Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the launch of the Precision Engineering Technology Consortia and PE WSQ Graduate Diploma Programmes, 10 Jun 09

SPEECH BY MR LEE YI SHYAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND MANPOWER, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PRECISION ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY CONSORTIA AND PRECISION ENGINEERING WORKFORCE SKILLS QUALIFICATIONS (PE WSQ) GRADUATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES ON WEDNESDAY, 10 JUNE 2009, 10 AM AT SIMTech

Ms Yena Lim, Managing Director, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Mr Chan Heng Kee, Chief Executive, Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)

Dr Lim Ser Yong, Executive Director, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)

Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

Introduction

I am happy to be here with you this morning. Today we will witness another milestone for our local Precision Engineering.

PE industry as part of our knowledge-based economy

Our PE industry has grown from strength to strength over the last 30 years. From its early days of undertaking simple contract manufacturing of components based on customer specifications, our PE industry has grown to become solution providers that produce innovative designs with enhanced manufacturing processes. Today, PE forms the backbone of Singapore’s complex manufacturing activities and is a core enabler for industries such as electronics, semiconductor, aerospace, medical devices, and marine and offshore equipment. The Singapore PE industry today comprises some 2,700 companies, employing more than 100,000 workers, and contributing about $22.3 billion in manufacturing output and $6.7 billion in value-add last year

[1]

.

This is a remarkable progress, as our companies continuously seek to reinvent themselves, supported by the Government’s investments in and emphasis on building a knowledge-based economy. We need to be even more persistent in our drive to change in this current downturn, which has severely impacted the PE industry.

To help our companies weather this economic downturn, the Government has announced a slew of financing assistance schemes. More than $3 billion dollars worth of government-backed loans have been approved since the first tranche of enhancements took effect in December last year, of which over 90% of the loans have gone to SMEs.

While April saw a record high of more than 1,800 approved loans, May seems to reveal the first sign of stabilization with the loan figures declining 25% to 1,397 loans, with an approved amount of $832.8 million. According to local bankers, this could be due to the growing confidence of commercial lenders and borrowers which has led to a gradual pick-up in lending activity in Singapore. However, it will take several more months of data to establish any consistent pattern that the credit crunch is easing.

While the current downturn and reduced factory orders have weighed down on our firms, we should not lose sight of the fact that our competitors continue to surge ahead. The only way forward is to improve our firms’ capability in innovation, their use of technology and design, and to equip our workers with the right skills to handle more sophisticated machinery and processes.

This is why over the years, we have developed centers of excellence to systematically increase our pool of skilled workers. One of these initiatives also includes the PE Centre of Innovation (PE COI), which was set up last year by SIMTech, A*STAR and SPRING Singapore, to support critical areas of technology development, manpower development, expert consultancy and R&D infrastructure to benefit local PE companies.

Competitive Advantages in PE Niche Areas and Technology Consortia

SIMTech, through PE COI, has developed many good technology programmes help SMEs to upgrade their capabilities. This morning, SIMTech is introducing two new programmes to help firms acquire two important capabilities: (a) “High-Mix Low-Volume Manufacturing” to enable flexible manufacturing capability and (b) “Precision Measurements and Characterization” to ensure higher product quality, reliability and better process and product design.

I am pleased to note that our PE firms’ response to the two programmes has been encouraging. Thirteen companies have signed up for the upgrading programmes. These companies will receive technology support from SIMTech in terms of prototype systems, software solutions, methodology and technologies. More importantly, the participating firms will also receive support in terms of workers’ training so that they will have the right skills to perform at a higher level of competency and sophistication.

PE WSQ Graduate Diploma Programmes to equip manpower with relevant technical expertise

This leads me to the announcement of two new PE WSQ Graduate Diploma Programmes: (a) the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), and (b) the Precision Measurements and Characterization to support our PE firms. Co-developed by WDA and SIMTech, these two diploma programmes are also the first Graduate Diploma programmes for the manufacturing sector developed under the WSQ framework.

The two WSQ Programmes will not only up skill existing Professionals, Managers, and Engineers (PMEs) in the industry, they will also enable the conversion of professionals from other sectors to the precision engineering industries. These participants will undergo classroom and practical training at SIMTech and work attachment in companies participating in the consortia.

Upon completion of the one-year training and work attachment, these participants may take up a wide range of positions such as Engineers, Production Managers, Operations Managers, Planners, Schedulers, QA and QC Managers. With an enrolment capacity of 200 per year, we would train as many as needed by the industry.

Conclusion

Finally, let me commend the 13 companies participating in the consortia for the two new capability building programmes. By sending their workers to the two diploma programmes, these companies demonstrate their commitment to skills upgrading and their human resources development.

I would also like to thank WDA, SIMTech and A*STAR for working closely with the PE industries to constantly seeks ways to improve the capabilities and competitiveness of the PE industry. Our future depends on innovation. And you are the one who can make it happen.

Thank you.

[1]Source: Economic Development Board