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Let’s get real about the manpower needs of Singapore’s manufacturing sector
Younger Singaporeans are shunning manufacturing jobs and automation has its limits. A reset on foreign manpower policies can help ease the crunch.
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Achieving Singapore’s target of 2 per cent to 3 per cent economic growth annually with near-zero labour force growth requires significant productivity gains, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Kok Ping Soon
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Watson EP, a precision engineering firm, has been manufacturing professional audio, hygiene and plastic products in Singapore since 1977. It has about 70 employees. By expanding to China and Vietnam with affiliated companies, it has enhanced its capacity to provide vertically integrated manufacturing services across diverse market segments.
The company has embraced technology and innovation since the 1990s. But some tasks are still dependent on humans. For instance, the quality inspection process for some of the specialised products requires careful calibration of the right focal length and lighting conditions. Investments in highly customised automation machinery are not viable.
