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Singapore looks to crackdown on maids with tourist visas

Written by lisa on April 25, 2013 · Leave a Comment

The Singapore government has said it will begin to crackdown on domestic workers coming into the country looking for work in the Southeast Asian country, a new memo from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said. It added that women suspected of applying for tourist visas will also be denied visas to the country as a precaution.

The Straits Times reported that the MOM added that foreign maids already working here who are found to have entered Singapore as tourists will have their work permits revoked.

“This is to get around Manila’s regulations stating that employers should bear domestic workers’ placement fees, which on average cost $2,000, or four months’ salary,” the report said.

The MOM said it “would like to remind Singapore employment agencies and employers that a prospective foreign domestic worker should not be coming to Singapore as a tourist in the hopes of looking for employment”. Read more »

Categories: Country: Singapore - Tags: , , ,

Singaporean workers found to be ‘most happy’ since 2009

Written by lisa on November 15, 2012 · Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Overall Work Happiness Score has reached its highest since the inception of the survey in 2009.

According to the JobsCentral Work Happiness Indicator Survey, the Overall Work Happiness Score for Singaporean workers this year reached 59.8.

This is compared to the 56.4 logged in 2009. Out of the total 3,299 respondents that responded to the online survey from September to October this year, 22.5 per cent ranked ‘salary’ as the most important job attribute.
‘Work-Life balance’ and ‘advancement opportunities’ tied in second position.

“The labour market in Singapore has remained tight and worker mobility is still high. This means that people have choices when it comes to jobs and if they are unhappy with their current ones, they would simply get new jobs,” said CEO of JobsCentral Group Lim Der Shing.

“We have also seen wage pressures across all sectors and workers are getting higher salary, which is always an important factor for work happiness,” he added.

Mr Lim also acknowledged that ‘work-life balance’ is a major concern of workers in Singapore, saying that “employers should have in place work-life balance friendly policies that prevent excessive or unnecessary over-time”. Read more »

Categories: Work in Singapore - Tags:

The 10 happiest jobs in Singapore

Written by lisa on November 15, 2012 · Leave a Comment

 

SINGAPORE – Workers in Singapore are happier now than they have been in the past four years, a JobsCentral survey has revealed.

A total of 3,299 employees who responded to the 2012 JobsCentral Work Happiness Indicator Survey gave Singapore an overall score of 59.8, which is higher than last year’s top score of 57.4, and the highest since the annual survey was conducted in 2009.

People who work in the editorial or translation industries registered the lowest Work Happiness score of 54.2 on average, making them the least satisfied of all workers by job function.

Higher numbers of low-scorers were also found among those working in merchandising/purchasing, administrative, finance and customer support fields.

The happiest workers were found to be in the compliance, business development and public relations (PR) fields.

This result is also very different from the previous year’s, when PR workers were ranked the unhappiest in Singapore.

When classified by salary group, JobsCentral reported that those who earned between $9,000 and $$9,999 were the least satisfied.

On the other hand, those who earned slightly lower at wages of $8,000 to $8,999 monthly had the highest scores of happiness.

Among the factors which workers say were important to them, salary was ranked the highest. This is followed by work-life balance and advancement opportunities, both ranked second most important. Read more »

Categories: Jobs in Singapore - Tags:

Exporting health to Singapore

Written by lisa on October 17, 2012 · Leave a Comment

With few opportunities at home and a big demand in the booming Asian city-state, many young Irish healthcare professionals are taking positions there, writes CLIFFORD COONAN in Singapore

A RECENT SURVEY named Singapore as the richest country in the world, and with great wealth has come the attendant health issues, such as diabetes and chronic illnesses associated with greater longevity.

Singapore is looking to increase the number of health professionals to meet growing demand for care by 50 per cent in the next eight years, a rise of 20,000 people.

All of which is a great opportunity for Ireland, and the country’s profile in medicine in Singapore is extremely high.

One of the best-known figures in the healthcare scene in Singapore is Dr Cormac O’Muircheartaigh, who is medical director of the Singapore Sports Council. Read more »

Categories: Country: Singapore

Working adults pursuing part-time degrees getting younger: UniSIM

Written by lisa on October 4, 2012 · Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE: SIM University (UniSIM) said working adults opting to undertake the university’s part time degrees are getting younger.

This is due to the availability of more government fee subsidies, and a higher number of polytechnic students pursuing degrees straight after graduating.

About 70 per cent of its total applications are from those between the ages of 21 and 30.

Twenty-seven-year-old Khairul Rusydi Khamaruddin’s career in aviation is finally taking off.

He worked for a year with the Ministry of Education as a corporate support officer, teaching secondary school students basic aircraft knowledge-gleaned from his diploma in aeronautical engineering.

In 2008, he decided to further his studies and enrolled in UniSIM’s Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Systems.

Khairul now works at a local company that specialises in unmanned aerial vehicles.
Read more »

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Y-Axis Overseas Career launches X! Travel Club

Written by lisa on September 22, 2012 · Leave a Comment

HYDERABAD: As part of its travel experience, integration strategy to serve multi needs, city-based career and immigration consultant Y-Axis Overseas Careers today announced the launch of X! Travel Club, a multi-brand one-stop overseas travel consulting store here.

X! Travel Club – offers ” X! Tailor-Made Holidays” which are personalised Holiday packages that allows customers to express what they want to experience and XTC would create a holiday package from start to finish, Xavier Augustin, Co-Founder of X! Travel Club told reporters.

Unlike typical packages there are no deadlines, no deposits and not many conditions. The holiday is created around the central assumption that every client’s travel needs are different and unique. Even if a couple is travelling, both of them have their own tastes and preferences and would like a holiday where both can enjoy, he added.

Y-Axis is upbeat about its new X! Travel Club concept specifically targeted to the Indian ‘Customised Travel’ Class with its Multi Brand format. With an expected 50 million Indians opting to travel abroad by 2020 from the current level of 16 million, X! Travel Club expects substantial customer footprints for its services, Xavier said.

Y-Axis plans to expands this service in 8 cities in the next 18 months, he added.

21 SEPTEMBER, 2012

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/y-axis-overseas-career-launches-x-travel-club/articleshow/16491729.cms

Categories: X!Travel Club - Tags: ,

Y-Axis to invest Rs 20 cr for expansion

Written by lisa on September 22, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Y-Axis, a Hyderabad-based overseas career consultant, is planning to invest Rs 20 crore to expand its operation across India over the next 12 months.

Launching its X! Travel Club, a multi-brand one-stop overseas travel consulting travel store, at Hyderabad, Sabina Xavier, co-founder and chief operating officer of Y-Axis, said, “We have lined up investments to set up eight such stores across the country over the next 12-18 months, and to increase our brand presence through aggressive advertising and marketing.”

The projects will be funded through internal accruals, she told Business Standard.

X! Travel Club focuses on building strengths in providing new experiences like yachting, golf, cruise holidays, caravans, around the world across Singapore, Malyasia,Thailand, Dubai, Egypt, London, Istanbul, etc. “We are upbeat about the new travel club concept that is targeted at the Indian customised travel class,” she said.

“With an expected 50 million Indians opting to travel abroad by 2020 from the current level of 16 million, the travel club expects substantial customer footprints for its services,” said.

Currently, Y-Axis s operational across 20 company owned office in India with 500 trained travel experts. Currently, it gets travel related 20,000 enquiries per month.

Itishree Samal

September 21, 2012

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/y-axis-to-invest-rs-20-cr-for-expansion-/187867/on

Categories: Y-Axis - Tags: ,

Work a year as part of your degree

Written by lisa on August 30, 2012 · Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE – Undergraduates could work in a company for up to a year while they obtain their qualifications at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

SIT, which is to be Singapore’s fifth autonomous university, will be embarking on an industry-oriented approach through the Cooperative Education Programme, as it opens admission to International Baccalaureate students as well.

SIT’s existing cohort consists of mainly students from polytechnics and a handful of ‘A’-level students.

Under the Co-Op programme, undergraduates take on extended work attachments and are involved in “work and projects that impact the company”, according to Professor Tan Thiam Soon, who will be SIT’s President-designate effective Sept 1.

They will also receive pay higher than a typical internship salary, commensurate with the work they do.

The programme is used in universities such as Drexel University in Philadelphia in the United States, where students can opt for the four-year degree course with a minimum six months of work, or the five-year degree course, which requires up to 18 months of work.

Read more »

Categories: Work Permit - Tags: ,

Part-time workers to benefit from new training programme

Written by lisa on August 23, 2012 · Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE – Part-time workers will be better prepared for jobs, with a structured training programme being developed by SPRING Singapore and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

They are working on a formalised training plan, following a pilot national programme, conducted from September last year to June this year.

That programme was for part-timers in the retail and F&B sectors and attracted 90 companies. About 2,500 part-timers were recruited and trained.

Ms Joey Ong has been working part-time since she was in Secondary Two. The 18-year-old student was recruited by the company she worked for and started work without any formal training.

Last year, she joined the pilot programme for part-time workers. She was hired by an employment agency, TTC Group, and was trained before being deployed to Palm Beach restaurant.

Ms Ong said: “During the training, they taught us how to serve food, how to place the cutlery on the table, how to handle difficult customers. Through the training, I’ve learnt a lot of things. I feel that the training really helps and I use it when I’m at Palm Beach restaurant.”

After the training, part-timers were evaluated and graded. Those who met the evaluation criteria were selected for deployment, while part-timers who failed to meet the mark will undergo re-training.

Read more »

Categories: Work in Singapore - Tags: ,

Changes announced to dependent privileges for Singapore work pass holders

Written by lisa on July 17, 2012 · Leave a Comment

The Singapore government has announced that, from 1 September 2012, a significantly higher minimum salary level will be required for S Pass and Employment Pass holders to qualify to bring dependants in to Singapore.

Additionally, the list of family members who qualify as dependants will be changed for P1 and P2 Pass holders. The government has specifically stated that this is a measure taken to moderate the growth of the non-resident population of Singapore.

From 1 September 2012, S Pass and Employment Pass (EP) holders will need to earn a fixed monthly salary of at least SGD$4,000 per month to sponsor the stay of their spouses and children. Previously, the minimum level was SGF$2800 a month.

Qualifying dependants for P1 and P2 pass holders

P1 Pass holders will no longer be able to bring in their parents-in-law. They may still bring in their parents, spouses and children.

P2 Pass holders will no longer be able to bring in their parents or parents-in-law. They may still bring in their spouses and children.

Existing family members in Singapore

The minimum salary changes will only apply to all dependants of Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders who arrive in Singapore after 1 September 2012.

Applications for dependants of EP and S Pass holders who are already in Singapore or will be arriving before 1 September will not be affected by the new rules.

Renewals of stay for dependants of existing EP or S pass holders will also be granted in accordance with the previous minimum salary requirement, as long as the pass holder remains with the same employer.

However, it is important to note that if the main applicant moves to a new employer, he/she will need to meet the new minimum salary requirements in order to continue to sponsor his/her dependants’ stay in Singapore, since the new pass application would be considered a new application rather than a renewal application.

Work privileges

Work privileges for dependent pass holders remain unchanged. Dependent pass holders who are dependents of Employment Pass holders can continue to apply for Letters of Consent in order to take up employment in Singapore. Dependants of S Pass holders or dependents in Singapore with Long Term Visitor Passes (LTVP) (as opposed to Dependent Passes) may continue to apply for work passes.

Action items

Note the new minimum salary levels in order for EP or S Pass holders to qualify to bring dependants to Singapore, and ensure that your assignees meet these requirements, or that applications for new employees/assignees where salary levels are not met are submitted prior to 1 September 2012.

16 July 2012

http://www.relocatemagazine.com/immigration-a-visas/immigration-a-visa-news-main/5362-changes-announced-to-dependent-privileges-for-singapore-work-pass-holders

Categories: Singapore Visas - Tags: , , , , ,

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