Farmer, plumber, lift technician: More young people in Singapore drawn to skilled trades

SINGAPORE – Growing up, Mr Daniel Yap, 32, had always wanted to be a musician, do research or follow his father’s path to becoming an engineer. 

He ended up studying materials science and engineering in university, but it was his side hustle – watering, growing and selling plants – that held the most attraction.

It turned out to be the “best thing” he did despite growing opportunities in other fields, and Mr Yap kept at it. 

Today, he manages his farm, Noi Gardens, in Singapore full time, and recently expanded to Johor Bahru, developing operations there. He has about 18 employees in both places. 

Mr Yap is among a growing number of younger workers, especially millennials and Gen Zs, who not only find a hands-on career rewarding, but are also enticed by the tangible fruits that come from entrepreneurship.

Observers told The Straits Times that the growing interest in traditional skilled trades such as landscaping and plumbing can be attributed to younger workers hoping to become their own boss one day, with some considering it at least a part-time career.

Entrepreneurial pull

Licensed plumber Geraldine Goh, 31, who started her own plumbing business, Agraffe, in 2017 after a stint as a facilities management officer at a town council, said she has noticed a shift where younger people are attempting to enter the industry.

Mr Shameer Khan, 22, said he joined BCA Academy’s plumbing and pipe-fitting course to widen his skills and expand his interior renovation company’s service offerings.

“I chose plumbing over carpentry due to its wide coverage, including sewage systems, fire protection and water installation.”

Another student from the course, Mr Yeo Kai Xun, 23, wanted to leverage his architecture knowledge but hoped to pursue his passion for fixing things by obtaining a plumbing licence, building a practical, hands-on career in the built environment sector.

Ms Goh, who is also a certified trainer running the basic domestic plumbing course at property management company Exceltec, said she envisions herself sharing her work experience with her juniors. “Many experienced plumbers with decades of hands-on knowledge are retiring. If younger people don’t step in to learn these skills now, we risk losing critical troubleshooting expertise that can’t be replaced overnight.”

While there are project plumbers whose services are focused on large commercial projects, she is more passionate about maintenance work in people’s homes, including HDB, condominium and landed properties.

“Diagnosing real causes of issues like recurring leaks, concealed pipe failures, choked pipelines or poor water pressure requires deep understanding. It’s the passion for helping others and solving problems, and whether you have the heart to help people.”

Mr Yap said of his experience: “It was like this farming life chose me instead.”

Managing the business got him hooked, as he learnt new things daily, travelled to places like Thailand, Malaysia, Holland, Australia and Taiwan, and was able to see how people run their farms and sell produce in their own unique ways.

“It’s almost like finding out the very things that make people happy across the world.

“When I started, I had to do all the watering and growing myself, and after a while, I set up systems in place to grow the plants. I am still working on improving the technical aspects of it,” said Mr Yap, whose business focuses on wholesale and e-commerce. 

While he started out selling a lot of adeniums, commonly known as desert roses, and fruit plants, he kept changing the plants he sells – from succulents to ferns, caudex, aroids, bonsai and others. Mr Yap now has the whole range, offers landscaping services, and he recently started growing grass.

The joy of tangible rewards in a digital era

Industry experts said that, in addition to passion, creating and being good at something tangible has resonated with people aged 25 to 44, the range covering millennials and Gen Zs.

“It’s craftsmanship with a visible payoff,” said Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) Institute chief executive Dominic Ng.

“Carpentry and woodworking are no longer perceived strictly as legal trades, but have been rediscovered as creative, resilient and future-ready skills,” he said.

The Artisan Academy of SFIC Institute has seen a “clear and growing uptick” in course participation from workers up to 35 years old, with many not only signing up for basic skills, but also pursuing advanced competencies to strengthen their career prospects.

SFIC Institute business development manager Raymond Tuan, who oversees the professional craftsman programme, said there are mainly two groups of people who join the 21-day full-time course or its part-time variation.

In the first group are those who are keen on home improvement, such as wanting to fix or repair their own cabinets, and in the second are people below 40 years old who are hoping to enter the gig economy or become their own boss one day. Those in the second group typically have full-time jobs and take up the course part-time after work or on weekends.

Architecture graduate Shannon Tan, 26, said she joined the programme as craftsmanship is a growing industry.

“It’s never boring. Compared with an office job, it might be better for young people to work with their hands and be on their feet while they still can, and it also helps young designers be creative.”

Dr Natt Srinara, a lecturer and consultant at EHL Hospitality Business School, said young people in the hospitality sector are noticing “real vacancies and clear entry points” in hotels, restaurants and attractions, especially for roles such as guest relations, kitchen, housekeeping, events and maintenance.

This means the local hospitality and tourism sectors are still hiring, while many white-collar sectors are talking about headcount freezes, he noted.

Besides, these jobs “feel more resilient” against artificial intelligence than a generic office role.

“There’s pride in ‘craft’, at being good at something tangible, whether that’s plating desserts or receiving compliments from a high-net-worth guest,” said Dr Srinara.

Social media has also made these jobs more visible and aspirational, he said.

“Baristas, pastry chefs and horticulturists are showing their work online, and that changes how young people see ‘trades’.”

SFIC Institute’s Mr Ng agreed, saying that social platforms such as TikTok spotlight the “maker culture”, where woodcraft becomes both a passion and a marketable product or service, enabling freelancers and boutique studios to thrive.

Mr Yap uses social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Xiaohongshu to generate content and create new business opportunities.

“My content moved from memes to educational, to humour to care tips, to farm tours and more. And it seems people get better opportunities these days.”

Younger pool of workers in the lift and escalator industry

Meanwhile, the local workforce in the lift and escalator industry is becoming younger and better paid, with a roughly 21 per cent increase in workers aged up to 35 from 2023 to 2025, said a spokesperson for the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Over the past two years, the median age of local workers has also fallen, from 46 to 40 years old.

Mr Muaaz Samat, 25, joined lift and escalator company Kone as a maintenance technician overseeing equipment operations at a hospital because it offered the “perfect combination of hands-on engineering and career growth opportunities”.

“Many people assume my job is like being a car mechanic. It’s actually far more dynamic. One moment I’m checking ropes, the next I’m diagnosing error codes or fixing doors – all to keep passengers moving safely every day,” he said.

Mr Samat added that working in a hospital makes the job especially meaningful, as he gets to see how essential lifts are for patients.

“Nurses rely on them to move people who often have no other way to get around. It’s humbling, and it reminds me why reliability matters. I was hospitalised once, too, so I understand how vulnerable these moments can feel.”

Perception gap in skilled trades

In 2023, the

National Trades Union Congress called for skilled trades to be professionalised

, and started working with the Ministry of Manpower to develop a Career Progression Model with specific career and accreditation pathways. It also released a study that aims to establish a strong local core of skilled tradespeople in Singapore.

The study showed that 57 per cent of respondents viewed skilled trade jobs with “low status stigma”. Another 57 per cent viewed them as jobs with “low pay”, while another 50 per cent cited the “lack of career advancement opportunities”.

Despite signs of interest and openness among the youth towards skilled trades, analysts said the perception gap and stigma about such jobs still linger.

Dr Issac Lim, founder of social science consultancy Anthro Insights, said these jobs are bounded by concerns around status, earnings, stability and job demands. “The momentum is still fragile and unlikely to sustain unless two structural issues are addressed head-on: persistent stigma and the pay or career-value gap relative to degree pathways.”

Dr Srinara said: “If rosters are brutal or pay progression is unclear, then no amount of funding or portals will convince a young person to stay. And there’s still a perception gap, as many parents and teachers still see skilled trades as a fallback, not a first choice, unlike professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs.”

As part of ongoing efforts to create more opportunities for Singaporeans to succeed, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon had said in Parliament in September 2025 that the Government will work with employers, the labour movement, trade associations and institutes of higher learning to

develop pathways for progression for those inclined towards hands-on and “heart” jobs

. He did not provide a specific timeline for this initiative.

While government efforts like Graduate Industry Traineeships and Careers and Skills Passport have been set in place to help young people secure traineeships and transit into trade jobs, analysts said more can be done to shift public perception.

“(Such initiatives) work best when employers redesign roles to be more sustainable and aspirational, and when schools and career counsellors start talking about hospitality trades as serious, future-proof careers, and not as fallbacks for those not so academically inclined,” said Dr Srinara.

“We have to show that skilled trades are not dead ends. Concrete examples of how a room attendant becomes a floor supervisor, then an assistant executive housekeeper and eventually manages multiple properties, make a huge difference to parents and to the youth themselves.”

Dr Lim, who also teaches organisational behaviour at NUS Business School, added that young people are “unlikely on their own to shift the underlying incentives and perceptions” that keep many young locals away from the trades.

Meanwhile, SFIC Institute hopes to build an ecosystem for its students and aspiring craftsmen professionals to turn to for support.

“We can help to accelerate this ecosystem development by forging deeper partnerships between training providers and industry clusters, and elevate woodworking careers through storytelling campaigns and success journeys,” said the institute’s Mr Ng.

Said Dr Lim: “If the goal is to grow local participation in 2026, the core test is simple: Can a tradesperson reliably achieve a decent middle-class living and social respect as a first-choice vocation?”