Group items tagged

http://www.westhillconsulting-career.com/blog/2014/03/17/seizing-opportunities-south-east-asias-oil-gas-industry/ Since 2010, South-East Asia has consolidated its position as an important contributor to the global downstream market with Petronas' recent announcement of its plan to build the new RAPID facility in Malaysia one further example of the region's growing importance. In reality the timing couldn't be better - as populations across Asia continue to grow, the demand for fuel will grow exponentially, offering oil & gas operators a real opportunity to make a significant contribution to the region's continued economic development. However, with this growing demand comes additional pressures, and with the sector still vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices, operators can ill-afford to rest on their laurels. The need to ensure their operations are as productive as possible and that cost inefficiencies are stripped out from the very outset, is arguably more important than ever before. Minimizing operational costs When it comes to new projects oil & gas operators have traditionally been good at minimizing their CAPEX spend. However, there has been much less focus given to limiting the cost of operation of their assets. With maintenance costs typically responsible for 20-30% of the overall OPEX expenditure, this is one area where the downstream sector in South-East Asia is increasingly focusing its attention. According to some analysts the costs incurred across the globe in maintaining the next generation of oil & gas assets could equate to $0.75 trillion highlighting the scale of the prize that could be on offer here. For a typical refinery the operational expenditure is principally dictated by three prime factors: the quantum of work carried out on the asset, the efficiency at which it can be delivered and the agreed cost rate of the resource used. In each instance there is an opportunity to significantly reduce cost outlay by focusing on a range of inter

http://www.westhillconsulting-career.com/blog/2014/04/04/visas-south-east-asia/ Westhill Consulting Career & Employment Australia has much more information on its blog section on its website. If this is your first proper backpacking stint then you may not be aware how much of a headache visas can be! When you reach the border of each country you need a visa to enter, some countries will simply stamp a visa into your passport on the border for free (this is called a VOA 'Visa on Arrivall), and then on you go. Other countries may charge you a fortune while the most difficult b*stards will refuse you entry and you have to organise your visa before you arrive at the border! Warning do not overstay. Check out the South East Asian countries below and get an idea of what you need to sort it all out: Thailand: South East Asia's most popular destination. Thailand offers VOA (visas on arrival) by both land and air arrivals. If you fly in, you receive a free 30 day visa. If you arrive by land, you receive a free 14 day visa. If you want a longer visa (60 days) you can apply at Thai embassies in any other country, it'll cost you around $30. This is possible from your home country or from neighbouring countries in the region (Laos, Malaysia etc)

TEFL Job Opportunities http://www.westhillconsulting-career.com/blog/2014/03/31/tefl-job-opportunities/ Your employment opportunities are excellent Travel the world; experience a foreign culture; learn a new language; and improve the futures of many. This is your chance to make a difference. WesthillConsulting & Employment Australia would like to give a warning that the following information though interesting may be illegal. Please watch out for scams. EFL/ESL teachers are in high demand world-wide. You have peace of mind in knowing that if you are a native English speaker and hold a degree we can offer you a Guaranteed Teaching Position after successful completion of both our 4-week TEFL training course and a subsquent one month volunteer teaching assignment (Package B). If you don't have a degree and whether you opt for Package A or Package B your job prospects are still excellent. A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate is one of the main qualifications required by learning institutions to teach EFL in a non-English speaking country, or ESL in an English speaking country. Wherever you decide to teach, your internationally recognised Island TEFL certificate will provide you with the credentials required to work as a TEFL teacher abroad or at home. It is worth keeping in mind that many schools are now not accepting online TEFL/TESL qualifications (unless there has been a practical teaching component included), or certificates from TEFL/TESL courses of less than 4 weeks duration. Some schools/institutes will also require a degree. TEFL teaching positions are available in government and public schools, colleges, universities, language schools, kindergartens, businesses, the tourism industry, as well as volunteering and one-to-one tutoring opportunities. Here is a list of some of the countries where your internationally recognised TEFL certificate can assist you to find TEFL teaching employment. (Please note we have tried to be as accurat

Westhill Consulting Career & Employment based in Australia, thank the guardian for the following comments Do your research Collaborating with an overseas university first is a great way to get to know them if you are considering moving abroad. Paul Matsudaira started his career at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, before accepting the position as head of biological sciences atNational University of Singapore in 2009. While he was still at MIT, Matsudaira taught biology to students from two Singaporean universities via an online videolink. He also travelled to Singapore several times in the summer holidays to teach at study camps. He says his family really enjoyed their trips to Singapore, and this made it much easier for him to make the decision about accepting the offer of a full-time post. Go for it wholeheartedly Once you have made the decision to move, make sure it is a clean break. Matsudaira says the biggest mistake he saw others making was expats not really committing to the move. Warning, it can be very stressful trying to run parallel lives - particularly across different time zones. It can also lead your new employers to question your commitment to the job. He said a "go for broke" attitude is essential to succeed. Don't be put off by the paperwork Job interviews often take place in London. The employing university liaises with the immigration department and it usually takes less than four weeks for a work permit to be issued. Pay In general HK/south-east Asian universities pay better than European institutions and about the same as US universities, but tax is much lower. Check for allowances Academics with children should also check on the availability and costs of places at international schools and whether the employer provides any education allowance. Look into accommodation Accommodation is very expensive in many of south-east Asia's densely populated cities so colleges often provide it as part of the package. But if living

By 25 active operators in Southeast Asia with 46 rigs, the contracting conditions have been challenging due to the collapse in crude oil prices while exploration and production spending have pressured both utilization and day rates in the region INTRODUCTION Southeast Asia is rich with hydrocarbon resources. The region is made up of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Jakarta Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. According to Shell, the Indonesia oil industry and what subsequently became Royal Dutch Shell are closely connected. Shell discovered commercial quantities of crude oil in Sumatra just over 100 years ago. Moreover, Shell was the first to bring a drilling rig to the region and the first to discover oil off of Brunei in 1958. Today there are about 25 operators active in Southeast Asia with 46 rigs (Jack Ups, Semis and Drillships) currently contracted. Forty one of the contracted rigs are drilling, and five are waiting on location or in shipyards. In addition to the rigs that are contracted in the region, there are eight cold stacked units, nine ready stacked units, and one unit in the shipyard without a contract for a total supply of 64 rigs. Thus, total utilization in the region is 72% and ready utilization is 84%. While indications are that Jack-Up Market fundamentals have begun to stabilize. Southeast Asia only has eight semisubmersibles actively drilling in its waters (one other is contracted but not currently working). Four are off Malaysia, two are off Vietnam, one is off the Jakarta Peninsula, and another is off Myanmar. However, the drilling Jack Up count is significantly higher at 31 (four others are contracted but not currently working). Malaysia has the highest Jack Up count at twelve, followed by Vietnam with seven, Thailand with five, Indonesia with four, Brunei Darussalam with two, and East Timor with one. There are also two Drill ships working in the region. One is off Malaysia and the other is of

Westhill Consulting Career and Employment Tips: Teaching English abroad "Under the Table" Without a Work Visa - What Does it Mean? There are thousands of Americans teaching English abroad in dozens of countries around the globe likeBangkok in Thailand, Jakarta in Indonesia, KL in Malaysia or Beijing in China. What do 90% of them have in common? In addition to enjoying the international adventure of a lifetime,they are teaching English "under the table." In other words they are not legally working in those countries with a work visa. This is commonplace, even routine, in dozens of countries around the world, but it is not technically legal. The first matter is to understand that there are different types of visas that you will use to teach English abroad and that regulations vary from country to country. Please refer to our article, "What is a visa and do I need a visa to teach English abroad?" source: http://www.westhillconsulting-career.com/blog/2014/03/28/westhill-consulting-career-employment-tips-teaching-english-abroad-table-without-work-visa-mean/ What does it mean to teach English abroad "under the table," without a work visa? Typically the following:  You don't have official permission to work in that country.  You are officially working illegally.  You probably entered the country where you are teaching on a tourist visa (in many countries a tourist visa will enable you to stay legally in the country for 90 days) and in many cases, you will stay on and teach English on a tourist visa that has expired or lapsed (this will be the case in countries like Italy and Spain where tourist visas cannot typically be renewed). In such cases, you are not only working illegally, but you do not have a valid visa to legally be in that country either.  In other cases, such as Argentina, you canrenew your tourist visa or get a new one before your original visa expires (example day 85 of your 90 day visa), often by leaving and re-entering t

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is planning to adopt a single visa system enablingpeople to visit any of the group's 10 member states on a single visa. Following the lead of Europe's Schengen single visa system, Jakarta, Indonesia-based ASEAN believes that a single visitor visa policy would enhance the tourism experience in the region, boosting arrivals to member states. 'The plan is realistic, action oriented, attuned to the global realities and designed to ensure that the ASEAN region can continue to be a successful tourism destination,' said Thong Khon, Cambodia's minister of tourism. It fits with the group's Tourism Strategic Plan 2011/2015 which aims to promote the region as a single tourist destination, develop a set of ASEAN tourism standards with a single certification process , enable tourism employees to work in any ASEAN country, and create a single tourist visa policy. Importantly the strategy has strong support from the so-called 'Plus 3' countries of China, Japan and South Korea. ASEAN is also moving towards the implementation of an open skies aviation policy, which is scheduled to come into force in 2015. A unified ASEAN aviation market means that airlines would be able to fly freely over the region, transporting passengers between member states without limits imposed by individual governments in terms of routes, frequencies, airlines or aircraft types. 'In tandem, the single tourist visa and open skies aviation policy would have the potential to greatly improve the region's appeal as a tourist destination, offering the opportunity to significantly increase tourist arrival numbers from the 65 million achieved in 2010,' explained Khon. The plans have some obstacles to overcome, however, not least the inclusion of Myanmar, and local cross border disputes, including the situation between Cambodia and Thailand. If it works it means that travellers could surf in Bali, shop in Singapore and eat spicy street food in

Westhill Career and Employment's six things you should do before any big ask. (Westhill Consulting & Employment is based in Australia. It is a well-established career tips and information for Ozzie's website that specializes in providing information, advice and guidance to help people make realistic choices about finding work in South East Asia such as KL Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand, Jakarta Indonesia and many more.) Practice makes perfect: Despite the fact its factual some people are born in nature confident, for the rest of us it takes practice. See confidence as one more skill you must to practice, learn, perfect and earn. Dress in a power outfit. Today we must be dressed with a modern suit of armor. Get a go-to power outfit. Whatever you pick must make you look great while correspondingly feeling confident and powerful. When we look our best we're usually more up for a work challenge. Identify your fear. We frequently lose our confidence when we aren't ready. Confidence is realized through experience. Do your homework in advance to your next meeting. Do the research and distinguish the hard numbers and facts off the top of your head as contrasting to checking notes while in a meeting or presentation. Don't let yourself be in the situation to fail. Focus on using your knowledge and expertise to persuade your boss, co-worker or client. Videotape. It's very hard to picture ourselves in high stress circumstances when we aren't at the office. Videotape yourself the night prior to a presentation, business trip or sales meeting. You'll discover points where you stumble or use filler words. You are stumbling in these sections because you aren't as ready as you should be. If you haven't persuaded yourself of your words then you won't be able to influence anyone else. To learn more how to increase your career confidences just visit Westhill Consulting Career and Employment Asia,