Custom-built career ladder for carpenters

Their monthly pay starts at $1,500 and can rise to above $3,000

By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 7 Feb 2014

CARPENTERS are getting their own custom-built career path.

The labour movement and an industry body representing local furniture firms have drawn up a new voluntary career progression ladder for carpenters.

Their minimum monthly basic pay starts at $1,500. As they become more skilled, this can rise to $3,000 and above, with no ceiling.

The move will make salaries more attractive in the sector, said labour chief Lim Swee Say, adding: "If we get it right, the sector can offer good jobs with good pay."

The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC), which represents furniture makers here, is backing the pay scale, saying it will draw more Singaporeans to the industry.

It is the first wage ladder that the labour movement has introduced in what it calls the "traditional skills" sector, which is at risk of disappearing as Singaporeans favour other careers.

Similar plans for plumbers and electricians are also in the pipeline. No details are available yet, but Mr Lim said that the new wage ladders for them will also be voluntary.

There are nearly 20,000 workers in the furniture trade here, but neither the National Trades Union Congress nor the industry body could say how many are carpenters. Industry players estimate that as many as four in five carpenters are foreigners, mostly from China and Malaysia.

The Manpower Ministry's official salary data released last year showed that carpenters earn a median monthly basic pay of $1,650.

Meanwhile, a $3.5 million programme was also launched yesterday to train more Singaporeans in the sector. Set up by the labour movement, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the SFIC, it will train 180 carpenters over the next two years. The fund will cover training fees and salary subsidies for employers.

The three also want to rebrand carpenters as "creative craftsmen" to make the trade appeal to younger job seekers.

"People may think that the trade is old-fashioned but it is actually quite dynamic because it produces things," said project coordinator-cum-carpenter Mohamed Shamsher Khan, 31.

He earns a monthly salary of about $2,900 and is looking forward to earning more in future.

He added: "Having a career ladder is important, but what is more important is that bosses recognise the Singaporeans who perform well and push them up the career ladder."

* First carpentry cohort gets certified
New campus in Yishun part of move to promote the trade among locals
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 12 Nov 2014

MR TITUS Tan had always been interested in woodwork, but a dearth of carpentry courses led him to pursue a diploma in information technology instead.

After working as an IT systems engineer for three years, he realised his "second choice" was not for him. He enrolled in a creative craftsman apprenticeship scheme and fulfilled his dream in April when he became a furniture craftsman at interior construction firm Facility Link.

"I'm a hands-on person," Mr Tan, 26, said. "I feel a great sense of achievement when I complete a product."

Mr Tan was among 18 trainees, aged 24 to 66, who yesterday became the first graduates of the six-month place-and-train programme.

Set up by the labour movement, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) in February, the programme trains apprentices in carpentry skills.

It guarantees them a minimum starting pay of $1,600 with pledging companies upon completion of training. And as they become more skilled, their salaries can rise to more than $3,000.

A new carpentry training campus at Yishun Industrial Park A to house the programme was also officially opened yesterday. The 418 sq m facility, approved by the Polytechnic of Western Australia, has two classrooms and eight work stations that can be used by 32 people at a time.

The programme and campus are part of a larger move to promote the traditional trade of carpentry among Singaporeans.

"Singapore faces a shortage of skilled local carpenters," said Mr Neo Sia Meng, chairman of the SFIC Institute.

"By providing a conducive learning environment and comprehensive education at the (campus), we hope to introduce more young Singaporeans to the art of furniture craftsmanship."

There are nearly 20,000 workers in the furniture trade but no official figures for the number of carpenters, most of whom are from Malaysia and China.

The lack of interest among locals in a profession many consider arduous and low-paying is especially worrying, given that the furniture industry is expanding.

According to the SFIC, the industry has a projected worth of $6.34 billion this year, up from $5.74 billion in 2012.

Singapore also contributes 1.05 per cent of the world's furniture production.

Labour chief Lim Swee Say, who was at yesterday's campus opening, said the traditional solution to "less popular" jobs like carpentry has been to hire more foreigners.

But he warned against such an approach, saying: "In time to come, we may lose that skill set in our local workforce."

Pointing to the efforts to promote carpentry, he said: "At the end of the day, we believe every job can be transformed into a better job, every worker can be transformed into a better worker."

So far, 22 companies have pledged to take part in the carpentry programme, and about 160 more Singaporeans are expected to undergo the training in the next 11/2 years.