Speech by 2M Desmond Lee at the Official Opening of Fujitec Singapore Experience Centre

Jun 28, 2019

A very good morning to everyone. Thank you for letting me join you for the official opening of the Fujitec Experience Centre. I like to say a very big congratulation to friends from Fujitec for launching this Centre which I understand is the first in your group globally. We are honoured to have this Centre set up in Singapore.

The Centre we are launching today not only showcases Fujitec’s latest technologies applicable to urban cities we see today, but also highlights the company’s commitment in training and developing skills in your employees. Such commitment is key to developing our Lift & Escalator sector.
 
Creating space and intensifying land use has always been a challenge for land-scarce Singapore. To overcome this, we have been building taller and building deeper underground – maximising space and creating opportunities. Lifts and escalators are therefore an integral part of vertical transportation in facilitating access to such spaces. By our estimates, there are around 69,000 lifts and nearly 7,000 escalators in Singapore. And these numbers will continue to grow as Singapore becomes increasingly built-up. We, therefore, need to develop a strong core Lift & Escalator workforce, to ensure that our lifts and escalators are well-maintained, and continue to operate safely and smoothly in our city.

But doing so has not been easy. First, we know that working conditions are not easy. Maintenance work is physically strenuous; lift technicians often have to work in dark and stuffy lift shafts and motor rooms, especially for older lift models. Working hours are long and sometimes unpredictable, especially when emergencies arise. Second, pay has not been competitive enough to attract Singaporeans into this sector. Third, our Singaporean lift and escalator technicians are ageing. About half of our lift technician workforce is expected to retire in the next 10 to 15 years. This leaves us with a very short runway to fill the void that our retiring technicians will be leaving behind, and also to further expand the team. When a team of technicians retire, it’s not just the number we have to fill, but the void in experience, because these technicians come with a lifetime of experience dealing with issues.

To meet this challenge, the industry, our unions and the Government came together in 2017 to study this in detail and to make recommendations. Last September, the Lift & Escalator Sectoral Tripartite Committee announced its recommendations to attract, develop and retain Singaporeans in this very important industry.  I am glad that Fujitec was an active member of this committee.

In short, the Tripartite Committee recommended ways to create better jobs in the sector which will come with more attractive pay, enhance skills through better training and certification, and improve productivity through technology adoption.
 
Let me elaborate on these recommendations. First, the committee recommended that we create better jobs for better pay. Specifically, it suggested applying the Progressive Wage Model, or PWM in short, to support workers in the lift and escalator industry. This means technicians can look forward to a more clearly defined career pathway. If they pick up certain skillsets, they can climb up the ladder and take on more senior roles, which in turn will command higher salaries under the wage ladder. There is a supervisory track for those who want to build up management capabilities, and a specialist track for those who want to deepen technical skills. The committee also proposed higher basic wage ranges for each job level, to keep the Lift & Escalator sector competitive in retaining and attracting Singaporeans into the workforce.

I am happy to share that since 1 May, Government agencies have taken the lead to drive early adoption of the Progressive Wage Model, by procuring lift maintenance services only from firms that have registered their commitment with BCA to adopt the Progressive Wage Model for their technical staff. 

Second, the Committee recommended that we put in place a training and certification framework. This ensures that all our maintenance technicians in Singapore are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to perform their roles well.

Third, the committee also recommended that the sector raises productivity through technology adoption. Doing so helps streamline existing work processes and create higher value-added jobs, which in turn will ensure healthy growth for the sector.

I would like to take the opportunity to commend Fujitec for your contributions to this industry. As the largest lift company in Singapore with a long history on our island, you have an important role to play in helping to collectively uplift the industry.

I am glad to hear that Fujitec is a sponsoring company for the ITE’s Work-Learn Technical Diploma Programme, or WLTD Programme in short. It is an apprenticeship-based programme that allows trainees to work and study at the same time. It is designed to give our fresh ITE graduates a head-start in careers related to their discipline of study, allowing them to build on the skills and knowledge they acquired in school, for a smoother transition into the workforce. 

The WLTD programme in Vertical Transportation was recently launched in April, and I understand that Fujitec now has four of our ITE graduates with NITEC & Higher NITEC certification attached as trainees. All of them have been assigned qualified trainers to supervise and monitor their progress throughout the programme. The Experience Centre which we are opening today will be one of the training grounds for these trainees.  

By completing the programme, the trainees will not only gain extensive work experience, but will also receive Technical Diplomas conferred by ITE.

Initiatives such as the WLTD Programme and the sector’s active participation will help grow and retain talent in the Lift & Escalator industry. 

I hope that Fujitec will also continue to lend your support to our full suite of talent development efforts, such as BCA’s scholarships and sponsorships programmes, and the Professional Conversion Programme to bring mid-career jobseekers into this sector. This will go on to inspire other industry players to follow in your path. And through continued tripartite collaboration, we will see good results in our effort to grow the pool of qualified lift & escalator technicians.

On this note, let me congratulate Fujitec on the official opening of the Fujitec Experience Centre. Thank you