Jobs in the front line

Even though we are In a recession, there are still jobs in the front-line. Jobs in which you face the customers and provide a service for them still exists. Bank tellers, customer support, front counter staff, call centres, tele-marketing and sales staff are some examples.

These are jobs that needs a personal touch, where every situation is different. It cannot be automated like an assembly line in a production factory.

People buy because they have a “want” rather than a need. This is rather surprising as you would have thought that we are all logical and rationale beings. Yet very often, we buy because of emotion. We buy because we feel good, we feel we deserve a small celebration when we have achieved a desired result or it felt like the right thing to do at that moment. This applies to men as well as to women.

Shops and companies will always need sales staff. In recession, it is more important to have good sales staff as people may need a bit more persuasion before they buy. Sales staff can decide which benefits are relevant to the person after asking a few questions and close the sale quickly.
Customers like to be shown how a product works rather than go home and read the thick user manual. They may have questions on certain aspects of the product and will come back to the person who sold it to them.

Customers may have some small complaints that a customer services staff can easily solve. Then the company has a satisfied customer who will probably buy other products from the same sales staff. Otherwise, people will ask for a refund.

Front line staff bring in the money or keep the money within the company. Office based staff, whether in mid-office or back office are only overheads. Hence they are more at risk of being retrenched as they do not contribute to profits. In a recession, there is less sales and therefore less need for high efficiency in the processing.

Please contact me if you want to join our Work and Study Program in the services industry. In my previous post you know that Singapore is doing many things to attact tourists, including hosting major sports events.

Singapore welcomes foreign talent

Singapore has leapt to "developed country" status in just one generation. This is a country with a population of only 4.5 million with around 1 million foreigners. There are many Multi-National Companies in Singapore and some of these companies have their regional headquaters in Singapore. There is a significant number of expatriate staff of these Multi-National Companies in town.

Singapore is a pragmatic society. There is already about 1 million foreigners in Singapore. Singapore wants to have a population of 6.5 million, an increase of 2 million people. A significant portion of this will be foreigners as the birthrate in Singapore is about 1.2.

You can be one of the foreign talents whom Singapore welcomes. There is an acute shortage of skilled staff in the Tourism and Hospitality industry in Singapore. With a Work and Study program, you can get a job immediately while you study to get a Diploma or Advanced Diploma awarded by the Association of Business Executives.

For more information, send an email to jonathan.chan@harrietgroup.com.

Warriors act FAST to stay alive, what about you?

I was away for 4 and a half days of training, entitled Enlightened Warrior Training Camp in Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Malaysia. A warrior fights because he has no other choice; if he does not fight he will lose his life, his loved ones will be enslaved and his hard-earned possessions will be taken away. A warrior may never have to fight a battle - he may live through peaceful times. In troubled times, a warrior have may to fight in many battles, maybe many wars too. In a battle, warriors have to ACT fast to stay alive.

On my return, the newspapers are FULL of news of possible global recession, AIA in Singapore is retrenching staff, the government warns of recession into next year, of more retrenchment and there are numerous articles of comparision to the GREAT DEPRESSION 80 years ago. The near future can be very difficult for those who are just entering the job market as well as for those whose job is not safe if retrenchment occurs. You will literally have to fight to get a job.

You choose to prepare for the battle ahead in many ways. One way is to get a job NOW as our program is a Work and Study Program - we will place you in a job while you study part-time, so you will be have a job for 2 years unless you do something really stupid to get yourself fired. Act now or be left behind - less jobs will be created and many will lose their jobs; these people will compete for any and all available jobs. We still have job openings so take them or others will.

You are warmly invited to the briefings on our Work and Study program in Singapore. Send an email with your name and mobile phone number to
jonathan.chan@harrietgroup.com or send an sms with your name and mobile phone number to 9476 2545. We will send you the address and give you directions.

Briefing dates and times in SINGAPORE:

1. Tues 4 November at 7pm
2. Wed 5 November at 2 pm
3. Sat 15 November at 2pm

Briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. Sat 8 November at 2.30pm
2. Sun 16 November at 2.30pm

Marina IR hires Singapore citizens & PRs

The Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Integrated Resort starts its hiring today Oct 20, focussing on rank-and-file operations staff eg waiters, technicians, housekeepers, security guards and cleaners. The General Manager George Tanasijevich said they will hire "as many Singaporeans as possible" as this is MBS' most important commitment to Singapore.

This hiring blitz is aimed at people without experience in the Tourism and service industry. 10,000 workers at all levels will be hired at the end of 2009 when it opens. Marina Bay Sands is partnering the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the National Trade Union Congress' Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to prepare new hires for jobs in this field. Another daily, TODAY, reports that hiring includes back-to-work mums, low-wage earners, retirees, the retrenched and jobless. For more information, visit career.marinabaysands.com or call 6586 7700 (9am - 6pm) by Nov 5.

WDA Director (Tourism) Teo Sio Hoon states that the tourism industry is expected to generate 60,000 jobs by 2010. If you want to be in this industry BUT want to work in better quality jobs compare to the posts mentioned, one way is to get a Diploma/Advanced Diploma in Travel Tourism and Hospitality awarded by the Association of Business Executives. We have a Work and Study Program so that you get 2 years working experience when you graduate from the 2-year programme.

We have briefings on the Work and Study Programme :

1. Tues Oct 21 @ 7pm
2. Thur Oct 23 @ 2.30pm and
3. Sat Oct 25 @ 2pm
   

To register please send an email with your name and mobile number to

jonathan.chan@harrietgroup.com or sms me at 9476 2545 for more details.

Outing to Genting Resorts

Work and Study is F U N.

The private school had an overseas trip to the Genting Resort, Malaysia. Customer Service is all about implementation; not concepts. A field visit to a casino resort was arranged to make classroom principles come alive.

There were group activities (above left) for students in different courses to get to know each other. As many students are in the Tourism course, the group activities were held in the entertainment centre. The mood is protrayed by one of the student organisers (above right). The students were rewarded for their hard work with their employers and the effort they put in their studies.

Grouped in teams (above), students put their minds to work at the casino Entertainment Centre.

The organising committee is shown on the left. An Executive Director gives away the prize to the best team (below). Why do winners always smile? Our Work and Study graduates will probably smile after the job interview as they gain R E L E V A N T practical experience D U R I N G their study.

Association of Business Executives

Association of Business Executives (ABE) courses
Earn a good salary while you study part-time for the Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma for "Travel Tourism & Hospitality" and "Business Management" from the ABE. You can work in Singapore (5-day-a-week) while you study in Singapore one full day a week with us. Non-residents must have a degree from a University/Polytechnic recognised by Singapore. Residents and Malaysians need at least "N" levels or SPM. You can also study full-time. Its your choice.

The Association of Business Executives (ABE) is an International Examining Body and provider of business and management qualifications, leading onto Degree and Masters routes. ABE has 'Awarding Body' status in the United Kingdom and is also recognised in many other countries worldwide. The ABE (http://www.abeuk.com/) was formed in the UK 1973 and has a 34-year track record.

This photo was taken on January 10, 2008 in the private school. Lyndon Jones (in white jacket) the president of the ABE, visited the private school in January and April 2008. Mr Jones spoke to a group of our students and staff. To show his affiliation, he will visit this private school again in January 2009. Our Work & Study Programs gives our graduates a tertiary academic qualification from the ABE.

Nursing Induction Program

Nurses are in short supply in Singapore. Nurses who were registered in their own countries can work as a State Registered Nurse in Singapore after completing a Nursing Induction Program that is accredited by the Singapore Nursing Board.

Nurses who are State Registered Nurses (SRN) in their own countries but who work as a State Enrolled Nurse (SEN) or a Nursing Aide in Singapore can convert to work as a State Registered Nurse in Singapore after completing the Nursing Induction Program. These skilled professionals can then practice in Singapore at the level at which they have been trained for, and patients will benefit from a larger pool of SRNs while the SEN posts can be relatively easier to fill.

If you want to work as a SRN in Singapore or want to convert from an SEN role to an SRN role after passing the examination of the Singapore Nursing Board, please send an email to jonathan.chan@harrietgroup.com

2 Integrated Resorts boosts the Travel Tourism and Hospitality

The Travel Tourism and Hospitality (TTH) course offered by the Association of Business Executives (ABE) is a very relevant and practical course in Asia as 2 Integrated resorts will open in Singapore - The Las Vegas Sands consortium won the first government concession to develop a casino resort in downtown Singapore, due to open in 2009. It will have 2,500 hotel rooms and 1.2 million sq. ft. of convention space at a price tag of $3.6 billion.

The Genting consortium won the second government concession to develop a casino resort on the Sentosa Island and is due to open in 2010. These 2 Integrated Resorts will create 60,000 new jobs in Singapore. The TTH industry is a sunrise industry where many opportunities will be created for promotion.

Simgapore's tourism industry is very important to its economy. The inaugural night F1 race was held in Singapore on September 28, 2008. The Singapore Flyer was operational earlier this year. Singapore is also the regional hub for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry - Singapore was the venue for the voting to host the 2012 Olympics. Singapore will host the Youth Olympics in 2010. In a survey conducted among students, Singapore is the 1st choice in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for holidays (35% of the votes) AND the 1st choice for work (54% of the votes) as reported in the Straits Times, April 30, 2008.

Students on the Work and Study program will have 2 years' of customer service experience when they graduate with a Diploma or Advanced Diploma from the ABE. This puts them at an advantageous situation compared to Polytechnic student with 6-month internships.