Saturday, August 16, 2008

7:50 PM

Ravi Veloo believes that the key to solving the problem of talent shortage in Singapore lies in changing the mindset of the people. Do you agree with his views?

Talent shortage is a problem that Singaporeans should not take lightly of. As a small country whose only resources lies in its people, we have to depend on its people to drive the economy and ensure that Singapore is able to substantiate itself. Hence, this resource should be utilized fully. One of the ways in which Singapore can maximize its ability to survive economically is through the use of talents. However, Singapore suffers from “brain drain”, were some of the local talents choose to migrate or work overseas. Added to the small population where the possibility of talents is lesser, the shortage of talents has been a constant problem in Singapore.

Yes, I agree with the author’s view that the key to solving the problem of talent shortage in Singapore lies in changing the mindset of people.

To address the problem of talent shortage, changing the mindset of people should be first on our list. Singaporeans have long been known to be pragmatic people. Being typical Asians, we are less likely to take risks, unlike our Western counterparts. Risk taking is essential when one intends to develop his talents and pursue his dreams. Hence, changing the mindset of Singaporeans can help them be more adventurous and more likely to take risks regarding development of their talent.

As mentioned in the article, part of changing the mindsets of Singaporeans involve thinking of ourselves as not just having one talent, as implied by the kind of job we are holding, but also having talents outside of the area we specialize in, even if it is as trivial as “wiggling your ears”. By limiting our thoughts such that we think we are only talented in areas we are formally trained in, we tend to ignore our interest and love in our individual talents, as we assume that it is insignificant, because we are not able to survive based solely on our talent. In this way, many talents can be buried in the busy work lives. By not dismissing talents outside of our work, we are can change the mindset that Singaporeans share, which is that talent is something rare, something inborn. If we can just develop our talents, no matter how small, we will be able to think of talent as something feasible, not something obscure. Therefore, such mindset will enable us to increase development of individual talents, which may result in them switching to entrepreneurship as a career.

In conclusion, changing the mindset of Singaporeans will result in a domino effect. As a result, the pool of local talent will increase greatly, lessening the problem of talent shortage in Singapore.

kiawoon

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