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After watching longtime colleagues get laid off during a painful downsizing, a friend of mine is putting together her résumé. She realized she could be next, and she wanted to be ready.

"It's scary," she confided in me. "It's been a long time since I've been on the hunt, interviewing, marketing my skills. Even though I'm still employed, I've got to stop being a company woman and think more like a freelancer."

Layoffs or not, any career-minded employee can benefit from having a freelancer's mind-set. I'm biased, of course: I've been a self-employed freelancer for almost seven years now. The idea of looking for work isn't scary to me, even during a recession, because that's what a freelancer does all the time. Even during the fat times of a long-term, well-paying contract, as a freelancer, you're still always on the lookout for what might be next.

Here are a few more ways a freelancer thinks and works that can benefit traditional employees.

However, once you reach 45 and above, finding a job is a challenge. Older Singaporeans have struggled with this problem for many years. Recently the MoM came out with a set of guidelines on the re-employment of older workers[Link]. These set of guidelines will lead to legislative changes in 2012. So 3 years from now we will discover these guidelines to be inadequate and ineffective. Why?

Our structural unemployment problem is caused by our liberal foreign worker policy which brought hundreds of thouands of young workers from India, China, Phillipines etc. Our workforce demographics has been distorted by this high influx. With a large pool of young workers available why would employers try to retain or hire older Singaporean workers? Remember in the past we never had the structural unemployment problem because during the boomtime, employers will have a hard time find workers and they are 'forced' to hire older workers and give them a chance.

(Too busy to write a Chinese version today, maybe later.)

Sooner or later we're going to face this, I am just somehow closer to it than most of my readers.

So, is locking up the country to block younger foreign workers a solution to deal with this? I don't think so. Younger workers could replace domestic workers to cause "structural unemployment", but they could also displace certain kinds of domestic workers and enable the latter to engage more productive professions (from the domestic perspective, of course).

No, it doesn't mean I am supportive to the "liberal foreign worker policy", and I understand that the displacement effect is just theoretical; more often the domestic workers being displaced didn't opt for jobs with better GDP, they were forced to either go abroad, stay at home or school, or simply become unemployed.

In Taiwan, an island country lacking natural resources and markets of economic scale, we're facing the similar situation to Singapore, and we're also facing an aging population structure. Eventually the problem will emerge, and then it (and we, and yourself) would be your problem too, young fellows.

GE (NYSE: GE) and its Chinese partners that represent some of that country’s key infrastructure development goals announced the signing of a series of “Country to Company” agreements aimed at promoting collaboration between GE and Chinese public and private sector aviation, energy and transportation organizations. The announcements, which were made as part of "GE's Clean Technology Week in China" activities, included the formation of two joint ventures – in avionics and locomotive engines; and the parties’ agreements to explore future “cleaner coal” gasification and high-speed rail opportunities.  

The agreements encourage active collaboration to advance clean technologies that address both long-term strategic challenges and economic opportunities for GE and China. Over time, these initiatives are expected to create and safeguard thousands of jobs in both countries.
 
Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE said, “These agreements share common themes – rapid growth potential, clean technologies and job creation. Whether expanding our existing aviation, energy and transportation relationships or looking at technology collaborations to open up new growth opportunities, partnerships like these help protect and grow employment for both GE and China’s infrastructure sectors.
 
“We expect these investments and commitments to yield long-term benefits,” Immelt said. “New global sales will be a direct result of these collaborations – safeguarding and growing U.S. jobs while supporting Chinese growth for GE businesses and the Chinese aviation, energy and transportation industries,” Immelt said. These partnerships will also give GE the opportunity to strengthen our own local capabilities, enhancing our ability to serve our Chinese customers as that nation drives its technology initiatives.”
 
Mark Norbom, GE’s president & CEO for Greater China, said: “The deals we are signing are built upon GE's rapid growth in mainland China in the first three quarters of 2009.  They not only represent tremendous growth opportunities for our China platforms but also support jobs in the United States.  The partnerships we are building with the Chinese industry leaders will better position GE in strategic growth sectors in China such as aviation, transportation and energy. "
 
Spanning GE’s industrial portfolio, the announcements include initiatives in the following areas:
 

·         Avionics joint venture: GE Aviation and AVIC Systems will create a global avionics business to develop and market integrated systems for commercial aircraft customers. The joint venture, to be headquartered in Beijing, China, plans to offer fully integrated, open architecture avionics and services for future civil aircraft programs. The joint venture, which was announced on Sunday, may create more than 200 U.S. jobs.

·         Cleaner coal energy: GE Energy and Shenhua Group Corporation have agreed to a framework for an industrial coal gasification joint venture. GE and Shenhua would conduct research and development on new cleaner coal technologies to improve cost and performance of commercial scale gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) solutions, and jointly pursue the deployment of commercial scale IGCC plants with carbon capture and sequestration. To further progress "cleaner coal" IGCC technology in China, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced its intention to fund the initial steps toward a plant in China based on GE's technology.

·         Advancing high-speed rail technologies: GE and the China’s Ministry of Railways (MOR) are considering advancing partnership opportunities to pursue high-speed rail projects in the United States. While GE is the world leader in diesel-electric locomotive technology, GE does not currently manufacture locomotives for high-speed rail travel. A successful partnership with the MOR would allow GE to more effectively compete against European and Japanese companies for high-speed rail related opportunities and would create in the near future about 150 high technology jobs in the U.S. and sustain approximately 3,500 U.S. jobs over time – at least 80% of the content would be sourced from, and all final assembly will take place in the U.S.

·         Transportation locomotive assemblies order:CSR Qishuyan Locomotive Co., Ltd. agreed to purchase 300 Evolution® Series locomotive assemblies. The agreement helps to sustain nearly 1,200 clean-technology jobs in the U.S.

·         Engine joint venture: GE Transportation and CSR Qishuyan will form a joint venture company to develop, build and service GE’s Evolution® Series locomotive diesel engines in China, where there is significant opportunity for modernization. Of the 12,000 diesel locomotives in China, only a small fraction are advanced technology. Also, as demand for the ecomagination™ certified technology increases around the world, the new company would jointly seek future commercial opportunities.

 
The announcements came as GE’s “Company to Country” strategy continues to bear fruit. In 2006 GE signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to explore broad partnerships with the Chinese government and state-owned companies, especially on GE’s green initiative “ecomagination.” The areas of cooperation with NDRC cover energy, transportation, aviation, water, lighting and other key infrastructure sectors. 
 
GE started doing business in China as early as 1906 and was considered one of the most active foreign companies in the country at the time. Currently GE runs 36 wholly owned or joint venture companies in China ranging from manufacturing, service, research and development, financial services and sourcing, with a total workforce of over 13,000. GE is actively involved in China's infrastructure expansion by offering products and technologies in power generation, oil & gas, water treatment, aviation, transportation, healthcare, security, lighting, power distribution and financial TV.
 
To learn more about GE’s announcements in China this week, visit http://www.ge.com/chinanews.

Rather than spread his money over dozens of causes, Gates is focusing on a few specific issues, where he hopes his hands-on approach and vast resources will make a significant difference. In his case, those causes include providing necessary medicine and equipment to help stop the spread of disease, finding vaccines for the likes Malaria and AIDS, and improving education, both in the US and around the world.

I assume he has looked at stats and all that and picked items that he thinks he can help with. However, coming from a third world country the one thing that I feel might create a better world is more employment opportunities. If someone has a skill that he can earn with, then he can afford to take care of his health. Education is important, but it isn't worth anything if you can't use it. imho.

Sustainability Officer Training is perfect for businesses that are looking for ways to become environmentally healthy.  We offer a well rounded training program into two and a half, knowledge packed days, and show any business how to install an eco-friendly program that anyone can see importance in.  For a long time, the Green transition for businesses has been left to the best efforts of a group of people within an organization who had no formal training in environmental education.

The online Sustainability Officer Training will provide participants with a heavy introduction to the Greening process.  They will be shown how to implement a program that merits respect and will save money.  Green is also about efficiencies, and we know how to make Green pay in the short and long run.  The final project at the Sustainability Officer Training is to prepare a Green program for your business that fits the needs of your company and allows your team to control the application of the program.  You will leave with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to plan an Authentically Green Program in your company.

It is almost impossible to imagine that the problems of environmental duties could be so well organized in a two-day session that will produce such superior results, but it will.  With knowledgeable material, the Sustainability Officer Training will provide you with the most vital issues in the Green World. In fact, the last segment provides a Green program that will allow any business to Go Green despite the size or type.

Successful businesses have realized that "Going Green can save your company thousands of dollars in lost revenue!" Most businesses see the Greening process as another expenditure that is good for the earth, but not good for the bank account. That type of thinking is changing, and the savings realized by companies that use Greening processes is far more priceless than ever imagined.

You must realize that your cost of daily operation is sure to go up in the near future. The Cap and Trade legislation will add a hidden cost to everything we use.  The cost of energy alone is predicted to go up by 200-300%. Your carbon output may even be taxed.  In the past, businesses hired sustainability experts to speed up their procedures, reduce waste, and increase profits. Green officers are the modern version of sustainability experts. When it comes to a sustainable issue, there are areas of waste that will greatly affect your company's profits for the years to come.

Greenwashing is something that every business must keep away from because it will mostly likely come back as very bad press.  It is not credible enough to talk or promote your company as Green by good worth of some Green adjustments to your operation. To be Green Business Certified, your company will want to be validated by a true independent third party like the Green Business League, Inc. This is awarded when a company is able to acquire enough points for already having Green practices.

Sustainability Officer Training offers a significant edge for any business. Don’t waste time "trying to be Green, and then doing a poor job of it," when actually establishing a Green program will give your business a Green Business certification that is earned not bought.  Find out how Going Green will save your business an immense amount of money each year, and you will also profit from the impressive marketing value of an authentically Green certification.

Look three to five years down the road and ask yourself whether being a Green business will be necessary. Obama's must read books during his Martha's Vineyard vacation was "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman. He has appointed a Green Czar with sweeping powers to push a Green agenda across our country. Climate change, population growth, and the need to heal our world will hurt any company that does not have Green practices or programs.  To sign up or learn more go to www.sustainabilityofficertraining.com.

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) in North America is proud to announce it will be hosting its IEMA Workshop titled, “Certified CSR Practitioner IEMA Approved”, on February 9-10, 2010 for the second time in Chicago.

This certified workshop will give participants the opportunity to earn a certificate designating them as Qualified to originate and manage a Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability program within their organization. The CSE workshop is certified by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), and is designed for all professionals responsible for the management of CSR, Marketing, and Public Relations activities. General Managers, Public Relations Managers and Sustainability and Environmental Professionals can advance their Sustainability understanding, acquire the skill and knowledge that will bring added value and authenticity to their company, and also earn an official business qualification through this two-day workshop.

With specialized, detailed and highly focused training, the CSE workshop will cover:

• CSR/Sustainable Development Concepts & its Return on Investment

• Global Warming & Climate Change Issues

• Future trends & legislation in the U.S. & Worldwide on Corporate Responsibility

• The Stakeholder Approach & CSR

• CSR Communication & Reporting

• Global Standards/Models/Guidelines & Tools for practical CSR integration (GRI, UN Global Compact, EFQM)

• A CSR Action Plan for your organization (prerequisite for CSR practitioner Qualification)

More than 80 Professionals from 5 continents have already joined this unique workshop, which is designed for all professionals responsible for the Sustainable Management of their organizations. The certified workshop, launched in Europe and expanded in many different countries successfully by CSE, represents a stepping-stone for organizations that want to implement Sustainability into their operations gradually, one-step at a time. September's CSR Practitioner Workshop was certified as carbon neutral and attracted an eclectic group of professionals, ranging from CSR Managers to University Directors, and finally CSR media.

To request additional information or register in the next workshop contact CSE at research@cse-net.org or info@cse-northamerica.org .