OFFSITE KEY TO OVERHAUL OF SINGAPORE’S CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
THE RECENT LAUNCH AN INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION MAP (ITM) HAS SEALED A COMMITMENT BY SINGAPORE TO IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF ITS CONSTRUCTION SECTOR, THROUGH THE INCREASED USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND PREFABRICATION BUILDING METHODOLOGIES.
The new road map to reinvent Singapore’s construction sector has been implemented to reduce the cost of housing and minimise construction time.
To facilitate this, Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) aims to attract another 50,000 people to new construction technology jobs by 2025, bringing the total to 80,000.
It is also emphasising Design for Manufacturing and Assembly principles (DFMA), which typically rely on offsite prefabrication methods. By 2020, the ITM targets to increase the adoption of such projects to 40 per cent, up from the current 10 per cent.
The ITM will also build core engineering and skills in transformation areas via structured professional development pathways across Pre-Employment Training (PET), internships and early job training, and Continuing Education and Training (CET).
Significantly, the ITM has been conceived to ensure that the industry is not driven to extinction. The construction industry is reliant on foreign labour and the BCA is optimistic that improved working conditions will attract Singaporeans.
By maintaining stable foreign labour limits and encouraging new jobs at the same time, Singapore’s authorities aims to attract new entrants to an elevated industry that demands more technical competency and offers a more comfortable working environment.
As Singapore Contractors Association Limited president Kenneth Loo put it: “If you have a completely backwards industry that no one wants to join, nothing can ever be cheaper or faster. We are pumping in a bit more now, but that is to keep this industry alive and sustainable.”■
