I have a prediction. My prediction is that in a couple of years, the expatriates (from China, India, US etc…) will rule Singapore. They will increasing take on more leadership roles of CEOs, directors, heads of organizations, award winners etc… If you observe closely, it is already happening now. This year’s top PSLE (Primary School Leaving Exam) student is a China National. Most of the deans list students and first class honours students in the local universities are foreigners and more and more CEOs, even that of government link corporations are expats. The top players in our National teams are expats.
As a Singaporean, I am not complaining. I think that in a meritocratic society like Singapore, it is only fair that the very best get rewarded, no matter their race, religion or nationality. Like Lee Kwan Yew said, I rather these talented and driven people be on our team contributing to our nation than against us from their home country. The question I have been asking is, ‘why are the expats beating the crap out of Singaporeans?’ What I noticed is that these expats have a very important quality that many Singaporeans (especially the new Y generation lack). It is a quality that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers (who came from distant lands) had that turned Singapore from a fishing village to the third richest country in the world (according to GDP per capita). Unfortunately, I fear this quality is soon disappearing from the new generation of Singaporeans. This youth development quality is the HUNGER FOR SUCCESS and the FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!
Expats who come here today have the same tremendous HUNGER for success that our grandfathers had. They are willing to sacrifice, work hard and pay the price to succeed. They also believe that no one owes them a living and they have to work hard for themselves. They also bring with them the humility and willingness to learn. Take the case of Qui Biqing, the girl from Qifa Primary school who topped the whole of Singapore in last year’s PSLE with a score of 290. When she came to Singapore 3 years ago from China, she could hardly speak a word of English and didn’t even understand what a thermometer was. Although she was 10 years old, MOE recommended she start at Primary 2 because of her lack of English proficiency. After appealing, she managed to start in Primary 3. While most Singaporeans have a head start of learning English at pre-school at the age of 3-4 years old, she only started at age 10. Despite this handicapped, she had the drive to read continuously and practice her speaking and writing skills, eventually scoring an A-star in English!
This hunger and drive can also be seen in the workforce. I hate to say this but in a way, I sometimes think expats create more value than locals. Expats are willing to work long hours, go the extra mile, are fiercely loyal to you and don’t complain so much. They also come alot more qualified and do not ask the moon for the remuneration. Recently, I placed an ad for a marketing executive. Out of 100+ resumes, more than 60% came from expats. While locals fresh grads are asking for $2,500+ per month, I have expats with masters degrees from good universities willing to get less than $2,000! They know that if they can come in and learn and work hard, they will eventually climb up and earn alot more. They are willing to invest in themselves, pay the price for future rewards. Sometimes I wonder how some of the locals are going to compete with this. Of course, this is just a generalization. There ARE definitely some Singaporeans who create lots of value and show fighting spirit.
Unfortunately, I have found that more and more young Singaporeans lack this hunger for success. Instead, they like to complain, blame circumstances and wait for others to push them. Some hold on to the attitude that the world owes them a living. I shake my head when I see local kids nowadays complain that they don’t have the latest handphones, branded clothes and games. While I acknowledge that the kids of today are much smarter and well informed than I was at their age (my 4 year old daughter can use my Macbook computer and my iphone), I find that they lack the resilience and tenacity they need to survive in the new economy. Some kids nowadays tend to give up easily once they find that things get tough and demand instant gratification. When they have to work first to get rewards later, many tend to lack the patience to follow through.
So, how did this happen? Why is our nation of hardworking, hungry fighters slowly becoming a nation of complaining softies? I think the problem is that life in Singapore has been too good and comfortable. Kids today have never seen hunger, poverty, war and disasters. What makes it worse is that parents nowadays give kids everything they want and over protect them from hardship and failure. Parents often ask me why their kids lack the motivation to study and excel. My answer to them is because they already have everything! Giving someone everything they want is the best way to kill their motivation. What reason is there for them to fight to become the best when they are already given the best from their parents without having to earn it? It reminds me of the cartoon movie MADAGASCAR where Alex the Lion and his animal friends were born and raised in the Central Park Zoo. They were well taken care of and provided with processed food and an artificial jungle. When they escaped to Africa, they found that they could barely survive in the wild with the other animals because they had lots their instincts to fight and hunt for food. They could only dance and sing.
I see the same thing in the hundreds of youth activity, seminars, training programmes and youth programs I conduct. I see increasing more and more expats attending my Wealth Academy and Patterns of Excellence programme in Singapore. Not surprisingly, they are always the first to grab the microphone to answer and ask questions. While many of the locals come in late and sit at the back. The expats (especially those from India and China) always sit at the front, take notes ferociously and stay back way after the programme is over to ask questions. I feel ashamed sometimes when I ask for volunteers to ask questions, and the Singaporeans keep quiet, while the foreigners fight for the opportunity. For my I Am Gifted!™ school holiday programme for students, I have the privileged to travel and conduct it in seven countries (Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia etc…) and see all students from all over. Is there a big difference in their attitude and behaviour? You bet!
Again, I feel really sad that in Singapore, most students who come are usually forced by their parents to come and improve themselves, Some parents even bribe them with computer games and new handphones to attend. During the course, some adopt the ‘I know everything’ attitude and lack the interest to succeed until I kick their butts. It is so different when I go to Malaysia, Indonesia and once in India. The kids there ask their parents to send them to my programme. They clap and cheer enthusiastically when the teachers enter the room and participate so willingly when lessons are on. I still scratch my head and wonder what happened to my fellow Singaporeans to this day.
So mark my words, unless the new generation of Singaporeans wake up and get out of their happy over protected bubble and start fighting for their future, the expats (like our great grandfathers) will soon be the rulers of the country. At the rate at which talented and hungry expats are climbing up , our future prime minister may be an Indian or China PR or may even an Ang Moh!
Hi Adam,
I really hope this article will knock some senses into the minds of many Singaporeans. I know of many people who still think that their job is an iron rice bowl & their wages will increase yearly. I do know of people who have the mindsets that their parents should be the one paying for their wedding or providing captial for them to start a biz.
With regards to your point about wages, unfortunately its the circumstances that have caused Singaporeans to ask for stars or moons. As statistics showing fresh local grads are earning this amt of money, their peers joining civil sector, GLC or MNCs are being paid so well, indirectly it will influence their thinking.
For an expat who ask for $2000 per month, this amt is equivalent to about RM4000 or 9600yuan. After paying for food & lodging, they will still have a significant amt of savings to return back to their home country to buy a house or start a biz after working here for say 5years. But if a Singaporeans do not strive for higher wages, how is he/she going to survive in Singapore where cost is escalating tremendously, how is a Singaporean going to afford a $350k property (avg price for only a HDB 4-room unit, and is not even in a mature estate)?
Very sadly, circumstances, whether its material or reality have clouded many Singaporeans visions.
Hi Adam,
I agreed totally with you, our govt is moving towards a socialist state from the policies given out in recent years. I cant help but lament when some of the policies are taken advantage of or people expects govt. to give them jobs and money when they lose their jobs (think recent PMET and GST Credit Scheme). I see so many people in coffeeshop discussing when’s the next GST or new Singapore Shares (in short, Govt money)coming? I wonder what else could we do to kick our own ass to fire up & achieve more. Most of us are good hardworking workers, but not hardworking enough to create new wealth for Singapore. What could be done to instill fighting spirit to our people again?
All depends on your experience: as an expat in Malaysia I love to come over to Singapore to feel your country’s strive, which is lacking in the country of Malaysia (I say country and not Malaysians, as like you experience: the ones who want to succeed, do go the extra mile (overseas).
I am surprised to hear your experience that Singaporeans are taking it more easy as they used to. For sure: students that are bribed to go to a seminar are just there for the bribe and not for the seminar.
What I know is that in Singapore, you are rewarded for your merits and your country is investor friendly: if it was as cheap as Malaysia, I would be living on your end of the border long time ago already 🙂
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Er what about those Singaporeans who venture out who made a name for themselves outside Singapore?
Isn’t it sad they leave the country to then become competitor to their own country?
In any case, much of your so-call “success” is driven my academic success, which frankly counts for nothing in the real world.
I have known many so-called “Expat” to Singapore who don’t do well in their own country becoming successful in Singapore. My boss for example, who did not even finished his arts degree, became a relatively successful financial trader and was posted to Singapore to become boss of so many so-called academically successful people in Singapore. Likewise, I know of a few polytechnic so-so graduate in Singapore who ended up being relatively successful working in London!
Thanks for sharing your observations. However, I don’t really agree that Singaporeans lack fighting spirit or are not hungry for success.
Regarding your point that Singaporean kids do not ask questions or tend to be quiet, I believe this is more a result of their upbringing. Our past and current education system trains children to accept what their teachers, parents, etc tell them without questioning. This form of rote learning tends to produce kids who are like sponges; great for memorizing chunks of data but unable to analyze or articulate what they’ve learned.
You also mentioned that you’re starting to see more foreigners taking on leadership positions in local MNCs. Please read this article by Emmanuel Daniel @ http://www.emmanueldaniel.com/index.php?action=blog&bid=106. It’s a pretty lengthy post but the part which is of interest to you would be somewhere in the middle starting with: “The tragedy in leadership and succession in Singapore Inc …”
Many talented Singaporeans have gone overseas to take on bigger roles because they were not given the opportunity to take on such roles here. Ask yourself this question: Do you seriously believe there is no qualified Singaporean capable of running Temasek Holdings today?
But nevertheless, I think you raised very valid points regarding how our kids today are fed a diet of instant gratification. Study hard and you will make lots of money. Wean on a diet of PSPs and iPhones, I think our kids are certainly hungry enough to want success but instead of working hard for it, I think they are really only interested in taking short cuts if these can further their chances of success.
Hi Adam .. for what it’s worth I thought I’d ask .. how would an Indian or a PRC who has PR in Singapore become Prime Minister in Singapore!? 😀
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Hi,
Ever crossed your mind that you are what you are because of your lineage?
Not many, in fact the vast majority of Singaporeans did not have the sort of advantage you must have during the formative years – that is perhaps the single most important factor that made you what you are/becoming.
i think the word “expat” is used too loosely here, as with the misnomer foreign talent. expats are typically experienced professionals from a foreign country coming to work here to provide the company with some sort of expertise.
are you saying these 2000/mth people are people with such expertise?
the only thing talented and special about them is their willingness to suck it up and work, which brings me back to my good old rant of sweatshops.
why not go to china or vietnam, where you can set up shop with child labour, where there is lax laws in terms of safety and hygiene?
these things are there to safeguard the interests of people, if you take everything off, the costs of business is of course low. this in economics is known as external externalities.
of course, money grubbing pure capitalists like you are interested in exploiting the poor so that you can sip your cappuccino and red wine.
I want an ang moh PM! A good looking one from a peaceful country. A modest one, who cares about world peace and not his own personal wealth.
It is a fact that foreigners who venture out of their homeland to establish themselves in a foreign land work harder than the locals. I can testify that Singaporean students studying down-under get better results than the locals. Nationalities do not apply here.
It is a cycle of national development i reckon is the cause of our lack of pull to strive forward. Look at the once Great Britain. Not so great today. USA is also declining. India and China are emerging giants. Once they reach the the goal, it will also follow the trend. Can we do something about it?
Yes, most certainly. Especially for a small nation like Singapore. My take is, stay focused on one objective and expertise and build an empire out of it. Heard of ‘Swiss Made’. We are severely lacking in homegrown brands. What we lack is a national program to build and maintain the brand name and empire. I mean uniquely Singapore brand names. At the moment, we only want to work in big foreign named banks and brands. If this is the way forward, they will either leave Singapore one day due to costs or we suck in cheap labour with brains to reduce costs. Either way, Singaporeans will suffer.
just my view…
I don’t mind if our future leaders are Chinamen or Indian PR. I am already no longer feeling I am a Singaporean. You can stay. We’re getting out. We’re not hungry enough? Well, you can always go and be hungry. I just want to be human and my life is short enough. I don’t need to be wealthy. I just need to be rich. And you can stand on. There are better places in the world where humanity and human rights are respected. Singaporean? We’re a global citizen today. I think many in my generation at disenchanted and disillusioned at what it means to be a Singaporean today. You’re a business man. What do you know about philosophy? You’re merely philosophising part-time.
There is a difference between “bright” and “exam-smart”. “Hungry” may make one exam-smart but it does not make one wiser.
Children are smart to realise they may not want to be like their parents who work endlessly & yet not achieving peace & happiness despite the financial security money provides.
There’s nothing wrong with a foreign PM. Run SG with the best & brightest brains (paying big bucks right?). Let the competition be at all levels. Does it matter if brains are SG’s or expats? National security? If that is so, we shd not have THAT many foreigners in SG in the first place.
There is this negative interplay between the educational system and society – we study to get the grades to get the right schools/right courses to get a cushy well paid job. Even our parents “motivate” us in this way.
The truth is probably a good education is more like a key, to open more doors, a means, not a end in itself. A lot of youngsters, not all, work very hard at “opening doors” and just want to or rather hope to relax in the room beyond. After years of slogging, it’s human nature to expect a reward. But once you’re in, no one cares about what you’ve done, but what you can do and that means more hard work.
Indeed, the problem is that life in Singapore has been too good and comfortable to people of this generation. Those who adapt best will emerge as the ones who benefit.
@Contrarian – and why has life in Singapore become “too good and comfortable to people of this generation”? Aside from the fact that every generation since Pliny the Elder has been saying that of their juniors, the real problem is that the “educational” system here doesn’t educate people nearly as well as it prepares them to pass cookie-cutter exams and to be indoctrinated into unthinking acceptance of the political and economic Order.
When one is taught to not think about one area that the species as a whole has found vital to survival and prosperity, can all other areas be far behind?
And yes, I’m a PR but hardly an expat; I don’t work for a company that’s feathering the Connected people’s nests almost as much as it’s getting from using the ordinary people here…
You are over generalizing. I am a regular visitor to Chinese forums and my wife is Chinese. They have the usual complains e.g. lack of welfare in Singapore, being worked too hard, low pay, lack of prospects, etc. Perhaps you are not close enough to them, so they do not complain to you.
You cited foreign sportsmen and expats doing better, but have you considered the real reasons? Do you know how sportsmen are trained and supported in China? I assure you if Singapore government gives similar support to sports, we will not need to rely on foreign imports to win medals for us.
As for more expats becoming top management, most of them are hired by companies started by their fellow countrymen? E.g. Chinese company hiring Chinese CEO, German company hiring German CEO. If there is anything Singaporeans should learn from expats, it is this cohesiveness and trust among fellow countrymen. Adam, for starters, how about you giving your fellow Singaporean a chance instead of looking at bottom-line.
It is not so simple as Singaporeans being soft. At this time when so many Singaporeans are losing jobs to foreigners, you are not doing us a favour by further stereotyping Singaporeans.
Adam, you’re a local who hires cheap FTs and then keep the savings for yourself. One day, you will find yourself on the employee end of the stick, and you will moan your own lowered and devalued wages because employers such as yourself screw your fellow Singaporeans over just to save a bit more $$.
Dear Friend, as a businessman, I don’t hire people based on whether they are cheap and how much money save me. I hire people based on how much value they can create for my customers and hence my business. This is regardless whether they are singaporeans or FTs, men or women, malay or chinese. If a Singaporean can create $50,000 worth of value for my business and he asks for a $20,000 salary, I would hire him compared to an expat who is asking for $3,000 a month and who cannot add value. By the way, out of the 90+ staff I have in Singapore, only 4 are expats.
Your article shows that you have a very amateur understanding of the people of Singapore.
Your lack of research into understanding the causes and based on superficial views such as Masters degrees asking for 2000 dollars. Do you know what their motivations are for asking such a salary?
Please do not comment on Singaporeans as if you have done a extensive research and found out the true reasons.
I never expected such comments from someone who claims to be a great business leader.
Please do not write anymore such amateur articles.
Your reputation is at stake here with such crap.
Thank You.
I am not a researcher. I am not a masters degree holder myself. I am not a professional writer. I am an amateur. I am just really good at business and investing and love to write. This BLOG is where I express my personal opinions and observations from working with lots of people. If you have done extensive research yourself and know the true motivations of these people, then feel free to share it here. We are all here to learn from each other.
shame on you for projecting negativity on locals seeking employment…let’s be real, you are looking on the cheap…what’s $2.5k these days, that’s basically minimum wage for executives…
foreigners have fewer stake and cares here, they are fine with renting a room while locals need to save up for their first home…the 2k they earn here spreads quite well back where they come from…
if you were looking for work, would you settle for 2k? all this promise of great future may not turn out at all, can you promise anyone if he takes 2k for a start that he’ll end up taking a leadership role.
so before you open your trap, try looking from the other perspective…learn to be a better corporate citizen…
I am making no judgments here about what is right or wrong. I am merely stating a fact that their are many foreigners with masters degrees and PhDs who are willing to start off with the same starting pay of $2,000 as fresh grads here. It is a cold hard fact that locals are not competing with themselves anymore, but with the rest of the world. Am I saying that as a local, you lower what you are willing to accept in terms of pay? Of course not. I am saying that if you want to compete and emerge a winner, than you have to stop complaining and blaming others (e.g. employers, government etc..). Be a winner and build your capabilities and talents so that you can create so much value to the company that you CAN ask for more money and you will get it.
Yes, there is no guarantee that if you start with a lower pay, that you will eventually climb up the ladder and take on a leadership role. Nobody owes it to you. Its like when people ask me if my Wealth Academy programmes will guarantee them financial freedom. Of course not. Its all up to you. If you believe in yourself and apply the right strategies by constantly upgrading yourself, you can do it. When I started Adam Khoo Learning technologies Group, my NUS classmate Patrick saw the potential and quit his job in SPH as a management trainee (earning $3k+) to join me for a salary of $1,000 a month (as a startup, I could not pay much). He was getting married that year by the way. He slogged with me for 7 years and today, he is the CEO of my company, earning a six figure income, living in a landed property and with a net worth with over $1m. When you believe in yourself, you don’t feel threatened at all my anyone, foreign or domestic.
Hi Adam, I’ve recently hired a local guy who is waiting to go university for my own business and I totally agreed with what you have said.
When I asked him to write an article, he can take 2-3 hours to finish writing one article that is around 300-400 words. That costs me around $19.50 if you do the maths. but if I were to get my freelancers to do it for me, I’ll get it at $4 or 5 or even $7 with even better quality writings.
But then, i’m not hiring a writer so it isn’t really fair to pinpoint about this. But if a simple task like report writing and articles writing take even so long, it says something about a young Singaporean.
I finally decided that he has to go after he said that $6.50 is too little for him. He isn’t happy in the first place, and I’m not getting the work done enough.
You can see that the younger Singaporean are getting more choosy, can’t withstand hardship, lesser productivity, and still think that they deserve the pay. And the truth is due to globalization, the labor market is supplied with a lot of more productive workers and that Singaporeans don’t really deserve the salary they are getting unless they do something about it.
thank you for an inspiring tale but patrick’s case is not a universal fact, so you shouldn’t use the same yardstick with your applicants. who’s to say the 2.5k employee will slog less than the 2k one. gratitude can be a prime motivator.
you seem to measure one’s worth on monetary terms, while you are not wrong in this society, one’s worth begins from within too, do the words hope and believe agree with you?
for someone whose business is to sell hope, your callous dismissal of the hopes of the young local graduate is regrettable. all you have here is the mismatch of expectations, yours as an employer and the hopeful applicants.
as to whom is out of step with reality, i don’t know. perhaps the local grads are asking too much or maybe employers are trying to squeeze what they can get.
in asiaone today, it reported hdb is putting up new flats for sale, a 4 rm unit at choa chu kang is $250k and the report states to afford a unit like this without topping cash the household income should be $4.3k minimum. so do local grads need to turn to their retiring parents for a handout when they hope for their first home?
you are not asked to sponsor anyone’s house but perhaps you should re-evaluate what you deem as local grad’s unreasonable demand. they are only hoping to live a life here.
no one is owed a living but when the standards of a basic livelihood is such, certainly one has to believe that the society has a role to play in the natural balance of things….
stanman is a freaking idiot. The foreigner who settles for $2k pays the same expenses, if not higher than the local because not only is he or she based here, like I am, he and she does not have the luxury of staying in papamama hotel and have to pay rent. All this yakking on and on by these dumb Singaporeans make me convinced that Singaporeans are indeed foolish and their IQ is low.
Look at how jubilant these Singapore peasants feel in their speech, about how the $2K is a whole lot back in the third world countries where these foreigners come from. Its the only thing their silly minds have fixated on. What about the fact that many of these foreigners eventually settled here and purchase resale flats? All that talk about them running home to build their brick house in the rural areas of Guangdong.
Now I know why foreigners think Singaporeans are too dumb to govern themselves and need to be kept on a tight leash by the government.
Essentially, these “expats” comes over to work in Singapore and helps lower cost of business. In their home country where they are brought up, the cost of education and living is more lower and getting a master degree isn’t too difficult.
When they come over, they share a room in a HDB flat and can afford to work for a lower pay and having no families in Singapore (at least for the initial years) and thus they can afford to work long hours. Money they make can be saved and with the intention of going back home and buy a house over at their home. They can afford not to buy an expensive HDB if they chose not to.
These choices are not readily available to resident Singaporean, if you were to so analyse.
Does your friend Patrick make six figure monthly or annually?
I highly doubt the ability of any NUS grad making six figures monthly, no offence. LOL.
Hello. I am an NUS grad and I make mine monthly. Don’t look down on local university ok? ; )
Hey everyone. Its great to have multiple viewpoints and we can all agree to disagree. But let’s keep this civil. No name calling & cursing please. THis is not one of ‘those’ forums
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Is a person’s worth measured by his grades?
In my opinion, a person’s worth is measured by his/her character that includes courage, tenacity, compassion, resilience etc… Grades, money, awards, the number of friends you have, love you receive from others etc… are just quantitative measures of how you are playing the game of life
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Dear Adam
I can echo what you have just said to some extent. Many Singaporeans really had their heads buried in the ground and still think that they are really that great. Many Singaporeans are losing or lacking in that motivation or hunger for success. Life is probably too comfortable for them.
My girlfriend is a PRC Chinese, and she had a good friend married to a local Singaporean guy. When asked about how are the people in Singapore, her girlfriend’s response is that the people here are not very motivated and not as hardworking as she thought we are before she came here.
As I heard about the news of the top PSLE student from Guangzhou, and the recent top ‘O’ level student is from Malaysia, I start to wonder why. My best guess is that they are so much more hardworking than the general local cohort of students.
I am a Singaporean myself and I hate to say all this because it would seem like I am putting my fellow countrymen down, but I really hope that fellow Singaporeans can be more aware of the challenges these “foreigners” are bringing to us. We can do as good, if not better, than our fellow new residents in Singapore.
I used to think Singaporeans are very hardworking (which I believe many of us still are today) but in recent trips to China, I realised that the Chinese are no less hardworking than us, many of them even more so but they have lesser complains than us despite poorer working conditions/environments.
I am really glad you wrote this article. Hope it can create more awareness among fellow Singaporeans of their new challenges.
Regards
Donald
I don’t think so like that. Because it maybe just a predication only. Singapore is a independent country.
“While locals fresh grads are asking for $2,500 per month, I have expats with masters degrees from good universities willing to get less than $2,000!”
R u sure?
that people with masters degrees from good universities are willing to accept a pay of $2k.
most of them are working in NTU or NUS as researchers. U should go to NTU/NUS and take a look.
Elite exploit over the poor and weak are evil. It is natural law that strong lead the weak. But human should have soul where the privilege one should lead and help the weak one
This precisely why you need to become successful and wealthy yourself…so YOU can help the less fortunate and make a positive difference in the world. You do not help the world by being poor or mediocre.
I have the very same thought at very young age like you but I think I am wrong. Jet Li made some good comments that even billionaire like Bill Gate cannot help the world. If wealth is fixed and one become rich, naturally another one become poor. The human greed to earn money through capital gain LEGALLY in shares/property/loan is as evil as usury. The wealth creation counts by dollar is just a means for social and political control. Helping people need not be successful and wealthy. Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society
The reason Singaporean couldn’t compete with foreigners in the real world is because Singaporeans Chinese have forgotten on how Singapore was built in the first place,Unity. Now known as the forgotten minorities, the Malays and Indians of Singapore.
The creativity in Malays and the Street-smart Indians which led the malays to excel in arts, music and design and the steet-smart Indians as lawyers, analyst and engineers.
In general,its something you can’t learn in Universities ….. its talent
Thats complete a Singaporean arm with determination,out of the box thinking and calculated risk to compete with others.
I own and run an online marketing company. I have my share of experience in hiring “foreign talents” / “expats” however you defined it, and I can identify with Adam’s observations.
Let me first make it clear that as a company, we do not hire foreign talents (hereafter referred as FTs) because they are “cheaper”. In fact, these people are often hired on Employment Pass terms (which means minimum salary of above $2500 as required by MOM). I’m quite sure for some of the positions we filled, we were able to find locals who would be willing to work for lower than $2500 but we ended up hiring a FT with higher salary for same reasons stated in Adam’s blog post : they are hungrier, willing to work harder, and for the same bucks they come with relevant experience and can hit the track running. In terms of ROI, they consistently deliver higher ROI than most of the local graduates we hire.
In contrast local graduates expect to be spoon fed, want to be constantly motivated and coaxed, produce little but expect alot.
For the same salary, you will get more bang for the bucks if you hire foreign talents.
Let me give you an example: we hired a marketing executive for $2600. She’s a foreigner. For $2600, she comes with 3 years of relevant experience, extremely smart and self-motivated, always pushing her own limits and doing more than expected, been with us for more than a year now.
We did try to hire lcoals for same salary, but for $2600 (and Adam probably can attest to this), it atmost fetch you a fresh graduate with hardly any experience and requires to be trained before she/he can deliver. The worst is if this is the first job for the local fresh graduate, he is not likely to stay for long. Often I see fresh grsduates leaving their first job within 6 months, when i ask them for the reason, this is the most commonly quoted “that was my first job. I didn’t know what i wanted and still exploring options, and finding myself…” So tell me, why should I pay $2600 for a fresh local graduate, train him up and only to lose him in 6 months because “he’s still finding himself”??
Now, I don’t wish to generalize, you may have a different experience or viewpoint which i respect but suffice to say this is our experience whether the readers agree with us or not.
As in the past, our grandparent worked hard and long to achieved their goals but during that time, opportunities are aplenty, competition among themselves are low. Prices then are affordable to the general public. Many things you can do if you worked for it. Not so now.
Nowadays, even if you want to fight to get a job, you might still bear the consequences in the end since locals have more commitments to satisfy than that of expats. Furthermore, the inflation is staggering but pay is constant. With competition, how can local grads compete with expat if expat is offering a better value?
I felt that the same predicament is happening in almost all developed countries.
Why?
Because in general, not mentioning the selected few talented expats, most “expats” just need a job to survive without worrying on any commitments where they are working in – they just work and leave the country after they gained enough experiences or saved enough. I would say they do not have any financial burden as compared to locals.
So what i see here is that the employers are generally the one benefiting from all these expats in the expenses of all those young locals.
I would say if the expats have the same financial burden as the local counterpart, situation will be totally the opposite and this article will not exist.
However, I do agreed that the younger generation do not have motivation or hunger for success. They just want to get a pay check at the end of the month. But given a opportunity, they will still succeed.
Not here but some other part of the work where we are the expat.
Haiyaa….. What are you trying to sell?
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by James Dutton and zenjewel, Sham Ong. Sham Ong said: Are we, GenY Singaporeans, really losing our hunger for success and fighting spirit to foreigners? – http://tinyurl.com/yays94c […]
Agreed that some younger generation can be quite unrealistic on the pay when they do not have the experience at all. At the same time, there are lots of experienced people who is around middle 30s to 40s who are more realistic, but not given a chance by their own people. Somehow when people reach 40 here in Singapore, future becomes bleak.
However, I have also came across many cases thru friends and relatives that their company employ foreign talent with bombastic education like PHD, MBA.
But, the funny thing is that are such people with such high qualification really suitable for work that required experience? are we saying that the locals lack such experience? and most importantly some of these people are not cheap either..
A lot of companies went high and low looking for foreign talent from other places and at the same tIme, alot of singaporeans (real talented) ones went overseas for better opprotunities.
Sadly to say that Singaporeans have being taught to be obedient, follow laws and study 10 year series and pass exam. How to be creative when you are being streamed as early as primary school? that is why education is important..educate you to think…
who to blame?
singaporeans themselves ?
Now We are encouraged to be cheap to be competitive and we have to take care of ourselves and Not depend on people.
if Not, it is our fault if we become stupid.
how to be cheap with the rising living costs?
In the present situation, it is not what you know that get the jobs, it is who you know…
re your comment “I feel ashamed sometimes when I ask for volunteers to ask questions, and the Singaporeans keep quiet” – why should you ever be? it is ingrained in our(confusion?)culture to accept laid-down orders without question. there is also always the ever present kiasu mindset ‘better to keep your mouth shut and be considered a fool than open it and remove any doubt’. added to fear of possible repercussions
(real or imagined). the official policy is defined as ‘stand up and be identified’ to which one wag retorted ‘to be more easily shor down? – no way’.
doesn’t this go a long way to explain why singaporeans keep quiet?
also the official attitude
Hey Khoo, read this:
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/01/27/hey-sporean-would-you-do-these-jobs/comment-page-3/#comment-65577
read the comments. Wealthy people like you knows no shit. Those who agreed with you are blinded by greed and need serious enlightenment.
Khoo,
U are damned right that foreigners are hot, smart, hungry and greedy. They are. BUT, do you (and your mahjong takis here who are so damned sure abt FTs) stupidly really think that they will stay in that SGD2K job for long? They will learn your trick, mimic you, open shops to compete with you and overtake you. It is not surprising to me that any FTs can do better if they are bent on doing learning centers and marketing like you. That Chinese/Indian are PhDs and rocket scientist, how ABOUT you? As a matter of fact, I would hope these foreigners would overtake and weed out SG boring and un-enterprising SMEs and remake SG with our own Alibaba, Baidu … instead of going into some marketing company and learning centers again!
The responses are interesting because it tells me who are doing well and who are not 😀
[…] I am surprised at how much attention and reactions I have gotten from my post on ‘The Expats Will Rule Singapore‘. I guess it must be a very sensitive topic to many people. I got over 50 comments from that […]
Hi Adam,
Share the same sentiment with you.
I went to Taiwan back in 2006. Although their country infrastructure is not as new & advance like Singapore, but their people soft skills like customer service & attitude are so much better than singaporeans.
I went to Tokyo recently. Also notice that most ramen & sushi restaurants are run by young japanese who feel so proud & professional of their jobs.
Neither do I agree with you or disagree with you.. Fighting spirit for Singaporeans, long gone when we became a democratic society, taking and following everything that our govt does, whether right or wrong. Low Pay, but Expensive Bills we already stopped questioning long back.. and this We is all of us.
Kids nowadays are spoilt, I agree. But they are extremely smart, like you mentioned about your daughter. This is the generation which asks questions. Which is not worried about being wrong.. Lets not underestimate this brilliant bunch of kids..
I do agree the most of the Generation Y (*not all) do have a bit of attitude problem in job. Compare to previous generations, most of them are willing to put in more efforts and less calculative as well.
I like how people like you over-simplify and generalize at each given opportunity you get. So to cut this short, one grifter makes his money by selling rhetoric to simpletons.