Better career prospects for non-graduates in public service

Better career prospects for non-graduates in public service

By Imelda Saad
POSTED: 26 Aug 2014 19:30
UPDATED: 27 Aug 2014 00:22


Faster career progression will be an option for Management Support Officers from October, and more graduate and non-graduate schemes in the civil service will be merged so that diploma holders and ITE graduates will be able to progress on the same career track as degree holders.


SINGAPORE: Initiatives to improve the career prospects for non-degree holders working in the Public Service are in the pipeline. The Public Service Division (PSD) on Tuesday (Aug 26) announced in a news release that Management Support Officers who perform well - including non-graduates - can expect faster career progression. More graduate and non-graduate schemes will also be merged, so officers can progress on the same career track.



FASTER PROMOTIONS

The present system already allows Management Support Officers with the required capabilities to take on similar jobs as graduates, with comparable salaries.



GRADUATE, NON-GRADUATE SCHEMES TO BE MERGED
Most non-graduates in the civil service - Singapore's largest employer, with nearly 140,000 officers - are currently hired under the Management Support Scheme. Most graduates, however, join the Public Service under the Management Executive Scheme. PSD is currently studying the merging of the Management Executive Scheme and the Management Support Scheme, so that officers are able to progress on the same career track.

"While fresh graduate and non-graduate officers are appointed at different starting salaries, it is their job performance and relevant skills that determine their career progression. As long as an officer does his work well and shows the potential to take on larger responsibilities, he will move up the ranks whether or not he is a graduate," Mr Wong said.

"Graduates and non-graduates can now progress at similar rates, based on their level of performance and potential," he added.






From October, Management Support Officers who are deemed ready to take on larger responsibilities can expect to receive their first promotion in two to four years, compared to the current three to six years. If they continue to do well, their subsequent promotions will also be faster.


Single career schemes have already been introduced in several public agencies, such as the People’s Association and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). In these agencies, graduates and graduates enter at different points of their respective schemes and progress in the same career scheme based on their performance.


Mr Sim See Choon, for example, joined IRAS as a polytechnic graduate in the year 2000. Since then, he has been promoted five times and is now a manager with a team of tax officers under him.


He said he never felt the invisible barrier of a salary ceiling, or stalled career progression, thanks to bosses who walk the talk. "We do not feel like we are held back to contribute in whatever way we can. I think that is the most important thing," said Mr Sim. "No matter how good the structure is, if the organisation and the management do not lead in that sense, you do not have the buy-in. But because of the way the management has interacted with every single staff member, it really gives us the confidence that it really does not matter what type of paper qualification you have. It is about how much effort you put in and how much you are prepared to contribute."


IRAS started its Single Scheme of Service in 2005, allowing graduates and non-graduates to be given equal opportunities to move up the career ladder, on the same pay scale. In Mr Sim's case, he was placed on a structured training programme to deepen his knowledge of the various tax structures, enabling his progress within the organisation.


This system of skills progression is something the PSD wants to see across all public sector agencies. National water agency PUB is currently developing a single engineering career path that will enable diploma holders and ITE graduates to eventually take on more engineering or managerial responsibilities.


EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES


Other ways to support the development of good officers include giving them opportunities to manage projects and teams, and to further their education and training, said Mr James Wong, Deputy Secretary for Policy at the Public Service Division in the Prime Minister’s Office.


The PSD's announcement comes a day after the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee released 10 recommendations to boost career progression for polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had also said in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17 that the civil service will do more to support the aspirations of non-graduates.


- CNA/xy


Do you agree?

The importance of education on your career - Evidence from research and newspaper articles

The importance of education on your career

One of the top 10 career struggles that people face in the world is --- under qualification.

It was recently published by straits times that graduate in Singapore sees marginal increase (1.6% to 2%) in their salary as fresh graduate from 2013. The salary of fresh graduate in 2014 are shown below:

AVERAGE STARTING PAY FOR DEGREE-HOLDERS IN 2014

AVERAGE STARTING PAY FOR DIPLOMA-HOLDERS IN 2014
Adopted from Straits Times, 26th August 2014

On a separate newspaper article by Today, it was found that graduate get up to 46% more than diploma holder:


Adopted from TODAY, 27th August 2014


The implications of these two articles is obvious:

1. As more and more people graduate with degree, it became so competitive that pay rise for fresh grads that is seen in the 20th century is no longer reflected in the 21st century

2. Instead, if you do not upgrade yourself in terms of education, the likely results is that you will suffer from lower starting salary and slower career progression.

While it is true that your career progression should depend on your other competencies such as your KSA (knowledge, skills and abilities), the vast number people who have gone on a degree after working for a few years with their diploma shows that certification still matters in Singapore.

Many of the diploma holders who eventually went for an upgrade told me that they cannot really get promoted without their degree. That also explains why private schools such as SIM and Kaplan are doing so well with the private degree that they are offering.

Career Planning - Further Education: 

Career planning should always incorporate upgrading or further studying plans. It is true that they are trying to make Singapore less focused on academic results but we know that without certifications, it is hard to move up the corporate ladder.

Thinking about upgrading yourself for a better career? Set a clear goal on the types of certification you want and set a date for you to start studying! Most of our clients shared with us that they would like to upgrade themselves but they always have issues doing so as they are too comfortable in their comfort zone. They know that they HAVE to do it yet they have been procrastinating. Sounds like you? Our advice to them? Start planning and get down with it! If you are looking at degrees, MBA or phd, we have a great deal of them in Singapore itself.

The steps we recommend:

1. Know the certification you want to take (while working, you should have some idea what you want to do. If you are lost, consider MBA if you already have a degree)

2. Identify the school you would like to go into and the types of study (online, distance, physical)

2. Find out the school fees and start budgeting for the course fees today by saving more or investing. (If you have problems with course fees, the school usually offers financial aid schemes. Check them out)

3. Set a month, semester or year that you would like to do the certification and sign up for it!

Career Planning: The next step: Knowing different jobs and the job scopes out there

WHAT jobs are there out there? What do people do in these jobs?

The next common questions that we get after letting them go through self-discovery and awareness tests is "what are my options?"; "I do not even know the different types of jobs available"; "what do these people do in their job"

Generally, we found that people have two main issues:

1. Insufficient knowledge on the types of jobs available
2. Insufficient knowledge on the job scopes

Usually we advice our clients to narrow down on the industry (engineering, banking, etc) and the nature of the job (front end, middle office, back end) based on their personality tests results. After which, it is important for them to understand the job scopes of the nature of the job in the industry that they are interested in. This is where we worked with experts in the field to advise our clients on what to expect in the job.

I remember advising a group of students from a local university in Singapore with a Career Professional and almost 70% of them told us that they are interested in becoming an auditor. We asked them, "why an auditor? Do you know what they do for a living?" Surprisingly, most of them shook their head. Most of them wanted to be an auditor because they have heard of an auditor earning quite a lot of money (probably a partner); they have family/friends who are auditors and they look up to them; they like accounting modules (studying and liking accounting module is radically different from being an auditor) etc. We sat down and talked to them about the job scope and nature of being an auditor and I share with them how a lot of my friends struggled as an auditor and left the industry at the end of the day. Of course, there are some who pressed on and are doing well now but I think it is important for a person to find out what the job is really like including the working hours, the peak and lull period, how are people in the job coping with their lives etc before deciding on the job.

Hence, to kick start knowing your options, start off by narrowing down the industry and nature of job then start researching online and/or talk to people. Don't jump into a job you THINK you will like before finding out what it really is like!

Kick start to a Good Career - Self discovery and Awareness

Career as your priority in life

Ever since we started our career workshop 2 years ago, we always have people who write in to us regarding their struggles in finding a job that they like.

Career has taken a leap in priorities for many people, especially in countries where it is more fast paced and developed.

In fact, it was found in our pilot testing with a sample size of 50 randomly selected working adults in Singapore that 41% of the participants placed career as their priority over other facets of their life such as marriage, family or friends.

As career becomes more centralized into a person's life, it became inevitable that having a good career is important for the well being of an individual. It was also believed that people who have better career will be happy and thus have a better marriage and social life.

Kick start to a Good Career

Fresh from your university and lost in your choices for career? Not sure where to start looking? Unsure if that is the right job?

These are some of the common issues that fresh graduates faced when they are out of their college. A lot of the students struggle with their resumes and made many mistakes when they are going through their interviews.

Our first advice to our clients is always this --> Do you know yourself well enough to know what you like? You will need to engage in self discovery and awareness before you can even know the type of career that will be suitable for you.

It is important for you to know yourself, especially your strength to know the types of jobs that you will excel in. Usually, we get the people to assess their strength through a variety of tests. My personal favourite is Strength Finder by Tom Rath. You can also try the free strength finder test online to assess what you are good in. Other tests include the big five personality test, MBIT etc. Only when you know yourself can you then decide on the next step.

Do continue to share with us your views, struggles and suggestions! We started this blog in order to reach out to more people. The aim of this blog is solely for sharing and discussion purposes. Remember that you are not alone in this career struggle!

Feel free to email us at career@starcresto.com

Why Typical Career Advice Doesn't Work for Women

Bloomberg Business Week

By Natalie Kitroeff  August 21, 2014

Promoting women could hurt your career—if you’re female. Senior women who help female employees advance are more likely to get negative evaluations from their bosses, a recent study of hundreds of company executives shows.

The research adds to evidence that for women, even seemingly straightforward career choices are rife with potential negative consequences. Other studies show that a woman’s career suffers if she doesn’t have a professional advocate, sometimes referred to as a sponsor. The repercussions for older women who champion female upstarts, however, might limit the number of women willing to play that role.

So young women should just find a male sponsor instead, right? Not exactly. Seek career guidance and support from a man, and you may be accused of participating in an affair or worse, according to, yep, more research (PDF).

STORY: Looking Like a Woman Is Bad for Negotiations

Sponsors are crucial to success because, unlike mentors, whose roles are often limited to providing guidance, they’ll use their influence to advocate for rewards on your behalf. Sponsors make people more likely to ask for raises, get promotions, and be happy at work, according to research by the Harvard Business Review(PDF). You need a sponsor, researchers concur.

The HBR report found that fewer women had sponsors than men did, and that women suffered as a result. Researchers also figured out why women were reluctant to cultivate intense relationships with men in power.

“Sponsorship, which often involves an older, married male spending one-on-one time, often off site and after hours, with a younger, unmarried female, can look like an affair,” the report said. “If the woman is subsequently promoted, her achievement will be undermined by office gossip that she earned it illicitly.”

STORY: What Data Analytics Says About Gender Inequality in the Workplace

That’s if a sponsor or mentor relationship even comes to pass. Men and women alike may be less likely to want to mentor a woman. A study this year led byWharton School researcher Katherine Milkman found that university professors were more likely to respond to e-mails from students looking for mentoring if those students were male. Of the 6,500 professors surveyed, those at business school had the strongest prejudice against women, the authors said. Women were also less likely to help out other women, the study found, perhaps imagining the bad rap they might get for doing so.

To sum up: Younger women need sponsors to thrive at work, but they may be penalized if the ones they seek out are male. If they get help from female mentors, those women may see their careers damaged. Also, a young woman may not find a mentor at all, since both women and men are less likely to take them on than men with the same qualifications.

In other words, ladies, career success is yours to grab. Just know that doing so might hurt your career.