Singapore people, come hither!

[SlightlySquiffy]

Hello all,

I would so greatful for any advice anyone can offer. My DH and I are thinking of relocating to Singapore towards the end of 2014. He will be transferred through work but I work as a nanny so will have to resign. I was wondering what my chances would be to get employment in an office setting over there with no experience in the last 5 years of a corporate environment and would I even be legally allowed to work considering I have no skills? Would it be worth leaving my nanny job now to gain some office experience? Unfortunately that would mean a 25% pay cut :(

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks

[FamousFiveForever]

Spouses if employment pass holders may work, so that's one hurdle crossed. When I used to work in Singers there were quota laws in place. X amount of Singaporeans per x amount of foreigners. If we were still there I would hve loved to hire a European nanny. In my opinion, you pay peanuts you get monkey, so most of the locally availabe maids didn't cut it for me. You may have a look at that baby clinic on the first floor at Tanglin Mall to get some contacts.
I'm sure more useful tips will come in soon. Good luck!

[picklesrule]

I would say your best bet would be finding nanny work in Singapore. I know of a coupleof families who have brought nannies from overseas as they work full time and want a higher level of care/edu for kids than they think they get from helpers.
You might have to sort your work permit yourself but as far as I know that is pretty doable.

I think you will find office work v hard to find with no experience. There are quotas and lots of peoplewithexperience looking for that kind of work..

[Cerisier]

There is lots of current info from the Ministry of Manpower here.

You would be looking to get an S pass or Work Permit I think.

[BegoniaBampot]

Tbh, I think you will struggle to get office work. If you did, it probably wouldn't be great pay, you'd be on a local contract with not great holidays etc? Singaporeans are well educated and would normally be first choice for the kind of work. You might ave a better chance of nannying. Though people can pay about 200 to 300 quid a month for a live in maid who often is expected to do all the housework and cooking, helping look after children. Proper UK nanny rates might seem steep in comparison but their might be a market for it.

Have you tried the ExpatSingapore website? You could put out feelers to see what the market is like.

[SlightlySquiffy]

Thanks very much for all your feedback! Really appreciate it and that's as I suspected. I'm really over nannying so was more looking to branch out before we start a family, just means we might start trying before we move over and we can start a family instead of me working.

Thank you again for all your responses, very much appreciated.

[BegoniaBampot]

if you are thinking of having children then I'd say that would be the perfect time, especially if you might struggle finding work you want to do. I was in Singapore with a 1 yr old and it was lovely and met many friends. Heat was a pain though as I was used to spending time outdoors and long walks etc back in the UK.