When Ms Geraldine Goh left her corporate job to become a licensed plumber, some friends wondered if she had made a mistake.
When Mr Gng Soon Meng graduated from the Institute of Technical Education with a certificate in electronics engineering and chose to install smart home systems instead of pursuing a desk-bound engineering role, relatives asked what had gone wrong.
Nothing had.
In fact, their decisions reflect a gentle shift in Singapore. The long-held assumption that success must follow a white-collar path is starting to loosen.
In the decades after independence, Singapore was built by skilled tradespeople. Shipyards, construction sites and factories powered our growth.
As the economy modernised, national emphasis turned, and rightly so, towards higher education, professional careers and the knowledge economy. “Get a university degree” became the default aspiration.
That strategy worked – perhaps too well – at the expense of other pathways.
Today, only about 2 per cent of our resident workforce is in skilled trades such as plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and lift maintenance.
At the same time, roughly 133,000 foreign workers fill roles in these sectors because local supply is limited. The median age of trades workers here is 56. For years, younger Singaporeans largely stayed away.
This was not because trade works are not valued (I know this because I once tried to replace the pipes for my sink and came away with renewed respect for professional plumbers). Rather, it was perhaps because a stigma had been embedded.
Trades were often viewed as fallback options, perhaps because they were seen as suitable for those who did not perform well academically.
Parents worried about this, although very few, if any, would say this publicly. Students internalised the message early, only at home perhaps, but still with lasting effects. Thus, even when demand was strong enough, the career choice never followed suit.
That narrative may now be changing, and I think for the better. One who chooses to become a tradesperson should no longer be seen as “settling”.
Instead, such people ought to be seen as enterprising and responding to real demand in the market. They combine deep technical, hands-on knowledge with business disciplines to create a viable livelihood that earns a steady income and empowers them and others.
