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ST: 60% feel they have good jobs, degree unessential

ST SURVEY: 60% FEEL THEY HAVE GOOD JOBS, DEGREE UNESSENTIAL

The Straits Times’ (ST) headline article today (3 Aug) claims that 6 in 10 people in Singapore feel their jobs are good.

In addition, 6 in 10 people think that a university degree is not essential to securing a good job.
Commissioned by ST, the survey of 501 Singaporean residents aged 16 to 62 was conducted by Degree Census Consultancy through phone interviews from 20 June 2013 to 2 July 2013.
On its website, Degree Census highlights many accolades accorded to them. One Ministry purportedly commended:

“We liked the reports they (Degree Census) did. It was very professional and well organized with details. The Lead Consultant would take the initiative to provide valuable suggestions based on previous experiences and their team would explore the findings further with their statistical tools. This is the kind of value-add we are expecting from a good research firm.”

ST said that the survey provided “snapshots of the Singapore worker’s priorities and concerns as society wrestles with the tensions of easing the stressful pace of life and staying ahead amid global competition.”
“These are all issues that have surfaced in the Our Singapore Conversation.”
There were as many pessimists as there were optimists among the 501 people surveyed. A majority of the pessimists cited competition from foreigners and the young’s poor work attitude as the two biggest obstacles to come between future workers and a good job.
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat welcomed the finding that 6 in 10 believe a university degree is not necessary to getting a good job.
He said, “I am encouraged that many Singaporeans recognise that getting a good job depends on many factors, and not just on paper qualifications.”
Mr Heng said that CEOs have told him that they look for qualities like integrity, creativity and the ability to communicate clearly.
Indeed, even PM Lee told polytechnic students a few months ago that they did not need to aim for a degree. By working for a few years or starting a business, “you will gain experience and understand yourself better, and then be better able to decide what the next step will be”.
Interestingly, the survey also showed that 4 in 10 of those without a degree plan to get one in the future.
Popular blog The Alternative View interprets the survey differently:

Now if you read the headline, you would take the survey as a sign that PAP has done well in providing Singaporeans with “good jobs”.
But reading between the lines surfaces a few observations:
1. The survey includes permanent residents. Why, of course PRs would already have good jobs before they take up the permanent residency! Otherwise they would not even have considered staying here.
2. The report does not disclose what is defined as “good job”. We know that survey questions can be loaded so that the results are skewed to what one wants to hear. E.g. The survey could have defined a “good job” as one that lasts from 9 to 5, regardless of the pittance pay and low promotion prospects.
So could the Straits Times show Singaporeans some respect and not think we can easily buy into its propaganda? 

TODAY: Stop aid for smokers if they don't kick the habit

An average smoker here would spend about $12,000 over five years on cigarettes. Smoking also incurs other costs and externalities on oneself, those exposed to second-hand smoke, the healthcare system and economy.

Seen in this context, what is the number of smokers on state-or constituency-level financial assistance? Since smoking is financially draining and a dysfunctional habit for the economically challenged, would the administrators of aid programs consider withdrawing aid for those who will not commit to a smoking cessation program and kick the habit?

There are parallels with gambling and the third-party casino exclusion orders on people and receiving financial aid from ComCare or who default on Housing and Development Board rental payments.

Part of what drives this exclusion is the incompatibility between financial aid and gambling. Likewise, continuing financial assistance for a smoker without mandating smoking cessation is a misallocation of resources.

This does not bode well in helping the economically challenged to get on the road to financial security. Smoking not only drains their financial resources, but also weakens their productive capacity by giving them poor health and compelling them to take smoke breaks doing work.

The ministries responsible for assistance programs, healthcare and social development should resolve this perverse situation with concrete measures.