Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_...

Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry

Published on Feb 1, 2012 By Andrea Ong

Singapore
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The Education Minister is concerned about the number of employers who have said that Singaporean students lack drive and the confidence to venture out of their comfort zone. These are the very qualities that chief executives and entrepreneurs singled out to him as being essential to succeed in the competitive global playing field. Mr Heng Swee Keat was speaking to some 300 university students at a forum at the Singapore Management University (SMU) last night. He recounted his meeting earlier in the day with a group of CEOs who own their own companies.

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Education Minister Heng Swee Keat at the forum with (from left) SMU business undergraduate Mohamed Irshad, who is also president of SMU Apolitical, which organised the event, Ms Mayumi Soh and forum moderator Ryan Tan. At the event, Mr Heng recounted a meeting earlier in the day with CEOs, several of whom had said they were not seeing enough drive in Singaporean students. -- ST PHOTO: TED CHEN

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When he asked what personal qualities are necessary to succeed, many of them said: Drive. 'They said, 'We think this is going to be critical (but) we are not seeing enough of this',' said Mr Heng, who was surprised at the number of CEOs who mentioned it. 'I said, how can that be? Our students work very hard,' he added. He had a long discussion with them, which did not throw up any solutions. Another missing trait in students here is their willingness to leave their comfort zones and try something new, said Mr Heng. One CEO described the differing responses from a Singaporean worker and a European worker, when promoted. In Europe, when the CEO told workers he wanted to try them out in a new role with different responsibilities, 'the staff asked, what sort of training will I get, how will you help me succeed, what will I do, and so on'. But when the CEO approached Singaporeans, he was shocked by the response: 'What if I fail? Do I still have a job? Is there a support system, and do I get retrenchment benefits?' Mr Heng said students will also need two other qualities: An ability to adapt in a rapidly changing world and to collaborate across cultures. He said these qualities are a means to achieving a meaningful career, which was a subject he chose to speak about at the start of the forum. Besides looking inwards to their aspirations, students should also look outwards and to the future, said Mr Heng, a first-term minister. SMU business undergraduate Mohamed Irshad, 22, agreed with Mr Heng that Singaporean students will need to be more adaptable as they go out into the global working world. 'Many of us will not end up doing jobs related to our degrees. We will have to be more adaptable, more street smart - things that are not taught in school,' said Mr Irshad. He is also the president of SMU Apolitical, the association which organised the forum, which was also attended by students of the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Mr Heng also sketched out three challenges which Singapore faces going forward. One, the challenge of 'man against machine', which will persist as technological advancements transform the economy and workforce. Two, the instability of the global economy, which means that financial crises will recur. With Europe mired in a debt crisis and many countries fighting high unemployment, another crisis is on the horizon, and there is no guarantee that the economy will continue to grow, said Mr Heng. Three, increasing competition from giant developing economies like China and India, which boast a surfeit of cheap talent and a large domestic consumer base - factors Singapore lacks. Mr Heng cited a recent New York Times article on Apple, an American company which now manufactures its products in China. Apple's executives needed an estimated 8,700 engineers to oversee the workers manufacturing iPhones. Analysts predicted it would take

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2/2/2012 6:01 PM

Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_...

nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States, but in China, it took just 15 days. To address these challenges, there needs to be a 'Singapore plus plus' strategy centred on a strong Singaporean core, he said. 'Developing that core allows us to create many more opportunities for many people, including people in the lower income group,' he added. He will speak more on plans to develop Singaporean talent in a few weeks' time. The 'Singaporean core' will be augmented by skilled foreigners who are the next 'plus', which is being able to connect with the rest of the world.

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I hope MOE will contact their counterparts in Wellington and NY to learn what are their education policies are in relation to:The experience story of Ms Neini Curulala, a NZ practitioner of the Divine Light, a policy adviser on education to the NZ Govt. The link on this is in my Facebook: tan kok tim the experience story of Ms Robin Kagan, a NY practitioner of the Divine Light, on how she transformed a notorious school in NY into a model school for others to follow. She appeared on TV to relate her experiences and has been appointed consultant to many schools in NY in solving educational issues in problematic schools. The link is also in my Facebook: tan kok tim Also,
1. Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry 2. Former MediaCorp actor acquitted of cheating 3. Secret's out: Philippine president dating Korean 4. Taxi firms hit hard by new CNG duty 5. Travel offers to woo Singaporeans to Japan 6. Aussie bus boss gives $20 million bonus to staff 7. Yusheng 'definitely not from Singapore', says restaurateur 8. SMRT Q3 net profit falls to $37 million 9. Postman bitten by dog, gets beaten up by owner 3 days later 10. Far East's offset on stamp duty 'not wrong': Property consultants

Young Singaporeans are like young Chinese - spoiled little emperors who complain about everything.

I note the different opinions towards this article. Perhaps we can consider "driven" in relation to the external markets. Many who disagrees with this article points out that Singapores are driven, they work hard to get what they want. Indeed, we Singaporeans are hard working lot. This is the 'kiasuism' instilled in us at a very young age, where we need to work hard to get into good jobs, earn money. I believe many new parents are still doing the same now, driving kids to all kinds of classes even on weekends! This is also in the hope that children grew up to be driven, hardworking folks like their parents. When at work, Singaporean work beyond their working hours, usually not getting home till 8 or 9pm. This is how we define "driven". Perhaps, we can reconsider this: Is hardworking = driven?

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2/2/2012 6:01 PM

Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_...

Many argued that Singaporeans are not driven, including CEOs and Entrepreneurs. I can fully understand this. This is in comparison with employees from other countries such as China, India, Philippines. Many out there have gone through hardships, to get the degree, to get to the position, and next wanting to get to a higher position. Singaporeans sought for balance of work and life. Many not wanting to go beyond the comfort zone of Singapore, which is indeed very comfortable for living, many when given higher position, said, no, I choose to be in my current position, there's many other considerations in life - children, parents, spouse. In comparison to our neighbouring countries, the people will die for the higher positions. I see a family in China husband in one city, wife in another city, child with grandmother in another country - all working towards a better life for themselves, they don't just wait for opportunity to be given to them, they ask for it to be given to them, even though they may not be ready for it. and entrepreneurs see as 'driven'. But this is also not the Singapore value that was instilled in us, we believe in keeping our family whole - support the young, support the old, stay near parents, keep your family intact. In addition, in our Singapore system, the academically intelligent goes through a system, challenges unlike those that have to fight for survival. Those who made it in school get into good colleges, good companies, esp scholars, their life is set for them, when they are the top scholars. They go through accelerated career advancement, unlike those who have to fight to even keep their jobs. They were given many opportunities to prove themselves, it is unlikely that they will fail, because their bosses will ensure that they succeed. Are they truly measured based on performance? Do they have to work harder than others to prove themselves? Can this group of people truly understand what it means to be driven if they have not been truly challenged all their life? Perhaps there's a need to reconsider what it means to be "driven" in the Corporate world, in a highly competitive market (beyond Singapore), and also review our Singapore education, value, beliefs, our selection criterias for top talents on a wholistic view, that had caused us to be harworking, no doubt, but less "driven" or lack of "drive".
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This is how these CEOs

JOUSTERR " Fivefoot, you asked why we (how many?) are kiasu and pessimistic/skittish..." Jousterr, I am surprise. When I shared "The question is "Why"?.." I am referring to "why there is a lack of drive in Singaporean students as suggested from the article"... Anyway, it's my bad cos I haven't posted a complete sentence. So your post to me is irrelevant. But I must say I enjoyed your references and points offered. If I may, please do clarify with me first will do? Thanks.

Most real singaporean students with drive and who gets out of their comfort zone is forced out of the country for university.. Sometimes i prefer foreign trash over foreign talents so we can train more local talents
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