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SINGAPORE: Students hoping to earn some pocket money by working part-time during the school holidays will face some unlikely competition this year — from the newly retrenched.
"When we put an ad in the papers, when we say part-timers, we don't mention age," said Mr Nonis from The HR Group.
"Now we are getting probably a 40 - 60 ratio of older people coming in, people in their late 30s, 40s who got retrenched, and they haven't got a job and they are vying with these kids for a part-time job."
In the past, the ratio used to be skewed in favour of the students, he added.
Ruthie Tan, 14, who is looking for a part-time job, said: "Of course, it will be more difficult because there will be a lot of people searching for jobs and I am only a student, so the pay will be lower."
According to Mr Nonis, salaries for certain sectors have dropped by at least 10 per cent.
"There's definitely a slight drop in cash businesses like food and beverage, retail outlets and all that because they need their money to roll and since we have such a strong number of retrenched people and part-timers out there, they can still offer less and still get in the numbers," he said.
When asked if she is willing to work part-time at a much lower pay, Ruthie said: "Depends on what kind of job it is."
For others, such as 16-year-old Bernice Leong, pay is not the only consideration.
"I think the pay is quite important but more important is the experience you get from it, and the people you meet."
But a lower salary is just one factor that students like Bernice and Ruthie have to contend with. Mr Nonis said the newly retrenched provide additional options for companies looking for part-timers.
"They know that these guys have been in the industry for a while and know their stuff, as compared to part-timers who are students. If it's more a skilled job, I would say the retrenched workers; if it's more frontline job, where it's more customer service for retail outlet or F&B, then it would be more students," he added.
- TODAY/so
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