Talking up the factory floor

SINGAPORE - On a Tuesday during the May school holidays, Singapore's Economic Development Board bused 45 high-school teachers to a palm-fringed island off its south coast. The treat: touring a petrochemical factory.

"You have a big influence on the people who are choosing a lifelong career," Chan Soo Sen, a former education, trade and industry minister, told teachers from 12 schools as they toured the Mitsui Chemicals plant. "Manufacturing has changed. It's not dirty, it's not dangerous."

Singapore is enlisting teachers to encourage the country's students to consider careers in industry, not just in services like banking.

The Government will spend US$4.7 billion ($7.4 billion) over five years to foster research and high-end production in industries such as biomedical sciences and precision engineering.

It aims to replace assembly lines that are moving to low-cost countries such as China and Malaysia. It may need 15,000 workers a year from the 2.3 million-strong labour force.

Koh Boon Hwee, chief executive officer of Sunningdale Tech, believes overcoming Singaporeans' reluctance to pursue factory jobs won't be easy.

"When you talk about manufacturing, most people jump into the concept of assembly line," said Koh, 55, whose firm makes plastic and steel moulds.

Tan Siok San, an engineer-turned-educator who manages adult learning at Singapore's Republic Polytechnic, said students preferred "soft" degrees such as business administration because they viewed these careers as more prestigious.

"Being a technical professional is not as favourably viewed as being part of the management," Tan said.

The growth in Singapore's manufacturing output has slowed to 6 per cent on average in the past decade from 10.6 per cent from 1986 to 1995. Services such as banking and tourism accounted for 69 per cent of jobs last year. But industrial output expanded 12.5 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the Trade Ministry said.

Teng Ngiek Lian, of Target Asset Management, said Singapore was struggling to compete against Asian neighbours for electronics contracts that still dominated its manufacturing.

Leslie Khoo, an economist at Forecast Singapore, said that an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003, which crippled tourism, helped focus the city-state on the need for alternatives.

"The Government wants a balance," Khoo said. "If you put all the eggs in a basket, there's a risk."

The Economic Development Board aims to double manufacturing output to US$190 billion by 2018. It wants research and development in biomedical sciences, digital media and environment technology to account for 3 per cent of the US$118 billion economy by 2010, from 2.3 per cent in 2004.

Ko Kheng Hwa, the board's managing director said: "It's not just about putting gadgets together. There's a wide range of job opportunities."

- BLOOMBERG