 apprenticeship places are on offer within the creative industries.
Another 450 jobs will be created over the next one to two years for start-ups within the Interactive and Digital Media sector.
This will be done through supporting 150 iJAM Jump-start and Mentor projects to the tune of S$50,000 per project.
On top of that, up to 6,000 individuals are expected to get media training this year.
Dr Chia said: "The whole idea is really a continuum of skills -- from very experienced people who need to upgrade to people who are thinking of moving into this sector. So it's conversion skills as well."
Dr Lee says companies like Japanese game studio Koei Entertainment plans to double the size of its operations in Singapore adding up to 60 new staff over the next two years.
Likewise, Ubisoft is looking to expand its headcount from 50 to 300, while Lucasfilms' studio in Singapore is also expanding and looking to hire digital artists.
Separately, a public service broadcast animation programme called "Once Upon A Cyberspace", targetted at 10 to 14 year olds, was also launched.
The aim of the programme is to raise awareness on responsible use of new media.
The series comprises six short clips which are slated for broadcast on April 6 and will run for six weeks.
The initiative comes under the S$10 million Cyber Wellness fund.
To find out more about the changing media landscape, you can come down to the four-day exhibition at Marina Square.
There are also 40 fringe activities to be held islandwide during the entire month of March. The idea is to get people interested, boost consumption and hopefully attract the right kind of people for when the economic upswing happens.
- Channel News Asia
Mar 4, 2009
800 jobs with Resorts World Sentosa up for grabs
FANCY dealing cards and chips, or collecting bets for a living?
Eight hundred jobs from Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) are up for grabs at the Career 2009 & Education 2009 fair, which begins today and ends on Sunday.
Around 15,000 jobs will be available at the four-day fair held at Suntec Singapore, Halls 601 to 603.
Casino jobs such as dealers and slot ambassadors are among the thousands of vacancies offered by the two upcoming integrated resorts.
RWS told my paper it expects at least 30,000 jobseekers at its booth over the next four days. Non-gaming positions will make up the majority of RWS' vacancies, such as in technical services, human resources and resort services in its Universal Studios theme park.
Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, RWS' senior vice-president for human resources and training, said would-be applicants should be 'passionate about service, adaptable and quick thinking'.
'Those are some of the most important criteria,' she said.
JOB NO. 1
Job: Croupier.
Duties: Responsible for dealing table games.
Academic qualifications: Secondary-school education with ability to converse fluently in English.
Other requirements: Minimum height: Male - 1.65m, female - 1.58m.
Normal colour vision.
JOB NO. 2
Job: Gaming analyst.
Duties: Design computer software and evaluate gaming technologies.
Academic qualifications:
Degree in computer science or relevant fields.
Other requirements: Project management and programming experience.
JOB NO. 3
Job: Casino accounting.
Duties: Operate cage, chip bank, collection and counting functions. Manage a chip bank and a cage's financial-accounting instruments.
Other requirements: Preference for existing shift or assistant managers, and those with experience in a treasury environment.
JOB NO. 4
Job: Supervisor, ride and show attractions.
Duties: Supervise rides and show operations. Implement safety procedures.
Academic qualifications: Diploma or degree with one to three years' supervisory experience. Those with lower qualifications may still apply if they have more working experience.
- My Paper
Eight hundred jobs from Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) are up for grabs at the Career 2009 & Education 2009 fair, which begins today and ends on Sunday.
Around 15,000 jobs will be available at the four-day fair held at Suntec Singapore, Halls 601 to 603.
Casino jobs such as dealers and slot ambassadors are among the thousands of vacancies offered by the two upcoming integrated resorts.
RWS told my paper it expects at least 30,000 jobseekers at its booth over the next four days. Non-gaming positions will make up the majority of RWS' vacancies, such as in technical services, human resources and resort services in its Universal Studios theme park.
Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, RWS' senior vice-president for human resources and training, said would-be applicants should be 'passionate about service, adaptable and quick thinking'.
'Those are some of the most important criteria,' she said.
JOB NO. 1
Job: Croupier.
Duties: Responsible for dealing table games.
Academic qualifications: Secondary-school education with ability to converse fluently in English.
Other requirements: Minimum height: Male - 1.65m, female - 1.58m.
Normal colour vision.
JOB NO. 2
Job: Gaming analyst.
Duties: Design computer software and evaluate gaming technologies.
Academic qualifications:
Degree in computer science or relevant fields.
Other requirements: Project management and programming experience.
JOB NO. 3
Job: Casino accounting.
Duties: Operate cage, chip bank, collection and counting functions. Manage a chip bank and a cage's financial-accounting instruments.
Other requirements: Preference for existing shift or assistant managers, and those with experience in a treasury environment.
JOB NO. 4
Job: Supervisor, ride and show attractions.
Duties: Supervise rides and show operations. Implement safety procedures.
Academic qualifications: Diploma or degree with one to three years' supervisory experience. Those with lower qualifications may still apply if they have more working experience.
- My Paper
Mar 3, 2009
A 'strategic' move
LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say on Tuesday rebutted criticisms that the Government should have cut the employers' Central Provident Fund contribution rate instead of having the Jobs Credit wage support scheme as a way to save jobs.
The latter would achieve more than a CPF cut, he said, and it would also strengthen the trust that now exists among the tripartite partners - the Government, workers, and employers.
This was because the labour movement, together with the Government, spent the past 20 years urging workers and companies to move towards a flexible wage system in which some components are variable.
Cutting the employers' CPF contribution rate now before trying other cost-saving measures would only break the tripartite trust, he said.
He defended, in particular, the Government decision to draw on past reserves to introduce the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, as a 'strategic' move.
The scheme pays employers 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of each month's wages for each resident worker. This is equivalent to a 9 percentage point CPF cut.
Mr Lim, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, made these comments on Tuesday at a conference for civil servants, in the wake of former permanent secretary Ngiam Tong Dow's criticisms of the decision not to cut CPF in this downturn.
The Government had made the cut in the 1985 recession, a move which he described as 'strategic' in a talk to African policymakers at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and condensed in an article published in this newspaper last Saturday.
By comparison, Jobs Credit was a 'tactical' one to prevent massive unemployment, he said. It simply gave uncompetitive enterprises a short reprieve.
Without referring to Mr Ngiam by name, Mr Lim said: 'There's a school of thought...that CPF cut is a strategic move. Jobs Credit is a tactical move. I disagree.'
- The Strait Times
The latter would achieve more than a CPF cut, he said, and it would also strengthen the trust that now exists among the tripartite partners - the Government, workers, and employers.
This was because the labour movement, together with the Government, spent the past 20 years urging workers and companies to move towards a flexible wage system in which some components are variable.
Cutting the employers' CPF contribution rate now before trying other cost-saving measures would only break the tripartite trust, he said.
He defended, in particular, the Government decision to draw on past reserves to introduce the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, as a 'strategic' move.
The scheme pays employers 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of each month's wages for each resident worker. This is equivalent to a 9 percentage point CPF cut.
Mr Lim, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, made these comments on Tuesday at a conference for civil servants, in the wake of former permanent secretary Ngiam Tong Dow's criticisms of the decision not to cut CPF in this downturn.
The Government had made the cut in the 1985 recession, a move which he described as 'strategic' in a talk to African policymakers at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and condensed in an article published in this newspaper last Saturday.
By comparison, Jobs Credit was a 'tactical' one to prevent massive unemployment, he said. It simply gave uncompetitive enterprises a short reprieve.
Without referring to Mr Ngiam by name, Mr Lim said: 'There's a school of thought...that CPF cut is a strategic move. Jobs Credit is a tactical move. I disagree.'
- The Strait Times
NTUC chief says 12,668 job openings available at E2i
About forty per cent of jobs available at Singapore's Employment and Employability Institute (E2i) are offering salaries of more than S$2,000.
The National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) secretary general, Lim Swee Say, added that these job openings form almost half of the 12,668 jobs openings which some employers had posted at the institute.
Mr Lim was speaking on Tuesday at an organisational learning conference on the challenges NTUC is facing to help workers.
The NTUC chief said the government's decision to introduce the S$4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme is a strategic move.
Firstly, the scheme would help companies implement their flexible wage systems as far as possible. And secondly, the scheme would also help to strengthen the tripartite partnership between the government, employers and unions.
Mr Lim said under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), more job seekers were coming forward to upgrade themselves. In fact, 7,500 had done so at E2i.
Mr Lim added that through the various employability camps, confidence levels of workers to adapt to new jobs improved tremendously.
He said: "While on one hand, we are seeing an increase in retrenchment, but yet at the same time, we are very determined to ensure that retrenchment does not necessarily mean unemployment.
"So our determination is to keep helping these job seekers, retrenched workers to go back for retraining under SPUR, and at the same time through the job matching services provided at E2i, the community development councils and various organisations, to go back to jobs as soon as possible."
The bigger challenge now is to redesign jobs so as to minimise the mismatch of not just skills but also expectations.
Mr Lim said: "What we hope is that as we go through this downturn, we can actually upturn the employment mobility of Singapore’s workers because job openings are there. What we have to overcome is the mismatch between the jobs and job seekers.
"Our biggest challenge today is to overcome and minimise structural unemployment. There are jobs and there are job seekers. How can we bring the two together by minimising the job gap, skills gap and more importantly the mindset and expectations gaps."
The latest sector to address the retraining needs of workers is the logistics sector, which said the collapse in world trade had severely affected transport and storage.
NTUC’s assistant secretary-general, Josephine Teo, said: "The logistics sector is an important contributor to the Singapore economy. It not only supports the global trans-shipment of goods, which is the basis of our port activities, it strengthens Singapore's position as a manufacturing and distribution hub.
"The sector employs 180,000 workers and contributes about nine per cent to the GDP. The recent global financial crisis had dampened business confidence and consumer spending. As a result, international trade had fallen.
"In Singapore, non-oil domestic exports fell sharply by 34.8 per cent in January this year compared to last year. While the news is sobering, we would all be better off if we stay positive, keep our spirits high, and focus our minds on weathering the downturn.
"The government's Resilience Package worth S$20.5 billion had been welcomed by businesses and workers alike. In particular, the Jobs Credit scheme would provide relief to companies which had been hit by lower volumes or revenues, and faced intense pressures to cut cost."
The Singapore Logistics Association is working with NTUC's Learning Hub to come up with programmes to address the training needs of its excess manpower.
- Channel News Asia
The National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) secretary general, Lim Swee Say, added that these job openings form almost half of the 12,668 jobs openings which some employers had posted at the institute.
Mr Lim was speaking on Tuesday at an organisational learning conference on the challenges NTUC is facing to help workers.
The NTUC chief said the government's decision to introduce the S$4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme is a strategic move.
Firstly, the scheme would help companies implement their flexible wage systems as far as possible. And secondly, the scheme would also help to strengthen the tripartite partnership between the government, employers and unions.
Mr Lim said under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), more job seekers were coming forward to upgrade themselves. In fact, 7,500 had done so at E2i.
Mr Lim added that through the various employability camps, confidence levels of workers to adapt to new jobs improved tremendously.
He said: "While on one hand, we are seeing an increase in retrenchment, but yet at the same time, we are very determined to ensure that retrenchment does not necessarily mean unemployment.
"So our determination is to keep helping these job seekers, retrenched workers to go back for retraining under SPUR, and at the same time through the job matching services provided at E2i, the community development councils and various organisations, to go back to jobs as soon as possible."
The bigger challenge now is to redesign jobs so as to minimise the mismatch of not just skills but also expectations.
Mr Lim said: "What we hope is that as we go through this downturn, we can actually upturn the employment mobility of Singapore’s workers because job openings are there. What we have to overcome is the mismatch between the jobs and job seekers.
"Our biggest challenge today is to overcome and minimise structural unemployment. There are jobs and there are job seekers. How can we bring the two together by minimising the job gap, skills gap and more importantly the mindset and expectations gaps."
The latest sector to address the retraining needs of workers is the logistics sector, which said the collapse in world trade had severely affected transport and storage.
NTUC’s assistant secretary-general, Josephine Teo, said: "The logistics sector is an important contributor to the Singapore economy. It not only supports the global trans-shipment of goods, which is the basis of our port activities, it strengthens Singapore's position as a manufacturing and distribution hub.
"The sector employs 180,000 workers and contributes about nine per cent to the GDP. The recent global financial crisis had dampened business confidence and consumer spending. As a result, international trade had fallen.
"In Singapore, non-oil domestic exports fell sharply by 34.8 per cent in January this year compared to last year. While the news is sobering, we would all be better off if we stay positive, keep our spirits high, and focus our minds on weathering the downturn.
"The government's Resilience Package worth S$20.5 billion had been welcomed by businesses and workers alike. In particular, the Jobs Credit scheme would provide relief to companies which had been hit by lower volumes or revenues, and faced intense pressures to cut cost."
The Singapore Logistics Association is working with NTUC's Learning Hub to come up with programmes to address the training needs of its excess manpower.
- Channel News Asia
Retrenched parents get help
SOME 200 retrenched parents will get help from a new financial aid scheme introduced by OCBC Bank and NTUC First Campus on Tuesday.
The OCBC-Bright Horizons Fund (OCBC-BHF) Retrenchment Relief Scheme aims to help those who have lost their jobs to send their children to pre-school.
The scheme is worth $500,000 over two years. OCBC Bank has donated $200,000 to the cause and the Bright Horizons Fund (BHF) will match this with $300,000 over the two years.
Parents who have been retrenched and whose net household income is below $2,200 a month or $600 per capita are eligible to receive aid when they send their children to NTUC First Campus' My First Skool. The scheme will cover three months school fees.
Depending on the child's age, school fees at My First Skool range from $480 to $585 per month.
The scheme was officially launched on Tuesday at My First Skool at Toa Payoh by OCBC Bank Chairman Dr Cheong Choong Kong and Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Chairman of the Fund's Board of Trustees.
'This scheme, very appropriately launched in these difficult times, will ensure that no child at NTUC First Campus will have to stay home because of financial problems,' said Dr Cheong.
Mr Lim pointed out the importance of pre-school education, saying it is 'vital' for children during their foundation years.
'We want to ensure that their learning process continues seamlessly, regardless of the economic situation,' said Mr Lim. 'We started this new scheme because we expect a bigger need for financial assistance for this recession.'
The OCBC-BHF Retrenchment Relief Scheme is on top of the Government's centre-based financial assistance scheme (CFAS) for low-income families.
- The Straits Times
The OCBC-Bright Horizons Fund (OCBC-BHF) Retrenchment Relief Scheme aims to help those who have lost their jobs to send their children to pre-school.
The scheme is worth $500,000 over two years. OCBC Bank has donated $200,000 to the cause and the Bright Horizons Fund (BHF) will match this with $300,000 over the two years.
Parents who have been retrenched and whose net household income is below $2,200 a month or $600 per capita are eligible to receive aid when they send their children to NTUC First Campus' My First Skool. The scheme will cover three months school fees.
Depending on the child's age, school fees at My First Skool range from $480 to $585 per month.
The scheme was officially launched on Tuesday at My First Skool at Toa Payoh by OCBC Bank Chairman Dr Cheong Choong Kong and Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Chairman of the Fund's Board of Trustees.
'This scheme, very appropriately launched in these difficult times, will ensure that no child at NTUC First Campus will have to stay home because of financial problems,' said Dr Cheong.
Mr Lim pointed out the importance of pre-school education, saying it is 'vital' for children during their foundation years.
'We want to ensure that their learning process continues seamlessly, regardless of the economic situation,' said Mr Lim. 'We started this new scheme because we expect a bigger need for financial assistance for this recession.'
The OCBC-BHF Retrenchment Relief Scheme is on top of the Government's centre-based financial assistance scheme (CFAS) for low-income families.
- The Straits Times
10,000 to lose jobs in Q1
MORE than 10,000 workers are likely to be laid off in the first three months of this year, said labour chief Lim Swee Say who gave an early estimate of retrenchment numbers on Tuesday.
It is an increase from 7,000 layoffs in the previous quarter, but analysts believe the final figures for January to March could be higher.
'We cannot stop retrenchment from going up,' Mr Lim told some 800 civil servants at a conference on organisational learning. "But we die die, must try our best to help every one of these retrenched workers to go back to the job market again to learn new skills, to take on a new job.'
This is the first time that official projections for first quarter retrenchment figures for both the unionised and non-unionised sectors are made public.
In a CNBC interview aired last Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the unions will see nearly 5,000 layoffs in this period.
Referring to the 5,000 figure, Mr Lim said: 'If you multiply that to include the whole non-unionised sector, the number would easily exceed 10,000 for the first quarter.'
This means retrenchment figures for the first three months will surpass the usual average of 10,000 layoffs in a year, signalling the extent of the impact caused by the global financial crisis. Official first quarter retrenchment figures from the Manpower Ministry will be released only in late April.
Analysts interviewed said job losses could be much higher than 10,000 if early termination of part-timers and contract workers are included. Employers prematurely terminated the contracts of 1,500 workers in the previous quarter, on top of laying off 7,000 workers.
But Mr Lim also assured Singaporeans that there are jobs available.
He said the Employment and Employability Institute has a list of 12,700 job openings, from sectors across the board such as in services, pharmaceuticals and the public sector. About four in ten of these jobs pay more than $2,000 a month.
'Jobs are still being created, demand is still there. What we have to do is to keep narrowing this gap in terms of skills, mindset and expectations between the jobs and job seekers,' he said.
- The Straits Times
It is an increase from 7,000 layoffs in the previous quarter, but analysts believe the final figures for January to March could be higher.
'We cannot stop retrenchment from going up,' Mr Lim told some 800 civil servants at a conference on organisational learning. "But we die die, must try our best to help every one of these retrenched workers to go back to the job market again to learn new skills, to take on a new job.'
This is the first time that official projections for first quarter retrenchment figures for both the unionised and non-unionised sectors are made public.
In a CNBC interview aired last Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the unions will see nearly 5,000 layoffs in this period.
Referring to the 5,000 figure, Mr Lim said: 'If you multiply that to include the whole non-unionised sector, the number would easily exceed 10,000 for the first quarter.'
This means retrenchment figures for the first three months will surpass the usual average of 10,000 layoffs in a year, signalling the extent of the impact caused by the global financial crisis. Official first quarter retrenchment figures from the Manpower Ministry will be released only in late April.
Analysts interviewed said job losses could be much higher than 10,000 if early termination of part-timers and contract workers are included. Employers prematurely terminated the contracts of 1,500 workers in the previous quarter, on top of laying off 7,000 workers.
But Mr Lim also assured Singaporeans that there are jobs available.
He said the Employment and Employability Institute has a list of 12,700 job openings, from sectors across the board such as in services, pharmaceuticals and the public sector. About four in ten of these jobs pay more than $2,000 a month.
'Jobs are still being created, demand is still there. What we have to do is to keep narrowing this gap in terms of skills, mindset and expectations between the jobs and job seekers,' he said.
- The Straits Times
Mar 2, 2009
Workers, employers urged to have sense of balance when dealing with retrenchments
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged workers and employers to have a sense of balance when dealing with retrenchment forecasts during these difficult economic times.
He added that despite the gloom, Singapore is not in a bad position.
Mr Lee made the statements during his interview with the Singapore media at the end of the ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin on Sunday.
There have been several reports recently of retrenchment forecasts in Singapore this year, with the latest being from DBS Bank which put the figure at 99,000.
This prompted some ministers to emphasise the need to be focused and not be overwhelmed by the numbers.
Mr lee said: "Everyday we see bad news, another 50 here, another 100 there, and such and such job cuts. After a while, even if you were not depressed, we become depressed.
"There are things happening which are positive, there are things which will turn good in time, there are things in the pipeline - the IR (integrated resort) is coming along, two IRs are both coming along.
"Every time I drive past the Marina, I watch to see whether another level has come up or not and it has nearly reached the top now."
Mr Lee stressed Singapore has the resources and has done the right things with this year's Budget.
He said: "I know people say 'why didn't you help the households more directly'. But the right way to help people now is not to give them vouchers or coupons to spend, but to help them keep their jobs.
"And this is where the emphasis of the Budget was, and that is something which we have to explain to the people and help them to understand."
On investments by the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, Mr Lee said they are long term in nature. In bad years, there would be shrinkage, but overall they have performed well.
He said: "If you jump up and down and you want to break even and make money every quarter, you will not be able to have a sensible policy. You will end up not protecting your value, you cannot discuss Citigroup as Citigroup.
"We have to look at the whole portfolio and overall... performance - some ups and some downs, some good years, some bad years and overall over 20 years, it has done well."
Mr Lee said how soon Singapore will recover from this downturn will depend on the world.
What is important now is for the country to remain stable and emerge as a strong economy when the recovery comes.
- Channel News Asia
He added that despite the gloom, Singapore is not in a bad position.
Mr Lee made the statements during his interview with the Singapore media at the end of the ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin on Sunday.
There have been several reports recently of retrenchment forecasts in Singapore this year, with the latest being from DBS Bank which put the figure at 99,000.
This prompted some ministers to emphasise the need to be focused and not be overwhelmed by the numbers.
Mr lee said: "Everyday we see bad news, another 50 here, another 100 there, and such and such job cuts. After a while, even if you were not depressed, we become depressed.
"There are things happening which are positive, there are things which will turn good in time, there are things in the pipeline - the IR (integrated resort) is coming along, two IRs are both coming along.
"Every time I drive past the Marina, I watch to see whether another level has come up or not and it has nearly reached the top now."
Mr Lee stressed Singapore has the resources and has done the right things with this year's Budget.
He said: "I know people say 'why didn't you help the households more directly'. But the right way to help people now is not to give them vouchers or coupons to spend, but to help them keep their jobs.
"And this is where the emphasis of the Budget was, and that is something which we have to explain to the people and help them to understand."
On investments by the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, Mr Lee said they are long term in nature. In bad years, there would be shrinkage, but overall they have performed well.
He said: "If you jump up and down and you want to break even and make money every quarter, you will not be able to have a sensible policy. You will end up not protecting your value, you cannot discuss Citigroup as Citigroup.
"We have to look at the whole portfolio and overall... performance - some ups and some downs, some good years, some bad years and overall over 20 years, it has done well."
Mr Lee said how soon Singapore will recover from this downturn will depend on the world.
What is important now is for the country to remain stable and emerge as a strong economy when the recovery comes.
- Channel News Asia
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