Shortage of engineers worries Asia execs
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i'm with you!!! My interest is in networks and bluetooth!!!Originally posted by NuLife:i ready to create the next nokia/symbian or samsung.
who wants to join me ??
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I am a plumber.
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In Singapore, no girls admire engineers coz the big bucks are in finance and kacang-puteh sweat jobs in engineering.
Want to attract girls, go into finance.
True wat! -
If business is a rare chosen path, then my choice of media, film studies and literature can go throw in the poon cho tang?Originally posted by vito_corleone:really meh? from what i'm seeing most are going into engineering and biotech. business is a rare chosen path in singapore,hence the atrocious standards of our business schools 
There is THE path and there is YOUR path.Make your own choices and don't listen blindly to whatever crap that is parroted on the newspapers these days.But bear in mind, when you make your call, you handle the judgement by yourself. -
Engineers are the most underrated and under-appreciated jobs in SG.
They are heaped loads of work, made responsible for just abt everything and paid salaries hardly commesurable to their workscope.
It's sad that when the govt avocated 'more engineers' trend, they failed to realise the implications in working conditions.
We do not have enough recognisation for eng-related jobs. It's unglamourous and filled with overwhelming responsibilties, many of which engineers are not prepared to take. In the end, a person working in the finance industry with a nice air-conditioned office and a desktop working the same number of hours is getting higher wages against an engineer who gets his/her hands dirty, spends more time in a workshop developing repairs and still has to juggle administration and probably a workforce.
With such a poor balance, who wants to be an engineer nowadays? -
Especially the maintainence sector, it sucks.
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Todays update:
http://www.asiaone.com/st/st_20050929_343691.html
More engineering grads opting to work in sectors like finance, real estate
By Bryan Lee, Grace Ng
Sept 29, 2005
The Straits Times
THE cream of Singapore's engineering graduates face a stark choice when they leave college - the no-frills manufacturing plants of Jurong Island or the glitz and glamour of Raffles Place skyscrapers.
In recent years, more and more of these top engineers are opting for uptown jobs in callings such as finance and real estate, where their numeracy skills are in demand.
But the trend has sparked fears that Singapore's vital manufacturing industry is not attracting enough top local talent to stay competitive.
Speakers at the National Manufacturing Conference yesterday said the sector faces a 'key challenge' of recruiting and retaining top engineering brains as it moves into more high-end activities.
Singapore 'already faces some shortage of skills in the manufacturing sector', said Shell Eastern Petroleum manufacturing director Andrew Smith. He said there has been a 'leak of engineering students' into industries such as finance. 'This reflects the quality of an engineering education that is so much in demand in other professions.'
The managing director of the Economic Development Board (EDB), Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, added that the challenge for the manufacturing sector is to motivate engineering students to stay in this profession for the long term.
Mr Ko and Mr Smith were speaking at a panel discussion on Singapore's ambitious blueprint - unveiled yesterday - to double total manufacturing output to $300 billion and raise the skills profile of its workers.
Industry players have also voiced concerns that the quality of students applying for manufacturing jobs has been slipping in recent years.
More than half of the electronics firms the EDB has had discussions with in the past 12 to 18 months said the quality of new applicants for manufacturing jobs was 'not as good as it used to be', said Mr Lim Swee Nian, the director of EDB's electronics cluster.
Economists note that the flourishing services sector, which values engineers highly for their numeracy and analytical expertise, is an increasingly potent lure for top graduates.
DBS regional economist Chua Hak Bin said that thriving sectors such as finance, real estate and tourism can offer talented young graduates higher wages than the manufacturing sector, where pay rates are under pressure owing to stiff global competition.
The director of Action Economics, Mr David Cohen, cited the case of Hong Kong, whose manufacturing centre was gradually hollowed out in the 1990s as its financial and tourism services boomed.
The EDB has unveiled a new education blitz which it hopes will counter the rather unglamorous image of manufacturing jobs. It will develop a TV series that puts the spotlight on career opportunities and the evolving manufacturing landscape, as well as conduct factory tours for teachers, students and the community.
Other efforts include enhancing technical education at all levels and offering workers retraining programmes.
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Brain drain
# Top engineering graduates are valued for their numeracy and analytical expertise.
# More are choosing to work in the thriving services industry, which can offer higher pay than the manufacturing sector.
# Industry players have also voiced concerns that the quality of students applying for manufacturing jobs has been slipping in recent years.
# To address these concerns, the EDB will go on an education blitz to counter the unglamorous image of manufacturing jobs.
# It will develop a TV series that puts the spotlight on career opportunities, conduct factory tours for teachers, students and the community. Other efforts include enhancing technical education and offering workers retraining programmes. -
Now they want qualifed engineers in Manufacturing???
I think its a joke.
Good engineers wud work in R&D field or other field.
Manufacturing is for FTs.
They are saying after years of training, the good ones
shud just operate machines, and do testing work????
Instead of doing more value creation work???
So they mean FTs will do R&D and management
and locals do manufacturing????
The government must be crazy!!!!
They shud make up their mind when to use FTs. -
really? u serious???Originally posted by SilverPal:i'm with you!!! My interest is in networks and bluetooth!!!
if so we email and talk more ok?
make more engineer kakis also good. "p -
It is a fact that banks, insurance and finance companies make very good profit margins and pay stellar bonuses year after year.
Electronic manufacturing companies face stiff competition and squeezed margins. One can only dream of yr-end bonuses.
Still want to be an engineer? -
yar lor media is what old people like to call an "no rice to eat" profession.Originally posted by LazerLordz:If business is a rare chosen path, then my choice of media, film studies and literature can go throw in the poon cho tang?
There is THE path and there is YOUR path.Make your own choices and don't listen blindly to whatever crap that is parroted on the newspapers these days.But bear in mind, when you make your call, you handle the judgement by yourself. -
tell that to all the aspiring engineers in the jc's and poly's..which number..lets see... 80% of their cohort?Originally posted by BillyBong:Engineers are the most underrated and under-appreciated jobs in SG.
They are heaped loads of work, made responsible for just abt everything and paid salaries hardly commesurable to their workscope.
It's sad that when the govt avocated 'more engineers' trend, they failed to realise the implications in working conditions.
We do not have enough recognisation for eng-related jobs. It's unglamourous and filled with overwhelming responsibilties, many of which engineers are not prepared to take. In the end, a person working in the finance industry with a nice air-conditioned office and a desktop working the same number of hours is getting higher wages against an engineer who gets his/her hands dirty, spends more time in a workshop developing repairs and still has to juggle administration and probably a workforce.
With such a poor balance, who wants to be an engineer nowadays?