The first payment of the Jobs Credit Scheme will be credited to some 100,000 employers on 31 March 09. The total sum of $920 million will benefit about 1.3 million workers and, hopefully, save them their jobs.

Eligible employers will receive a 12% cash grant on the first $2,500 of each month’s wages for each employee on their CPF payroll. The remaining quarterly payments will be given at the end of June, September and December. A company is eligible as long as it has made contributions to their employees' Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.

The Jobs Credit Scheme was introduced in the Budget 2009 Resilience Package by the government, with the aim of saving jobs by providing employers with cash grants.

However, there are other implications to consider. Although the Jobs Credit Scheme aims to benefit workers, employers ultimately stand to gain more, as grants are given to all companies regardless of their financial standing. Larger corporations with more workers will receive comparatively more, and can use this money to finance other business aspects.

On the other hand, while jobs may be saved, companies might still impose cost-cutting measures like unfair wage cuts and forced leave, despite the aid received from the Jobs Credit Scheme. Furthermore, companies might still retrench staff, as this scheme merely serves to "help companies refrain from laying off staff"; it is not a deterrent.

Ultimately, time will be the only way to tell if this measure by the government can go a long way to help those truly in need.

What are your honest opinions? Share your comments with us on our JobsCentral Forum!

According to Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, 45,000 new jobs will be churned out in the next two years for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), but they must know where to source for these job openings. His advice for those currently in the job-hunt? "Be flexible and go for training to get the right skills for jobs in new industries."

Singaporeans can look forward to more jobs in the near future, as the upcoming Integrated Resorts and public sector will create more than 20,000 jobs and up to 18,000 jobs respectively. With the opening of new malls such as Ion Orchard, Orchard Central, and Illuma at Bugis, you can expect to see more jobs openings in the retail and service sector too.

Highly qualified individuals possessing master's degrees and PhDs in biomedical sciences have reason to cheer. Investments in biomedical sciences and clean technology will also create some 6,000 new jobs – positions which require your specialised expertise.

Meanwhile, about 2,000 jobs will be made available in the childcare sector over the next five years as 200 additional childcare centres open their doors. Those interested in making a career switch to early childhood education can check out accelerated diploma courses which will be subsidised by the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) scheme.

We hope these nuggets of career news have been useful for you. Stay tuned for more updates on the job market with JobsCentral! Meanwhile, perhaps you'd like to share which industry interests you the most in our JobsCentral Forum!

Here are some headlines that you may have missed over the weekend:

KPE Opens
Getting to work now will be a breeze for residents in Sengkang, Punggol and Hougang, thanks to the opening of the Buangkok East Drive in Sengkang, which connects to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).

The 1.32 km-long stretch was opened on Sunday, and will save motorists up to seven minutes during the morning rush hour. Good news for those who treasure even a few minutes more of beauty sleep!

Not so Great Expectations
Graduates are lowering their career expectations, according to a recent poll of 300 soon-to-graduates from NTU, NUS and SMU.

About half of the respondents are willing to accept a lower pay than what they initially expected, and are open to working in an industry not from their area of study. The respondents were from business, economics and accountancy courses.

Surprisingly, 240 even indicated that they do not mind toughing it out by working shifts and during weekends, suggesting that the harsh realities of the job market are fast making an impact on their own career preferences.

Amidst the doom and gloom, healthcare is set to be a promising sector offering abundant employment opportunities. Health Minister Mr Khaw Boon Wan has said that there are 4,500 job vacancies in the public health sector to be filled over the next two years, ranging from nurses, pharmacists to administrative staff.

Training grants and schemes have been set aside to continually improve our healthcare standards in Singapore, and the East Asia Institute of Management (EASB) has launched a nursing degree in conjunction with the Queen Margaret University, which has been accredited by the Singapore Nursing Board .

This new programme will help to address the current shortage of qualified nurses, and contribute to the government's target of having 25% of nurses holding a degree by 2015. The first intake of 30 students will start their 2-year course in April 2009, and will graduate in 2011. EASB expects between 70 and 100 nurses to graduate annually after this initial batch.

“The demand for trained nurses currently lags supply worldwide. We are therefore very timely in offering this programme now as the need for trained and qualified nurses is stronger than ever due to Singapore’s goal of becoming a healthcare hub and in view of the fast ageing population worldwide,” said Dr. Andrew Chua the Executive Chairman and Principal of EASB.

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Late last year, a group of foreign workers made headlines by protesting outside MOM against their employer. Since then, more cases of foreign workers being shortchanged have emerged.

Just yesterday, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) meted out a slew of 268 charges against four company directors in Singapore for infringing the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).

Some of these charges include deploying foreign workers illegally, providing false information so as to hire 'phantom workers', not providing proper accommodation and not paying workers their salaries on time.

Among these directors are Low Siew Fai, a Director of Tipper Corp who faces 145 charges in total and Paul Lee Chiang Theng, a director of three companies slapped with 100 charges. The third employer faces 20 charges and the fourth unnamed reprobate faces three charges, both for illegally employing Tipper's workers.

To help the affected workers, MOM has assisted 676 of them with salary claims, and has repatriated about 1,000 out of 1,200 workers from Tipper, Gates Offshore and Goldrich Venture who chose to go home. 50 of these workers were able to find alternative jobs and have been granted work permits.

If you are a foreigner who has experienced unpleasant incidents with your current or former employers, do share your story with us here.

These are some headlines you may have missed over the weekend:

Evergreen aging issues
At a wellness carnival for the elderly in Jurong Central on Saturday, PM Lee Hsien Loong emphasised that despite the recession, long-term issues of an ageing population will not be neglected by the government.

Four key areas of focus are: Preparing for a silvering society, upgrading housing estates, bringing up the next generation and strengthening bonds between the young and old. These concerns can be addressed via wellness programmes for the elderly.

Jurong Central, one of 12 estates involved in this programme provided services such as health screening with follow-ups for those with health risks, regular exercise programmes and social activities.

Singapore currently has 300,000 people older than 65, and their numbers will swell to 900,000 by 2030.

IT show nets record $59m
Were you at the IT fair which offered many good deals for the latest gizmos and gadgets? I know I had a few friends who walked away happily with their purchases after an afternoon at the fair. In tech-savvy Singapore society, the fair certainly thrived, bringing in a record sales figure of $59 million.

About 768,000 visitors thronged the Suntec City Convention Centre, and it was so crowded on Sunday afternoon that the police were called in to control the masses surging through CityLink Mall. Human traffic there was allowed to go just one way and there was still hundreds of last-minute shoppers streaming out an hour after the show closed.

This weekend will probably be a busy one for people with kids, as the March school holidays are just round the corner. You can expect shopping malls to be packed with parents who have energetic children in tow. However, why should a crowd dampen your weekend spirits? Here are some recommendations for making the most of your 48 hours.

Entertainment

Encore: An Evening Of Ageless Theatre
Venue: Marine Parade Community Club Auditorium
Date: 13-15 March 2009
Time: 8pm
Price: $10
Contact: Christina Ong at 6440 8115

A theatre group of participants over the age of 50 will be putting up its first official performance – a medley of five short sketches which tell of stories drawn from life in the kampong, memorable first loves and the realities of life for the elderly. Three will be performed in English and two in Mandarin. The cast of 32 theatre enthusiasts have been training for one year under renowned theatre practitioners and are eager to entertain audiences with a splendid performance. This initiative was set up by The Necessary Stage to provide a meaningful activity for senior citizens to engage in.

Häagen Dazs Living Room, MOSAIC Music Festival
Venue: Esplanade Concourse
Date: 13-22 March 2009
Time: Ranges from 5.30pm to 10pm
Price: Free

Brought to you by The Esplanade, the annual MOSAIC Music Festival showcases a series of 45-minute gigs by local and international artistes. Be lulled by a fusion of different genres such as jazz, R&B, soul, pop and many more.

Shopping

The Body Shop
Venue: Suntec Singapore Convention Centre, Gallery West Level 3 (next to Pearl River Palace Restaurant )
Date: 11-14 March 2009
Time: 11am to 8pm

The Body Shop is having a sale at the Suntec Convention Centre, with discounts of up to 70%. A free gift will be given away with purchases of $50 or more for the first 3,000 customers daily. Ladies, look out for good buys here while your guys are checking out the gadgets available at the IT Show 2009, also taking place at Suntec City Convention Centre.

Burberry
Venue: Suntec Convention Hall, Level 3, Hall 303-305
Date: 11-14 March 2009
Time: 10am to 9pm

Burberry-lovers should check out the hot deals available at the Burberry sale happening at the Suntec Convention Hall. It looks like Suntec City is going to be a crowded place this weekend!

Good news for those in the service industry.

The government has launched a $100 million programme to raise service standards in the retail, healthcare, F&B and hospitality sectors. Companies can now sign up with agencies like Spring Singapore to send their workers for relevant training, which will be paid for by the government.

The scheme aims to help employers to keep their staff during this downturn, and up to 50,000 workers stand to benefit from it. 14 malls and 30 companies have already signed up for the programme, known as Phase 2 of the Go the Extra Mile for Service (Gems) drive.

It's no secret that tourist arrivals have dropped due to the global financial crisis, and locals seem to be spending more conservatively. Such an initiative is thus timely, simultaneously raising service standards here and defraying costs that employers have to bear.

Click on the link below to view Hospitality/Tourism/F&B jobs listed on JobsCentral:
http://jobscentral.com.sg/pubsearchjobs.php?cat=18

Help for Single Mums

Sunday was International Women's Day, and in an Asian Survey conducted by American Express, Singaporean women certainly fare better in the workplace than their counterparts in China, Japan and India.

To mark International Women’s Day, "WeCare for U", a project by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), was launched by labour chief Lim Swee Say. The project aims to reach out to divorcees, widows and other single mothers who not only have a tougher time juggling work and family, but also have more difficulties in getting help. They will receive assistance in finding jobs and can join a support group which will arrange activities for them and their children.

Meanwhile, NTUC's Women's Development Secretariat (WDS) will encourage those who cannot go out to work to make use of other skills, like baking or sewing, to help themselves generate an income.

Integrated Resorts Recruitment Drive

The Resort World Sentosa (RWS) booth at the Career 2009 and Education 2009 fair at the Suntec Convention Centre received over 15,000 applications over the four-day career fair which began on Thursday.

More than 800 job openings were available at Sentosa's IR, of which about 400 were for game-table dealing croupiers. There were also 400 full- and part-time positions in the Universal Studios theme park opening in the resort.

RWS will hire 10,000 people when the resort opens in 2010. More recruitment drives will be held in the middle of this year, so do look out for them if you are interested in working at the IRs.

Expatriates Get Axed Too

Children of expatriates are dropping out of international schools here because their parents have lost their jobs in the economic downturn. Ten out of 27 international schools have seen 20% of their students pull out even in the middle of the term. More withdrawals are expected after June, which marks the end of the current school term. However, 14 other schools still report stable student numbers and established schools like the Singapore American School (SAS) remain largely unaffected.