By Chen Huifen

As local SMEs strive to go global, a major stumbling block seems to be the perennial problem of talent recruitment and retention.

This is partly due to inaccurate perceptions of what it is like to work for an SME, panellists at an Enterprise 50 Forum said yesterday.

'I guess we need to work more on the awareness thing,' said Consolidated Pipe Carriers managing director Alvin Lim. 'We need to educate people - let them know more about SMEs.

'When I graduated, we only thought about working for MNCs - the glamour and all that. Everybody thinks SMEs today are like what they were 20 years ago. They are not.'

Star Controls president Patrick Lim said employees working at SMEs tend to have to cover many areas. But in so doing, they actually are exposed to plenty of learning opportunities - more so than at an MNC, where they would specialise.

Another panellist, Elvin Koh, managing director of Samwoh Corp, lamented the difficulty in getting trained workers in construction, which is why his company depends on foreign workers and hires overseas specialists to train them.

Higher up the employment ranks, though, he has met with some success. The company has three PhD engineers in its R&D team, which helps design materials and sustainable solutions for its businesses. Mr Koh also said Samwoh has put in place corporate structures that simplify decision-making and engender a conducive working environment as part of its efforts to attract young graduates.

As an audience member at the forum pointed out, the benefits of working for an SME have not been highlighted sufficiently. Business schools here often use case studies of MNCs, and even consulting practicums are arranged to be conducted at MNCs.

Broadly agreeing, Star Controls' Mr Lee said HR interviews with potential recruits are such that often the candidates ask more questions about the company than the other way around.

Still, the recession has been a blessing for his company in terms of easing talent crunch.

'Last year, we invested a lot in training and people,' he said. We recruited 25 - when all the MNCs were cutting headcount.

'At other times, a lot of people would not want to join SME because we are not as big as a multinational - so these are the times when we can get the right people, train them.'

The panellists were speaking at a forum on 'How established SMEs become global players on the world stage', at Raffles City Convention Centre.

Also on the forum panel was EPChem International chief executive Seah Cheong Leng.

Moderated by BT correspondent Lee U-Wen, the forum was held with a presentation ceremony to honour the winners of this year's Enterprise 50 Awards.

Jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG Singapore, the awards recognise the best of Singapore's most enterprising, privately owned companies.

At the afternoon event yesterday, BT editor Alvin Tay also announced the launch of The SME Magazine in January, aimed at SME leaders and consultants and supporters of the sector.

As well, the NUS Business School has committed to continue an educational project with the E50 partners. As part of the study, students from the school will submit a confidential SWOT analysis and write a business case study on each of the participating winners.

The E50 awards are supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, IE Singapore and Spring Singapore, and sponsored by OCBC Bank.

This article was first published in The Business Times.