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April 2017: Facts of Life
There are 200,00 jobless graduates but they can’t be hired because they know little or no English.
In sales and services, and IT, English is required, and foreigners are being hired.
In Myanmar, India and The Philippines, they learn English at school.
92% in The Philippines speak English.
46% in Nepal speak English.
80% in Singapore speak English.
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2 May 2017
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Unfair to say all local workers poor in English, says MTUC
Instead of complaining that local workers cannot speak well, employers should provide training to improve English proficiency among their workers, says Malaysian Trades Union Congress.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said it is unfair for companies to generalise that local workers have a poor command of English and, therefore, not give them priority for jobs.
Its secretary-general J Solomon said this would be an injustice.
“It is undeniable that the standard of English among Malaysian workers has dropped compared to 30 years ago.
“But for the MEF (Malaysian Employers Federation) to say that local workers are worse English speakers compared with Myanmar and Philippine workers is unfair, and it is demoralising for locals,” he said.
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Solomon said instead of complaining that local workers could not speak well, the bosses should provide training and classes to improve English proficiency among their workers.
“They have a responsibility towards their employees. How can workers progress if they do not learn?” he asked.
Solomon said what Prime Minister Najib Razak had said in his Labour Day speech yesterday was what the trade group had been emphasising all this while.
“Foreign workers are just to complement local workers, and should not be brought in to replace the locals,” Solomon added.
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30 April 2017
Foreigners hired as locals can’t speak English, MEF says
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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has voiced frustration over the continued shortage of qualified English-speaking workers, saying it is costing the country dearly.
Its executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said despite there being about 200,000 jobless graduates in Malaysia who could fill vacancies in the sales and services sectors, many companies were hiring foreigners who spoke English for these positions.
He said the services industry which accounted for 60% of the economy required workers who could converse well in English.
“Even for simple sales jobs, we depend on people from Myanmar and the Philippines to fill the void,” he told FMT.
“We are constantly facing problems to fill positions requiring locals to speak and write in English. This is not good for us.”
He said years of “flip-flopping” in regard to education policies had contributed to the problem.
The education system has had to bear with inconsistent policies with no priority given to learning English, he added.
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He added that employers also needed people talented in big data – a skill to analyse large data sets to reveal patterns, trends, and associations – to help identify economic conditions.
Shamsuddin said Malaysian employers were currently hiring experts from Bangalore, India, to perform this specialised work.
“About 20% of our economy is based on the digital economy. But shockingly we are not prioritising on developing big data analysts,” he said.
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25 April 2017
worldgoldbeaches @worldgoldbeach
The Philippines
How many people speak English: 92%
What it’s like as an English speaker: American English isn’t merely Filipinos’ second language; it’s how many of them communicate regardless of who’s in the mix. Beyond America’s 50-year occupation (1898-1946, when Uncle Sam built hundreds of English-teaching schools, basketball courts, and Hollywood movie theaters), Filipinos also celebrate English words by singing, everywhere, all the time. They invented karaoke and perfected live music, a legacy of the lounge and rock bands that sprang up around Vietnam-era military bases that needed entertaining. Base towns became live Western-music hubs, and that scene remains a huge reason to visit this ultra-friendly tropical country.
What the Philippines has to offer: The Philippines is all about variety in landscapes and personality. In its 7,000 islands, you’ll find hundreds of idyllic tropical beaches, mountainous cloud forests, and Manila, the dazzling, kinda-haywire city of 17 million. It’s traditional yet faddish, Asian in character but Western in disposition. Every neighborhood has multiple sing-along bars with non-canned music ranging from sitar/bongo duos to American Idol winner-types. Outdoor bargain cafes/traveler hangouts serving 75-cent bottles of cold beer abound, all spinning tunes from their massive classic rock and blues inventories. If you make only one stop: Hit the Hobbit House, a Downtown Manila institution. Gritty and gonzo, it’s their version of CBGB — an everyone-aboard live-rock club — with the distinct twist of being staffed by little people. — Bruce Northam, Thrillist contributor
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Nepal
How many people speak English: 46%
What it’s like as an English speaker: You’d be surprised how easily English allows you to navigate a country as delightfully batshit as Nepal. Everything about the place feels like the end of the Earth, an otherworldly, largely hermetic kingdom as far removed from America as one could imagine. Yet a casual stroll down the street punctuates this hazy dreamscape with the realization that while you recognize almost nothing from home, pretty much everyone around you is speaking English. They’re asking you for pens, demanding to know what’s up with the presidential election (as if we have a clue), proudly showing you around their remote cliffside dwellings (where they politely force you to drink yak butter tea), and just generally wanting to hang out.
What Nepal has to offer: We ended up going to Nepal on a whim (after we missed our flight to India), and it was the best decision we ever made. With towering mountains (including Mount Everest — maybe you’ve heard of it?), amazingly well-preserved ancient towns like Bhaktapur, and intricate Buddhist pilgrimage sites (even though the country is predominantly Hindu), Nepal offers the adventurous traveler an eye-opening, mind-expanding experience. I was also pleasantly surprised how friendly most attitudes are towards Americans (at least when we were there), as one night our pale gringo looks were all we needed to instantly ingratiate ourselves with beaming Kathmandu locals and earn a round of free drinks in the process. We felt like kings looking out at an entire bar smiling at us, and pretty much all they wanted to do was talk to us and find out more about America (and yes, what Tom Cruise is like). But scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find friendly, curious people who just want to know a little more about you. And, especially when it’s all being done in English, what more can a traveler ask for? — Jay Gentile, Thrillist contributor
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Singapore
How many people speak English: 80%
What it’s like as an English speaker: Singapore used to be a British colony, so most residents speak English first, Malaysian second (it’s the closest country to Singapore), and Chinese third (a lot of their cheap labor comes from China). The accents can be thick, but everyone is pretty easy to understand and happy to chat with you, especially if you want to talk soccer: Singaporeans are huge English Premiere League fans. Pick your bar wisely as you may get a whole crowd of Manchester United red fans who do not appreciate your Chelsea blue walking into their pub. Nowhere else in the world, outside of England, can you get this kind of footie experience.
What Singapore has to offer:Food. Lots and lots of food. Hotels and booze and parties aren’t cheap, but Singaporeans know how to eat, eat well, and eat for less than you ever thought possible. Head to East Coast Park or any of the hawker centers to taste your way around Asia. Little India is one of the best places to grab Indian (and, oddly enough, Turkish) food. Beyond your stomach, Singapore — considered “Asia Light” by locals and travelers — offers visitors a venue to dip your feet into the ancient cultures of the Far East. Visit a Buddhist temple, pick up flowers outside of a Hindi temple, or simply watch the cargo ships float by while you soak up life in one of the financial capitals of Asia, likely while snacking. — Keryn Means, Thrillist contributor
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weehingthong 