‘More good-hearted workers needed in Singapore’
By Andrew Loh
The Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is seen by some quarters as one of the more insignificant ministries. Such perceptions, however, would be incorrect.
As Singapore's population ages (by 2030, one in five — or 900,000 — residents will be aged 65 or older) the ministry's community development or social service role will increasingly become more critical. Cost of living, housing and employment issues, coupled with the falling birth rate, currently at its lowest-ever of 1.16, and longer lifespan, will bring into sharper focus the importance — and shortcomings — of the ministry in this.
Its former minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, was charged with the responsibility of creating Singapore's social safety net, without risking Singapore becoming a "welfare state", a much-dreaded term in the eyes of the government.
Dr Balakrishnan's model was based on the "many helping hands approach", where the ministry engages and provides support to voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).
Its new minister, Major General Chan Chun Sing, has perhaps got to the nub of the issue of one of these shortcomings — the shortage of social workers. He and his newly-appointed Minister of State, Mdm Halimah Yaacob, have highlighted the need to recruit more of such "good hearted" workers.
The serious shortage of social workers
Social workers are critical as they are at the frontline of providing help to the needy. Without them, the safety net would collapse, or at least be not as effective in catching those who fall through the cracks.
To be sure, this is not a new problem the ministry faces. Dr Balakrishnan has raised this in the past and the government has sought to attract such workers with better pay packages. The ministry is also looking into redesigning such jobs, employing more part-timers and foreigners (which incidentally throws up problems of its own) as part of its strategy to overcome the manpower shortage.
But social work is a job which is shunned by Singaporeans because of the demand and stress involved. With the shortage of manpower, this also means each social worker would have to take on more cases. "It's not an easy job, because the commitment and stress level can be quite high," Maj Gen Chan said on 22 June, referring to eldercare workers.
"The current 600 social workers in Singapore are not sufficient to meet the increasing demand for social services," MCYS said in a press release in 2010. "It is estimated that there will be a shortfall of about 60 social workers every year for the next five years."
In the next five years, there will be a total of 41 Family Service Centres (FSCs), up from the current 36. And as Mr Khaw Boon Wan, the Minister for National Development, said recently that "tens of thousands" of low-end rental flats are to be built to house those at the lower strata of our society. Among that group will be those who will require assistance with daily needs.
By 2030, if the number of social workers does not improve, Singapore's social safety net will face serious problems.
Maj Gen Chan thus has his work cut out for him. What more can be done to attract more Singaporeans or residents to the profession? While the measures being adopted or being considered by the ministry are necessary and will alleviate the problem to a certain extent, it is perhaps the perception of the job itself which is deterring potential social workers.
Changing perception should be a priority
Social work is seen as a thankless job involving emotional stress, "dirty physical work" and extraordinary patience. Yet, it is an integral part of a compassionate society which seeks to provide dignity to the elderly, sick and poor.
The negative perception of social work should be addressed as a priority. Perhaps the ministry could consider a sustained and prolonged public campaign on national platforms for a start. Campaign messages take time to sink in. So the earlier this is done, the better. Also, FSCs and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) should be given opportunities to go into schools, on a regular basis, to speak to students about social work so that more will join the profession.
But at the end of the day, maybe the biggest challenge which the MCYS — and Singapore — faces is the misconceived notion that the old, sick or poor are to be shunned or disdained, or that these people are a "burden" to the country. If such beliefs take root, we will all be the worse for it as a society and as a nation.
There are no easy solutions to the manpower shortage problem. It will take a more comprehensive and holistic approach to address this, but it is heartening that the MCYS minister and his Minister of State, Mdm Halimah, have both identified this as a critical issue.
So, while the many-helping hands approach has its merits, what could also be of help to the ministry is a many-heads approach — that is, seeking ideas and suggestions from members of the public on what else can be done to attract this very special group of people which, truly, helps a society be compassionate.
Please share your suggestions.
