Singapore to uplift skilled trades with structured career ladders, starting with electricians

“Yet with the workforce ageing in such trades, we need to think harder about workforce renewal and attracting more Singaporeans to join these trades,” said Dr Tan.

He said these efforts are starting with the electrical trade, given its essential role in Singapore’s future economy, deep skills content and the need to build a strong local pipeline of talent.

“We will learn from this to scale up our efforts to other trades,” said the minister, who was laying out MOM’s spending plans.

At a briefing for reporters, an MOM spokesperson said the ministry intends to expand the initiatives, particularly to building-related trades covered by STAS.

STAS is an industry body for specialist contractors and suppliers in the building and construction sector. Its members include associations for air-conditioning, lifts and escalators, furniture, plumbing and other trades.

Asked whether this is a response to job disruption caused by AI, the spokesperson said MOM’s analysis and international analyses clearly showed that skilled trades have lower exposure to and risk of substitution by AI.

But the focus on skilled trades is not because it is a “safe harbour” from AI. Instead, the impetus is to create more diverse pathways where people can succeed in their careers, said the spokesperson.