Still healthy demand for construction personnel

THE surge in local construction projects in these two years has catapulted the sector ahead of many others.

In 2007, construction demand rose to $24.5 billion, up sharply from $16.8 billion in 2006. This year, it is expected to soar to $30 billion.

Against the generally bleak backdrop, construction personnel across professional, technical, supervisory and tradesmen levels are still in demand.

New local entrants who join the industry can expect starting monthly salaries of $1,400 to $1,700 at tradesmen level, and up to $3,500 at the professional, managerial, executive and technical (PMET) level.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been actively engaging in public outreach programmes to promote careers in the construction sector.

‘It is timely for locals to consider construction-related job opportunities and contribute to the development of an excellent built environment,’ said Lam Siew Wah, deputy chief executive officer of BCA.

BCA has been working closely with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) through the Job Re-creation Programme to match locals to jobs in the industry.

At the BCA Academy, various funding schemes have also been put in place to help defray the training costs for new local entrants in built environment courses. Both new entrants and existing personnel seeking upgrading of skills can enrol in the spectrum of courses offered there.

In addition, the Construction Re-skilling for Employment (CORE) Plus Programmes have been incorporated into the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), the recently launched $600 million government programme to upgrade the manpower capabilities of both companies and workers.

‘By including the courses under SPUR, we hope more companies can scale up the skill profile of their workers and build a competitive edge,’ said Chan Heng Kee, chief executive officer of WDA.

Added BCA’s Mr Lam: ‘Going forward, these efforts will go a long way in building up a core group of locals, who will lead and advance the construction workforce for the future development of Singapore’s built environment.’

Source : Business Times - 6 Dec 2008