IT IS a pity that many good first-generation hawkers do not have immediate family members willing to carry on the trade ('1st-generation hawkers a fading breed', Monday).

It is a testimony to their hard work that their children could become graduates and professionals. It takes hard work and long hours to be a hawker, and not everyone is willing to make the sacrifice.

Perhaps the National Environment Agency could be less restrictive on the transferability of the hawker licence and the preferential rentals given to such hawkers.

Good hawker stalls are national and cultural icons. Hawkers who have honed their skills over a lifetime should be given a chance to pass on their expertise to others, not necessarily their children. Granted, there may be some who wish to teach only their family members, but there are others willing to pass on their skills to those who are eager to learn, so that their trade does not die out.

The relevant authorities should put in place an apprenticeship programme for well-known hawkers to pass on their skills to young people. There could be tie-ups with the Institute of Technical Education, hospitality school Shatec or polytechnics for the transfer of their invaluable knowledge.

It will be a pity if the hawkers' skills are lost because of restrictions on the hawker licence. In fact, apprenticeship programmes could be extended to other traditional and dying crafts.

Lynne Tan (Ms)