Singapore's
Jobless graduates
I reported it outside Singapore years ago: a carefree, laid-back youthful life financed by parents. By Seah Chiang Nee
Nov 21, 2004

ABOUT 25 years ago, Bali introduced me to a new phenomenon about educated youths from the West at play.

While millions of Asians were without work, a large number of Germans, Australians and Americans could be seen on this paradise island taking in the sun, sand and sea for months at a stretch.

The laid-back life was so good and the prospect of a job back home so daunting that many didn't want to leave.

During one reporting assignment, I saw a large number of them hanging around the Denpasar post office, waiting for money from home.

Many of these backpackers, one told me, were fresh graduates who had decided to take a brief Bali holiday before looking for a job. Somehow, the days extended to months - and even years.

The person who talked to me was a fresh accountant graduate from Sydney who had been in Bali for eight months. He knew of someone who had stayed for two years.

"This carefree life is addictive. Once hooked, it's hard to break free," he admitted.

"My worry is getting back to a normal life without forgetting what I learned in university."
These were the children of the baby-boomers in the rich West. That was the 80s. Their parents were willing and able to pay for their leisure.

Increasingly, today's Singaporean youths are following their path, perhaps to a lesser degree.

Last week, the Ministry of Manpower announced that more and more degree holders under 30 are not working. In June, some 9,000 graduates were unemployed, about 20% more than two years ago.

That works out to about a quarter of Singapore's current annual birth rate.

Some, of course, couldn't find meaningful jobs because of a poor market but many, it appears, are choosing not to work and living off their parents.

According to The Straits Times, they get about S$300 pocket money a month, which would afford them a decent living.

The extent of this lethargy has come as a surprise to older folk. Isn't this a city renowned for hard work, the sort where being unemployed used to be a social stigma?

With so many new graduates yearly, the presence of unemployed degree-holders no longer shocks anyone.

Out of a total cohort of about 35,000 a year, about 20% are university graduates and 40% diploma-holders.

For me, it's like reliving some of the problems I had reported in other countries a generation ago.

The headline made me recall what (then Prime Minister) Lee Kuan Yew once said about unemployed graduates.

Commenting on the street violence that often marred life in India and Pakistan in those days, Lee attributed it partly to the large number of out-of-work graduates.

They were a potential source of instability. Their education allowed them to organise, plan or lead violent revolutions and they had the free time to do so.

Since then, the world has changed, of course. Better opportunities have reduced the chaos and violent revolutions.

This doesn't apply to Singaporean graduates, unemployed or under-employed. They are neither violent-prone nor too keen on taking down anyone outside a video game.

But they are more likely to migrate to other countries with their skills and their families.
A growing number is also registering its anger in the Internet or depriving the government of votes. A few may even join or start an opposition party.

Years ago when I was a newspaper editor, a German businessman I had lunch with in Bonn broached the subject of the unemployment dole, saying it was ruining Western Europe.

I remarked that the Germans were a disciplined, hard-working people and he said: "Yes, but the youths are losing it."

If you looked at welfare queues, he said, you'd probably find they're mostly below 40 years old.

"The older people who are entitled to it are too ashamed to publicly collect these cheques, but not the young people."

Among the young, there was no sense of shame, he added.

I suspect the same is true of many youths here. The vast majority of youths are serious and hardworking, but values are changing.

There are two common viewpoints.

One is a belief that they deserve a long holiday after studying hard for 16 years - from Primary One to university graduation.

The second is a worry that the new trend shows they are pampered, lazy and unable to compete without the government providing them jobs.

It doesn't augur well for the future. They have to compete against leaner, hungrier youths from poorer countries who are prepared to accept less for doing the same hard work.

Currently in line with a stronger economy, the job market has improved with unemployment likely to fall below 4% by year-end but sentiments remain weak because of the following reasons: -

* Globalisation. Industries and jobs continue to relocate from Singapore to "cheaper" countries, albeit at a slower pace.

* Job outsourcing. Many employers are outsourcing their operations overseas, like IT and accounting, with further threat of job losses.

* Foreign influx. More foreign professionals are allowed to work here as the government pushes ahead with its policy to attract talent and arrest a population decline.

As Singapore opens itself up to the world for its survival, its graduates will face severe competition from abroad.

Some of the trade agreements are allowing not only free flow of goods and services, but immigration, too.

Singapore will, for example, soon sign a historic trade agreement with India that will allow it to invest billions of dollars in India's infrastructure.

In return, India will grant its professionals greater access to work in the island's burgeoning services industries, where salaries are up to 10 times higher.

Another source of competition is Singapore's education hub ambition. It is rolling out the red carpet for foreign students.

Tens of thousands are coming from China, India and neighbouring countries. The high-achievers will find it easy to get a job and settle here.

"Yesterday's luxury is today's necessity," a youth states online.

For Singaporeans, a university degree is no longer the key to a good life because they'll have to compete with Asia's rising masses.

(This article was published in The Sunday Star on Nov 21, 2004)