2/02/2023

Hawking - another niche for jobless Singaporeans

“Hawker centres are an institution in Singapore. It is our heritage and also part of our future. I am really happy that Sembawang is now part of the story,” wrote Mr Ong, who has been representing the Sembawang Central division of Sembawang GRC since 2015, in a Facebook post. The Independent.sg

While the talented swarms of foreigners keep pouring into Singapore to take on highly qualified jobs in IT, finance and AI jobs, Singaporeans have retreated to take up more mundane jobs like Grab drivers, food deliverers and security guard jobs. But the innovative spirit of Singaporeans is not dead. The Singaporeans graduates are exploring new fields of endeavour to utilise their talents, armed with degrees from two of the world best universities in Singapore.

A job is a job, got job good already. Don't be too choosy. Be grateful. Singaporeans actually are never choosy. They take on part time jobs readily. They take on contract jobs readily. They go for further training to downgrade, oops upgrade, their job expectations, from PMETs earning high salaries to become part timers, to be underemployed. Never mind, Singaporeans are like weeds, no matter how hard is the ground, no matter how many times they are trampled on, they would pick themselves up and survive.

The latest niche for Singaporean graduates is to be hawkers. And why not, many of their uneducated parents were hawkers and some became very rich, at least many could put food on the table and even sent them to get a tertiary education, to get a degree. So becoming a hawker is just a continuation of the family's journey to a better life.

And why not, hawker centre is a national institution in Singapore, a part of Singapore's history, to be in the thick of things of a prosperous Singapore, and to help to preserve this precious part of our culture. And with tertiary education, and better intellect than their parents, they could uplift the hawker profession and become professionals in their own right, to be the best chicken rice seller, the best kway teow mee seller, the best nasi lemak or nasi bryani hawker. 

There is a lot of pride to be the best hawkers in Singapore for Singaporeans. Hawker Centres as an institution, as a way of life, and even recognised by UNESCO as a National Heritage.   More tourists would be landing in Singapore to see our hawker centres and feast on our hawker food, some winning Michelin Star Awards. There is a great future for operating a hawker stall in Singapore.

In progressive high tech Singapore, the graduate hawkers can uplift the industry by introducing robotics and AI and IOT to hawker culture and make it more glamorous, desirable and high tech in the future. This would attract more grads to join the industry.

Singaporeans are like sinking back to square one, to be like their parents and grand parents, to be hawkers. No need to compete with foreigners in high tech and higher skill jobs that they cannot compete with.

Just a caveat. Hope they don't upgrade to become coolies or maids.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

When the demand for graduates to become hawkers take root, in view of the brainwashing, and other jobs unavailable for Singaporean graduates, they may start a degress course at the Universities for 'Bachelor of Hawking', a license requirement for food handler's and dishwasher's entry into the hawking business. Something like COEs for motorcycles. I believe there is already a course at the higher instutions of learning for those upgrading their cooking skills.

If this is in great demand, a 'Master of Hawking' will be added for those doing the cooking, and only those who have that qualification will be able to get a license to cook. Something like COEs for cars. If that is also in great demand, they will add a 'Phd in Hawking' for those....erh overseeing the hawker stalls daily running and collecting the money and calling the shots. Something like COEs for high end cars.

All this will be done with mandatory requirements if one wants to apply for a license to do hawking. Do not scoff at this, as hawking will become a niche profession soon, and everyone will be rushing for it, so COE biddings will become mandatory.

I just read on Channel New America that a certain MP is joing grab. Not as a delivery rider of course, but will sit at the top. That will enhance the image of grab for sure, since it needs to be reported.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what is next? Tray returns now becomes mandatory. Maybe those eating at Hawker Centres will have to carry a 'rag or towel' to clean the tables as well, after eating. Eating at high end Hawker Centres, with food served and cooked by highly qualified hawkers need special laws to protect their elated position. Oops, served is not the right word, since food from most vendors are now also using self service mode. But they still need special protection, to be attractive, just like other Government workers or quasi Government employees like Bus Captains.

Now, which hawking degree has the most prospect for the future? Choose quickly, or be left behind.

Anonymous said...

MPs seconded to companies will serve as watchdogs. Right you are Virgo. They even are watching and running the Unions to make sure they control the workers properly, dictating all the rules to be followed. No protest, no strikes, no one man assembly and no hanky panky.

Sad to say, they forgot who is responsible in watching the watchdogs sometimes, and Phey Yew Kok, a watchdog MP, was caught for misuse of Union Funds, ran away for 35 years, and eventually came back to face the music. Goodness, coming back to face the music really shows he became honest and law abiding, responsible and really accountable, LOL.

Anonymous said...

Who would dare to look down on hawkers in Singapore going forward, especially when they are being upgraded to comprise mainly graduates, without other jobs, to provide the service?

As an ordinary lowly educated, I would be honoured to be served by them. But then, I may not be able to afford their food eventually, seeing the way hawker food prices are rising.

It is a joke reading about inflation in Red Dot is the 6.5% region. It is far, far more than that. But then the calculation probably is complicated science, which I could not find head or tail reconciling with reality.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Satay Lover, welcome to the blog.

Virgo49 said...

Sinkieland can churned out 20,000 to 30,000 Graduates of All Levels to be Hawkers annually?

All the while can churned out 20,000 to 30,000 Accoutants, Liars, Property and Insurance Agents and Banks Tellers etc per annually with our dead, stagnant and stale economy of those same countries that have no manufacturing bases and real economy had no choice but to keep churning all these jobs hoping that no recessions and depressions to occur anytime soon.

They had the mantras of huge POP to run the economy and and even lamented that any country's POP that was reducing a disaster.

At the same time they creating what's AI and other Robots and devices to do the work of the humans.

What's ironic! You mean the Robots and etc can do the work of the humans and we can just lie on the beds with all sorts of intravenous tubes into our bodies?

You want replacement POP to turn the economy but same been replaced by SMART Machines and what's the humans do?

RTS i.e..Roam The Streets?

Countries that have an advanced and educated POP must have those high tech manufacturing industries that could employed hundreds of thousands of their own.

These are the solid foundation economy. Why China could uplifted their millions from poverty?

Its because of their gainful employment of their peoples in their manufacturing industries that the World called them Workshops of the World.

Pandemic or what's MIC! they could kept on the wheels of their manufacturing industries with just their health controls.

If a county just kept producing hawkers just to serve the outside world of tourism etc and if the world is hit by recessions even with every country's own struggling to survive, you think they have the capacity to still travel to your Sinking Land for your hawkers food?

Also Sinkies with tightened belts think will patronize the hawkers?

So now Papies are going out belated to attract the manufacturing industries but still opted for those half past sixes ones.

We had the head starts decades ago to be like China with manufacturing bases and now should have trillions in our reserves.

But instead preferred to punt and out the easy ways to buy those already half dead companies and throwing good monies on bad.

Lack of visionary leaders on Auto Pilots.




Virgo49 said...

Just to add our Tummy Sick preferred to invest outside looking for a kill in any hostile and non hostile take overs or joint ventures instead of investing at home with our peoples gainfully employed with solid fountain industries.

Also can punt and win ten times but cannot afford to lose ONE big one.

FTX is just a curser to other big big to come.

Clear eyed said...

Singapore declined from 1st world to 3rd and Singaporeans downgraded from managers to hawkers - all within one generations. This is the legacy of the 3G. What will be the legacy of the 4G? Singapore back to 1st world but its citizens no longer owners of the land but servants to the new owners who have come from foreign lands?

Anonymous said...

Virgo, what is your point? You talk about accountant, pandemic, manufacturing, PAP, China and stomach pain. Catch no ball.

Virgo49 said...

You are too shallow minded to understand what's I said.

Same league as the morons.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Cleared Eyed, welcome to the blog. Think I have welcomed you before.

Cheers.

Virgo49 said...

Hawker profession is suitable for you.

Cheers

Virgo49 said...

Solid foundations lah not fountains.

Virgo49 said...

We born in the 50s and 60s can can understand what's I am saying.

Just mostly "O" Levels with the exception of some with "A" and Poly diplomas and mostly are doing quite well with Landed and Condos and also 5 or 6 or Exec Mansions etc.

Whereas nowadays you yuppies with even two or three degrees. Some more Honours and PHD cannot understand what's an "O" Levels said

Wow, no wonder can only be hawkers and not engineers.

Sad sad indeed.

Anonymous said...

Now hawkers like celebrities,even
when a hawker goes to heaven
Is treated as great news, just imagine
It really honourable