100K More Job Opportunities in Singapore

Hey don't just take my word for it. I've heard a lot of horror stories of Filipinos looking for a job in Singapore but didn't get any and that Singaporeans are discriminating against Filipinos. But apparently according to AFP, the demand is quite high.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore will need 100,000 new foreign workers this year to keep on track an economy enjoying a stunning rebound.

The article goes on to say that rich but worker-starved Singapore has historically rolled out the welcome mat for foreigners, whose numbers rose dramatically in the boom of 2004-2007.

But with one in three of the five million people living on the tiny island now a foreigner and citizens complaining about competition for jobs, housing and medical care, the government has been looking anew at its open-door policy.

Nonetheless Lee said the need for more overseas labour was unavoidable despite efforts to slow the influx after complaints from citizens facing tougher jobs competition during last year's recession.

"If we don't allow the foreign workers in, you are going to have overheating," the Straits Times quoted him as telling Singaporean media during an ongoing visit to the United States.

Lee assured Singaporeans the government would manage the inflow of foreign workers with measures such as higher levies on companies hiring from abroad.

But even so, "I'd imagine there will be more than 100,000 extra foreign workers this year," he said.

"I cannot see it otherwise, but we have to accept that."

Experts interviewed by the Straits Times newspaper said this year's expected inflow was still lower compared to previous years.

In 2007, there were 144,500 new foreign workers and 157,000 were hired in 2008, they said.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley said Thursday it expected Singapore's economy to grow by 16 percent this year, ramping up its previous projection of 9.0 percent.

Lee said Singaporeans should not expect such stellar growth every year and cautioned against comparisons with other economies.

"Maybe numerically, the growth figure may be higher than other countries, but I would hesitate to compare myself with China," he was quoted as saying.

"I think if you compare yourself with Shanghai, they may well be ahead of us."

Job Opportunities & Scholarships In Bahrain

While there are a number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are displaced from their jobs due to the global economic meltdown, job opportunities await more Filipinos abroad.

His Highness Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Salman Al Khalifa in an interview disclosed that Bahrain wanted more Filipinos to work in their country.

He said that Filipinos are hardworking and have the skills and professionalism in doing their jobs.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was in Bahrain to meet in the Filipino community as well as to find more job opportunities for Filipinos.

In her speech during the reception for the Filipino community in Bahrain, President Arroyo said that the Prime Minister had expressed to her his appreciation for the skills and professionalism of Filipino workers.

The President also revealed that the Prime Minister told her that Bahrain needs more salesladies for the country's shopping malls and urged her to send more Filipina workers for that particular position.

The latest tally showed that there are 45,000 Filipino workers and the number is still growing, with professional and skilled Filipino workers in high demand.

Meanwhile, some 1,000 dependents in the Philippines of Filipino workers in Bahrain will benefit from the government's scholarship program.

The scholarship program will be implemented starting this coming 2009-2010 school year.

The 1,000 scholarship vouchers worth P5 million under the GMA-CARES program of AMA International University in Bahrain was presented to President Arroyo by Special Envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council Ambassador Amable Aguiluz.

Among the courses covered by the scholarship program are computer operation, information technology enabled program, call center and medical transcription.

Via Philippine Information Agency