Strong wings, deep roots?

MORE than one in five of the top students from the 1996-1999 A level graduating cohorts are not working in Singapore today. And of those from the same batches who went on to universities overseas without a scholarship bond, more than one in three are today carving out careers outside the country.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong gave these statistics on Saturday to illustrate the urgency of getting young Singaporeans to sink roots here even as they become more entrepreneurial and break out into the global economy.

'If more and more of our bright students do not return, this begs the question whether our success in giving them wings to fly far and high will result in our eventual decline as a nation, especially as we are not even reproducing ourselves.

'No nation will be able to sustain its growth and prosperity without sufficient talent, much less a small country like Singapore without natural resources,' said Mr Goh.

He was speaking to more than 1,000 guests at the 70th anniversary dinner of Chung Cheng High School last night. He urged schools to help students retain their emotional bonds to Singapore, 'so that they think of Singapore as the home which nurtured them, and want to contribute in some ways to the country of their birth'.

To do this, he suggested that schools inculcate in the young certain values, such as being appreciative of those who help them advance in life; and not taking for granted the academic, sports and arts programmes they can enjoy here and abroad, when many children elsewhere cannot.

Mr Goh hoped that the end result of such teaching would be students who have strong links with their schools, close ties with their friends and a strong sense of responsibility to their families - even if they choose to live, work and even settle down overseas.

Switching to Mandarin, Mr Goh said: 'I hope Chung Cheng and our schools will give two lasting bequests to our children. One is strong wings; the other, deep roots.

'Like wild geese that migrate each fall, young Singaporeans should be equipped with the courage, strength and adaptability to venture to distant lands in search of opportunities. But when spring returns, they will come back, as this is their home.'

Indeed, Mr Goh further argued in English, helping young Singaporeans stay rooted here was the most important challenge facing the Education Ministry. This is because the number of young Singaporeans working overseas will grow, given that the education system is producing more and more students equipped with the right skills to go global. - Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times, 28 June 2009

Goh Chok Tong is at it again. These guys at the top still have yet to get it, haven't they? To digress a little, it is nice to see my batch being one of the highlighted ones. LOL.

In addition to the numerous comments posted elsewhere on this issue, I have another one for the Men-in-White. Tell your underlings in the Civil Service/TLCs there has been a mis-communication between the top and middle management levels.

Some overseas Singaporeans are invited to apply for positions back home. Apparently one has to apply at that particular time 'cos the head honchos who are on the campus visit team will be collecting the resumes personally and then passing them on to their HR staffs for priority processing. If you apply outside of this particular time window, your resume goes to a black hole and nobody knows anything about the status of your application.

Meanwhile, the persons in question get offers from the overseas companies/universities which offer much, much better opportunities for their personal growth and career development (even in the current difficult economic conditions).

I can already provide a few real-life examples - Google vs. NUS; Microsoft vs. NUS/A-star; UC-Berkeley vs. NUS/A-star. (A-star in these cases refers to their RIs)

Talent appreciation? Phui! Go on, continue bringing in your planeloads of Indians and PRCs; most of whom see Singapore anyway as a stepping stone to the West and I daresay not exactly 'foreign talents'.

On (potential) bondbreaker from China

An email to the graduate student body was sent out last week, giving us the names of the incoming class of 2008 and the previous institutions they attended (similar to this). There is this person from one of the Singapore universities. She is obviously PRC (I don't think Singaporean Chinese have names spelled like hers, but I could be wrong), and a google-search of her name + university showed that she had topped her undergraduate class recently.

I wonder if she is one of those foreign MOE scholars who broke/is breaking bonds to come to the US for graduate study. I intend to find out when she arrives on campus in the fall.

Now you know why there is so much ill-will and resentment by the Singaporean students towards foreign undergrads in NUS/NTU/SMU when it comes to this topic of foreign MOE scholars (leeching off the goodwill and generosity of the Singaporean tax-paying public).

Brain Drain; It's personal

Long time readers of this blog would know that this is an issue that is very close to my heart. I have lost count of the number of arguments I had with my folks over it. (These two entries are the more memorable ones.) In recent months, I have started filtering out (what my cousin describes as) such *noise* from home.

"We are all grownups and have the rights to make our own decisions. You know what you like and want to do, and you do include your family in your plans, except it's not want they want. That's good enough. You can't please everyone. Your primary responsibility is yourself.

Even if i am labeled as unfilial in their opinion, I don't care as long as i think i am right in my own opinion. I think once you get the green card and show them that you are serious about settling here, they will have to accept the fact, and respect your decision."

This bit of a comment from one of Chiang Nee's readers sums it up beautifully:

All too often, people attribute reasons for emigration to general poverty (economic, individual financial, health care, etc).
I am a Malaysian doctor, and have lived in the UK for over 13 years now. As the only and eldest son of Malaysian Chinese parents (one of 3 siblings), I am expected to return to Malaysia for various reasons. My parents aren't poor. I have just told them that I do not intend to return to Malaysia, and would like to live in London instead.
However, they are unable to comprehend or accept my decision, particularly as they lead prosperous lives in Malaysia.
Your article is particularly apt, as it illustrates that in the current day and age, there are many other reasons for emigration, beyond economic strife.
Even PM Lee Hsien Long's eldest son (and we know the importance of this person's role in the families of our culture), is contemplating not returning to Singapore.
I think people forget, that as general quality of life improve, one seeks other forms of fulfillment. That is just part of natural human development.

.. In the current 'shrinking' world that we live in, where travel and communication is almost universally accessible and available, I certainly hope that people around us will have a more open-minded perception of emigration. That it is not simply attributed to economic opportunities.

Gratitude

This probably comes 3 months too late for Teachers' Day (in Singapore). But I dedicate the last post of 2006 to my ex-teachers. For without them, I won't be in where I am today.

Funny, I don't think I have changed that much since then. I am still learning a lot from my peers.

May the New Year bring forth more challenges and rewards.

Singapore is extremely welcoming if...

"you are highly educated, foreign, and white." - PJ.

Mirrors a discussion I had with a friend (He's a white American) several days ago. We were talking about academic job opportunities (ie faculty openings) and he was saying something about NUS (and A*star) luring some of the big names in a related field, and that they are actively recruiting here. And why he is considering a move there too and asking me more about the country.

"Seems like a good place to go to." He said. I tried hard to keep a straight face. I guess it will be for him. But not for me.

More on Mckinsey and the fight for talent

From: (recruiter)@mckinsey.com
Subject: Reminder about McKinsey's Application Deadline: THIS Sunday, October 8th

Dear (university) students,

Thank you for your interest in McKinsey and Company and for attending our presentation a couple weeks ago. We very much enjoyed meeting all of you, and hope we were able to provide you a better sense of who we are and the type of work we do.

Just a reminder about our upcoming application deadline: this Sunday, October 8th. Again, please refer to our website (www.apd.mckinsey.com) to learn more about McKinsey and to submit your application, if you have not already done so.

As someone who was sitting in your shoes three years ago, I would very much encourage you to continue through this application process if you think consulting is a possible career path. By going through the interview process, I really got a much better sense of whether consulting and McKinsey was the right career move for me. And I have to say, I have not looked back for a second in the past two years that I've been with McKinsey!

I also thought I'd pass along a few interesting articles from the McKinsey Quarterly, which contains articles and scholarship by McKinsey consultants on business, non-profit/public and other industries and functions, and general economic topics. With free registration, you can view these articles and some other content online.

This first article, "When Social Issues Become Strategic," argues that executives need to recognize and act upon the role of business in upholding the social contract:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/ab_g.aspx?ar=1763&L2=39&L3=0&srid=246

This second article, "US Hospitals for the 21st Century," discusses some of the key issues facing US hospital systems and future shifts that are needed, and is related to the example engagement I discussed at the presentation:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_abstract_visitor.aspx?ar=1824&L2=12&L3=61

This third article, "21st Century Organization" calls into question current corporate organizational models that don't meet the needs of the growing professional workforce that adds value through intagibles such as brands and networks:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1628&L2=18&L3=30

Following our campus presentation, we received thoughtful follow-up questions from many of you. I noticed these questions clustered around a few common themes. So, since it seems you have similar questions on your mind, I decided to share my responses broadly. These thoughts are not meant to be comprehensive or overly detailed. I’m simply passing on a few facts to give you additional insight on McKinsey. If you still have questions, I would be happy to have a conversation with you. Thank you for your interest in McKinsey and for taking the time to get to know us.

Flexibility and work/life balance: McKinsey is committed to helping consultants find a lifestyle balance that works for them and leads to a fully rewarding, sustainable career
-We have formal mechanisms in place to help manage the lifestyle of our teams.
1. At the beginning of a study, most teams hold a “Team Learning” to understand everyone’s personal and professional needs and working preferences. This helps the team form norms that accommodate team member’s lifestyle (e.g. start meetings at 9 AM so people can take their kids to school).
2. Periodically during a study, associates anonymously rate their excitement, satisfaction, and lifestyle in a “Team Barometer”. The team’s responses affect how the team leaders are evaluated and highlight problems quickly so they can be addressed.
-Part-Time programs are available for all consultants and are working well to meet people’s overall needs:
1. At present, ~120 people are on part-time programs. They are among the 740 people who have chosen to go part time at some point in their career.
2. 28 partners and 2 directors have been elected while on part-time programs.
3. We do not have a standard approach to part-time or flexible programs. Everyone is different and has different needs. Some approaches that have worked well include: Reduced hours per week; Reduced weeks per year (breaks between studies); Longer leaves of absence; Temporary or permanent track changes.
4. We continue to experiment with new work approaches for all consultants, such as work sharing, which is currently being piloted in several offices.

APDs are as successful as MBAs at McKinsey.
- We are a merit-based organization, which means you proceed as quickly as you are able.
- In all US and Canadian offices, PhD, MD, and JD candidates are hired for the same position as MBA candidates, at the same salary, and typically advance at similar rates throughout their career at the Firm. This is also true of masters candidates who are hired as associates.
- On average, you can expect to progress to the Engagement Manager role 2 years after joining the firm, Associate Principal 4 years after joining, and Partner 5 – 7 years after joining.
- APDs have partner election rates identical to those of MBAs. We currently have over 300 partners who came to the Firm as APDs.
- We continue to hire increasing numbers of APD candidates because they are so successful at the firm.

Continually supporting your personal growth is one of our core values, and something we have been doing for our consultants for over 80 years.
-We are renowned for the quality of our associate development. In addition to our philosophy of providing real-time “on the job” coaching, we continue to create even more training programs for consultants, including increasing our investment in skill development and mobility opportunities.
1. We spend over $35 million dollars annually on training.
2. New Associates can expect at least 27-46 days of formal, tenure-specific training in their first two years at the firm. Even before your first study, you will spend three weeks at “mini-MBA” training.
3. On-going training is role-specific and focused on building your leadership skills.
-Over 4,000 days of partner time are dedicated each year to reviewing how associates have performed, and sharing this feedback with them in order to ensure that their development needs are met.
-Our staffing process is geared towards developing the full skill set of our consultants
-People leadership (i.e. mentorship/development) is one of the five criteria against which everyone at McKinsey is measured, and is a basis for partner elections. In other words, the Firm chooses leaders who are exceptional mentors.

Forge your own path, make your own McKinsey experience
-There is no single path or cookie-cutter approach to success. We value innovative ideas and people leadership. How you choose to spend your time is up to you.
-McKinsey operates in over 80 offices in more than 40 countries around the world. This global network brings with it an unprecedented amount of variety, which translates into unrivaled choice for our consultants.
-Many of our practices and knowledge initiatives have been started by individuals following their own interests and passions. So if you don’t find a path that suits you at the Firm, we encourage you to create it!
We are looking for people who are passionate about having impact in this world and about developing themselves. If that sounds attractive to you, then WELCOME!

Thanks, again, for your interest in McKinsey.

Best regards,
(Recruiter)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Incidentally, the cover story for the Economist this week is "The battle for brainpower".



You know the fight for talent has gone global when you have Indian software giant Infosys coming to recruit aggressively on US campuses.

Sg employers Recruiting Overseas Sg students

To tie in with Mr Wang's and Fox's entries. Email from PSC to recruit overseas Sg students.

Courtesy of loiseaurebelle. (In case you are wondering, this was sent out by the University of Michigan's SSA.)

Hi

There will be two recruitment talks taking place in October:

1. Officials from the Public Service Commission Secretariat will be
hosting an interaction session on 17 October (Tuesday) at 4 pm on
campus to introduce the new initiatives and opportunities available in
the Singapore Civil Service. These include the Mid-term Scholarships
and the Civil Service Internship Programme which are available to
non-scholar undergraduates.

If you are keen on finding out more, please RSVP to Ms Chai Lee Yee,
Development Executive, Public Service Commission Secretariat at
chai_lee_yee (at) psd.gov.sg before 18 September. Refreshments will be
provided and details of the venue will be confirmed later.

2. Contact Singapore, in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of
Singapore, is organising a series of recruitment sessions for some
Singapore-based banks across cities and campuses in the USA. They will
be at Chicago on 20 October. You can consider making a stop there on
the way to Wisconsin, which is where the Midwest Festival will be held
on 21 October. For more information and to register, go to
http://www.dbserver2.com/contactsg/.

So, make yourself valuable to the country by not studying in the local institutions of higher learning.

Technorati: Singapore, education

Going home? Erm, let me think about it...

Opening quote from superstardeejaylawyer:

“The PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) is currently studying how we can better engage overseas Singaporeans, in particular recruiting the young overseas students back to Singapore, and is seeking feedback from the students on how the government could facilitate that.”

Well, for one first thing, don't talk down to us as if we owe Singapore a living. Or anything along the lines of being unpatriotic/dishonorable/rude. The guys are already 2.5 years (of their prime) behind due to NS, and who in the right frame of mind would like to leave behind loved ones and familiar surroundings back home to seek opportunities overseas if they can have it in Singapore? I have no encounters with the PMO, but I can attest to such attitudes from HR personnel of certain stat boards and the local universities when they go on 'recruitment tours' to US campuses. Freely throwing the 'Q' word around as if it is a joke. No, I don't think it is funny at all.

Much has been written (and debated to death) both online and off on this issue since Goh Chok Tong first raised the stayer-vs-quitter thingy during NDR 2002. And readers can go google to see all angles of this debate.

Personally, I think that returning to Singapore will reduce the chances of any student who has harboured thoughts of an international career to actually embark on it.

Ditto that. I can't speak for other fields (deejay gives a good one for lawyers, esp UK-trained ones), but in my area of work, there are only realistically three employers I can work for - and all can be broadly classified as belonging to ONE organisation. Ever heard of the old adage, "Never put all your eggs into one basket?" Job prospects aren't that good anyway.

There's also the money - yeah, accuse me of being shallow, but on the global payscale competitiveness scene (for scientists and engineers), Singapore lags behind those in the US. US-based PhD engineers start off at around USD80k/year (offers range from 60k - 120k), and Assistant (engineering) professors in the local universities about SGD5k/month. You do the math. Some might argue about the exorbitant taxes here, but you don't forget houses and cars are cheaper in the US, if you reside outside of the main metropolitan areas.

You can't blame us mere mortals when even one of the elites chose to stay west.

There are more, of issues like NS (ICTs, RTs, IPPTs), society in general (the silent, conservative majority) and its obsession with the 5 Cs. Read Colin Goh's Paved with Good Intentions.

Ng Boon Yian, a young journalist with TODAY, wrote,

"The skies are airbrushed a gloomy grey. People are not placing any bets on their future."

Laurel Teo, another young journalist, from The Straits Times, lamented,

"The pay has been lousy since we started work. It doesn't look like improving, and we'll have to slog doubly hard just to keep our jobs. Now, we may never be able to make long-term plans such as buying a car or a bigger home … This … is tantamount to the shattering of the Singapore Dream."

I met Boon Yian and Laurel over dinner with some other young journalists. Both ladies are under 30. Laurel is a Singapore Press Holdings scholar. She attended school in RGS and RJC and went on to Yale University in the US. Boon Yian will soon leave on a postgraduate scholarship for Johns Hopkins University in the US.

Why are these two bright, young girls with promising futures not placing any bets on Singapore?

Maybe they were reflecting the low morale and high expectations of their generation... - Goh Chok Tong's National Day Rally 2003

Perhaps, but that's only if one chooses to benchmark using Singapore's standards.

I shall end with deejay's; better make full use of your time to make your dreams overseas. I apologise if I seemed to have ignored familial/SO relationships back home. For many of us, these are the only ones tying us to the island.

What good can fresh graduates do in a system where heirarchy, seniority and bureacracy reigns? Whatever fresh ideas and new thoughts that we might introduce will merely be dismissed as being the 'idealistic wishful thinking of a young upstart'. So, unless that changes and the views of young people are regarded as equally important and useful, both of which are highly unlikely, then perhaps it should not be us that the government should be seeking to attract.

Price of Defaulting NS

A $5K fine if you are a world reknowned pianist. I wonder if Mr Wang has anything to comment on this.

Edit: Mr Wang commented.

Nov 20, 2005
Pianist pays NS dues - 28 years later
He is fined for defaulting on his NS after he decides to return, as his aged parents are finding it difficult to visit him in London

By Kristina Tom

AFTER staying away from Singapore for nearly 30 years because he defaulted on his national service, pianist Melvyn Tan has finally paid his dues.

The 49-year-old, who has lived in the United Kingdom for the last 37 years, has paid a fine for not fulfilling his national service duty and will be performing at the Esplanade next month.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, a visibly relieved Mr Tan said that he is glad to have put the past behind him.

He has not stepped onto Singapore soil all these years because he had feared that he would be arrested and thrown into jail.

But his 86-year-old father and 80-year-old mother are getting too old to make the regular trips to London to visit him at his home in Notting Hill, London.

So he decided to take a 'risk'. After informing the authorities of his intention to return, he came home in April for a court hearing.

The hearing lasted 30 minutes but he had never been so nervous in his life. 'It was very, very nerve-wracking,' he said.

To his relief, he was asked only to pay a fine.

He claims that he cannot remember the amount.

Under the Enlistment Act, those who evade national service can be fined up to $5,000 or sent to jail for up to three years, or both.

Although Mr Tan became a British citizen in 1978, he was still a Singapore citizen when he failed to fulfil his NS duties, making him answerable for the offence in a Singapore court.

In 1994, The Straits Times quoted a lawyer who said that one of his clients, a 39-year-old French citizen, was arrested at the airport on arrival, fined and made to complete nine months of training.

Mr Tan, who has an elder sister, was studying at Anglo-Chinese School when he left Singapore to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Sussex. He was then 12 years old.

After he finished his course, he stayed on in England to study at the Royal College of Music instead of coming home to serve national service in 1977.

He said: 'When I was at the Royal College and I got my final call-up, I was just on the brink of starting a career. I thought about it and thought about it and realised that I was not going to get this chance again.

'So I made that very difficult decision to not return. It meant I could never come back.'

Mr Tan first made his mark in the classical world with his performances on the 19th-century fortepiano, the precursor to the modern concert grand.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he produced a series of recordings that popularised the early music movement, regarded as a slightly eccentric niche within the music world.

He has about 30 recordings to his name and a regular touring schedule in Europe.

Along with Seow Yit Kin and Margaret Leng Tan, he has helped Singapore to gain recognition on the global piano scene.

The pianist is wasting no time in reconnecting with the Singapore music scene.

He goes back to England tomorrow, but will return early next month to sit on the jury of the National Arts Council's biennial National Piano and Violin Competition, which starts Dec 7 and ends Dec 18.

He said that he is getting to know Singapore, which he describes as 'unrecognisable', all over again. And, of course, he has been feasting on his favourite foods such as popiah.

But the best part about being able to come home as a free man was showing up at his mother's 80th birthday party on Thursday.

His parents still live in his childhood home in Lengkok Angsa, off Paterson Road. 'There were a few tears,' he said. 'She was just delighted. It was the best birthday present she's ever had.'

ktom@sph.com.sg

Sammyboy.com's Coffee Hub has more, while talkingcock's seemed too real to be funny.



Your time in NS is cheap, oh yeah, your life too.

Edit: Harsher penalties on the horizon for 'draft dodgers'. More liability to you, the Sg male.

Wandering Scholar(s)

Two months ago, Mr Wang blogged about a PSC scholar wannabe, and how his thoughts (and most likely that also of his peers in the premier junior college in the Bishan-AMK area) is a slap in the face for the local universities' aspirations to become world-class institutions.

Today I read in a Technology magazine about an ex-President's cum Lee Kuan Yew Scholar being selected by a distinguished panel of judges as one of the top technology innovators under age 35 (as of October 1, 2005). Now, don't get me wrong. She definitely did Singapore proud, although I was surprised at her in taking up a faculty position at Caltech. I was expecting her to return to NUS or NTU as a member of the teaching/research staff.

It was only last week that the Economist had published a slew of articles on the state of global higher education. Competition for talent is now global; if you are one, the world will be your oyster, PSC scholar or not.

"Better brain drain than brain in the drain." - Rajiv Gandhi (1944 - 1991), late Prime Minister of India

I have provided a copy of the Economist article (in pdf format) in case anyone had missed last week's issue.


Good job, Tracey!