home 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 10 2009 PAGE B8
Now’s a good
time to tap
‘silver’ market
Seniors have more time,
money than ever before,
says business leader
BY LEE SIEW HUA
THE iPhone is a rare universal design
that has crashed through the age barri-
er. It appeals to both the young and the
old.
Older people love its large numbers,
simplicity of use, stylishness and new
features, said Silver Group founder Kim
Walker, who connects businesses to the
50-plus market in the Asia-Pacific.
“Everyone would assume that the Ap-
ple iPhone is designed for youth, but it
isn’t. It’s perfect for older people,” he
told the Reinventing Retirement Asia
conference.
More businesses will have to com-
pete on universal design to catch young
and mature consumers alike.
Mature-age consumers are an un-
tapped “silver mine” with more money,
time and energy than ever before, noted
Mr Walker, a Singapore-based Austral-
ian, during the Media and Messaging
panel of the two-day conference which
ended yesterday.
Across the Asia-Pacific, they have an
estimated wealth of US$11.3 trillion
(S$16.8 trillion) or 35 per cent of total
wealth, he noted.
In Europe, half of the wealth is in the
hands of the 50-plus population, accord-
ing to another panellist, Mr Jean-Paul
Treguer, founder of international mar-
keting network Senioragency Paris.
The irony is that 95 per cent of all ad-
vertising expenditure is focused on peo-
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ple under 50, he said.
Later, Mr Walker, speaking to The
Straits Times, said the downturn is a
door for companies to enter the silver
market and create their own positive
news.
“Because most companies have ig-
nored this market segment, they have
new opportunities simply by changing
their strategy to tap this untapped silver
market.”
Amid the recession, Mr Walker, 53,
launched his business consultancy a
month ago to embrace the mature mar-
ket.
Another new opportunity he pinpoint-
ed: Singapore can rebrand and rethink
the role of older workers ahead of 2012,
when new legislation kicks in requiring
bosses to offer re-employment for three
years to those aged 62.
“Rather than simply extending their
job, let’s recognise their assets. We can
direct them into another aspect of busi-
ness to leverage their assets,” he said.
By then, Mr Walker hopes Singapore
business leaders will form a consensus
that the legislation works to their bene-
fit, because the old have vital attributes
like experience.
In the United States, this shift is al-
ready being discerned, said Dr Marcie
Pitt-Catsouphes, director of Boston Col-
lege’s Sloan Centre on Aging and Work.
“Companies are finding that experi-
ence matters to the bottom line,” she
told The Straits Times.
She has surveyed US firms on percep-
tions of older workers in the workplace,
and found that bosses realise that ma-
ture staff possess “social capital” and re-
lationships that translate into business
– valuable in these bad times.
Separately, Mr Heng Chee How, the
NTUC’s deputy secretary-general,
looked beyond the rebranding of work-
ers to their intrinsic value.
He said: “The key thing really
would be, what’s wrong with the
word ‘older’?”
The issue is that Singapore
should get all parties – the ma-
ture worker, employer and socie-
ty – to see value in older work-
ers.
“It’s a question of how we see
it and and how we realise that val-
ue,” he said.
The international conference
was co-hosted by Singapore’s Coun-
cil for Third Age and the AARP, for-
merly known as the American Associ-
ation of Retired Persons.
siewhua@sph.com.sg
The iPhone is an example of a universal
design that appeals not just to the young,
but to older consumers as well. ST FILE PHOTO
Young people find
their voices at forum
BY JERMYN CHOW bi-annual National Youth Forum, a
three-month session that saw youth get
hands-on experience in policy-making.
Their ideas range from publishing a
guidebook on early childhood education
to introducing niche sports to the public.
WHILE sex seems to dominate the
thoughts and conversations of young peo- The forum, which was initiated by the The teams showcased their final plans
ple, many are actually quite clueless National Youth Council in 2004 to better to their peers at the Suntec City Conven-
when it comes to the birds and the bees. engage students, wrapped up yesterday. tion Centre.
Chester and his team are roping in vol- Also present was Minister for Commu-
Worse yet, some have latched onto
unteers to help run their website and nity Development, Youth and Sports Vi-
misinformation from the Internet,
have approached the Health Ministry for vian Balakrishnan who, in his closing ad-
putting them at risk of unwanted pregnan- help in publicising the portal.
cies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Now, 16-year-old Chester Tan wants
“The untruths and misinformation are
dress, said he was heartened by the slew
of ideas.
so rampant on the Internet,” said Ches-
to “fight fire with fire” and banish those
misconceptions. The Raffles Junior Col-
ter. For instance, many young people be- At the same time, he tempered the am-
bitions of these young people.
lieve that exercising after intercourse
lege student, with the help of counsellors
and doctors, has set up a website with in-
could prevent pregnancy, he said. He said: “You must also have an open
mind and not lose your sense of reality.
Sex aside, eight other groups involved
formation on everything from underage Sometimes, things do not go according to
in the youth forum have tackled hot-but-
sex to HIV/Aids. plan, you’ve got to accept less and com-
ton topics such as sports, education and
He was among 100 participants at the how to promote volunteerism. promise.”
Towards deeper
ties with China
Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong welcoming the
vice-chairman of the National
People’s Congress of China,
Mr Zhou Tienong, to the
Istana yesterday.
Mr Zhou is visiting
Singapore at the invitation of
Speaker of Parliament
Abdullah Tarmugi.
During their meeting, Prime
Minister Lee and Mr Zhou
reaffirmed the excellent
relations between Singapore
and China, and discussed
ways to deepen and
strengthen bilateral
cooperation.
The two leaders also
exchanged views on regional
developments. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
the ICA building in the afternoon. This re-
Students register for ICs sulted in long waiting times for the stu-
dents and their parents.
Now, secondary schools arrange a day
– minus the long wait when the ICA team can come to register
the 15-year-olds. The mobile team will
visit one school each day.
Bedok Green Secondary is the fifth
school they have visited since Jan 5.
BY CHERYL ONG From 2000 to last year, 15-year-olds
Students each submitted a pass-
had to travel to the ICA building in Laven-
der Road for their NRIC registration. port-sized photograph, application form
THE entire process of registering for an and student pass, and had their thumb-
identity card took no more than 10 min- This is the first year since then that prints scanned by ICA staff. The $10
utes for Bedok Green Secondary 3 student registration has been carried out at processing fee was paid with the student
Vanishaa Doshi, 15. schools. pass, an ez-link card or credit card.
Yesterday, the Immigration and Check- ICA citizen services centre senior man- Permanent residents are charged $50.
points Authority (ICA) sent a team to the ager Tan Kok Guan said that since second- The ICA said students will receive
school, where it processed the NRIC regis- ary schools became single-session, large their new identity cards within three or
tration for more than 350 students. numbers of 15-year-olds would head for four weeks from the day of registration.