What is the possibility of finding admin work for an expat?

[Sidders2014]

Hello!

My partner and I have been thinking about it for some time and we've decided to try to move to Singapore from the UK to work in the next year or so. Having looked at the job market, I think there is a good possibility I could find work there (I am a senior business analyst/management consultant and have worked in Asia for 5 years previously). I would like to know what the probability of my wife, assuming she got the right visa, finding an administration role there? I'm not sure if firms there would hire an expat for such positions, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[beppi]

If by administrative role you mean admin assistant, she might not like the local work style and salary for such positions. Part-time positions are almost unheard of in Singapore.
If she does not qualify for an EP on her own (which means university degree, work experience and job offer fitting each other), she can apply for an LoC to work while being your dependent (DP). This route isn't well known and will be paid especially badly.

[Sidders2014]

Thanks for your reply. At present she is a financial administrator here in England, she will have worked in admin for 2 years by the time we are looking to come to Singapore and will become a team leader at her present company in the next few weeks. She has a 2:1 degree in English Literature, a professional qualification in Business and Administration, several smaller certificates in audio typing, speed typing and has a MS Excel Specialist qualification. She is ready to work hard also.

[beppi]

Only a full-time university degree will qualify her for her own EP (and even that is doubtful with below 3 years applicable work experience and a job offer in the same field).
Admin jobs earn S$2000-3000/month in Singapore, also not enough to qualify for an EP.

[Sidders2014]

Thanks again for your help. She does have a full-degree plus she has worked in admin for a combined 4 years, just not at the same company and not at the same level (she started out as an admin assistant). I've discussed with my current company about wanting to move and they will allow me to apply for positions in their four offices in Singapore so it shouldn't be a problem for me coming over. Also my former employer has offices there and I could re-join them also. My partner really wants to come and is not fussed about a lower wage as she wants the experience abroad and after she had a vacation to Singapore she really wants to get the experience there.

[Girl_Next_Door]

If your partner can handle stress and huge volume of work, banks always have vacancies for department admin support. Long gone are the days whereby secretaries are in abundant. Nowadays, unless you are a C-equivalent, there are very few secretaries. Instead, an administrative lady is hired to support a team/department, handling things like booking flight tickets, processing claims, making sure we have stationary, getting new employees access to the systems, etc. It sound easy but it depends on how many people are in a department and if they are easy to get along. The pay, I was told is pretty good, can be between $6 - 8K, dependent on experience and size of department that you are handling.

[Sidders2014]

Thanks for your reply Girl_Next_Door. My partner works 12 hour days in a very busy office here in the UK so the stress levels wouldn't be a problem. She really wants overseas experience on her CV and is very ready to get her head down and work hard should our move to Singapore be successful. I've spoke to a few companies in Singapore this week and there are a few opportunities in the future for me so fingers crossed we can make this work. Singapore is such a lovely place and the people we met, both local and expat were really warm so we hope we can become a part of that.