Speech by Second Minister S Iswaran at the inaugural Precision Engineering Master Craftsman Graduation Ceremony at Nanyang Polytechnic

Mr. Chan Lee Mun, Principal and CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic,

Distinguished Guests,       

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

1.               I am pleased to join you this morning for the inaugural Precision Engineering Master Craftsman (PeMC) Graduation Ceremony.  This graduation ceremony marks an important milestone in our efforts to nurture a pool of highly skilled Singaporeans for the Precision Engineering (PE) industry, the foundation of our manufacturing sector.

The PeMC course is an important part of efforts to develop skilled talent to support the PE industry

2.               The PeMC course was developed in consultation with the industry and launched by Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) in 2012.  It aims to build a generation of deeply skilled craftsmen as part of the S$52 million Precision Engineering Vocational Continuing Education and Training (PEVC) initiative.

3.               Today, the first batch of 51 PeMC graduates will receive their WSQ Diplomas in Precision Engineering (Master Craftsman Skills).  For the past two years, these craftsmen have dedicated a full day of work and an additional evening each week to attend the course at NYP.  Their sponsoring employers have also been committed and supportive, giving up man-hours that could be used for operations to be used to attend this course.

4.               The strong partnership between employers and NYP has allowed these craftsmen to acquire 900 hours of specialised training in just two years, benefiting both the craftsmen and their employers.  Let me illustrate with two examples – one of a craftsman who attended the course and the other of a sponsoring company.

5.               Mr. Koh Khiam Hoe is a 42-year-old Singaporean engineering manager with more than 22 years of work experience.  His employer, JEP Precision Engineering Pte Ltd, offers high quality precision-machined products for the aerospace, oil & gas, electronics and machine tool industries.  Mr. Koh started his career as a machinist, rose through the ranks to a tool-room manager, and subsequently to an engineering manager before being sponsored to attend the PeMC programme.  The PeMC programme equipped Mr. Koh with pedagogical skills to lead and train junior craftsmen on emerging technologies and industry best practices.  Mr. Koh was recently been promoted to senior engineering manager.  As part of his new responsibilities, he now designs manufacturing processes and production plans for his team, and works side-by-side with his engineers to deliver manufacturing solutions in the plant. 

6.               Qioptiq Singapore designs and manufactures photonic products and solutions, and is one of the many companies that have sponsored its craftsmen to attend the PeMC course.  Two of its craftsmen are graduating today and a third will do so next year.  Qioptic has seen the benefits and pay-off even as its craftsmen were going through the programme.  The PeMC course enabled its craftsmen to initiate productivity improvements in the company.  They took the lead in enhancing the tool setting system and process for complex CNC multi-axis machining, as well as in preparing the training manual for the company’s new machinists.  Additionally, through their interactions with peers from other companies, these craftsmen picked up ideas to improve their metal machining processes, as well as methods which helped reduce their production lead time.

The quality of the PeMC course and its graduates is recognised internationally and domestically

7.               A hallmark of attaining mastery in a craft is when other masters of the craft recognise one’s achievement.  Therefore, I am very pleased to announce that in March this year, the PeMC training curriculum was recognised and certified by the German Industrie-und Handelskammer München (IHK), or the Industry Chambers of Commerce Munich, to have met all the qualification standards of the German “Industrie Meister”.  NYP is the first institution outside of Germany to have been accorded such a certification.

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 This is a testament to the high training standards and strong industry collaboration, which will stand Singapore in good stead as we become an advanced manufacturing centre. 

8.               To recognise their further level of achievement, graduates from the PeMC course who are deemed by their employers to have demonstrated exceptional technical skills, leadership on the factory floor, and ability to mentor junior craftsmen, will be eligible to be sponsored for industry certification as “Master Craftsman” by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).  Upon successful certification, these Master Craftsmen will receive salaries of at least $3,500, commensurate with the higher value they bring to their employers.  I am therefore pleased that, today, we shall be presenting 12 graduates with certificates recognising them as Master Craftsmen.

Companies can continue to expand their capabilities through collaborations with institutions like NYP

9.               In addition to grooming our precision engineering workforce, we need to transform and prepare our manufacturing industry for the future.  Today, precision engineering companies are already shifting their emphasis from the mass-production of simple parts to the manufacture of technology-intensive precision components.  They are also increasingly involved in the design, development and manufacture of high-mix, low-volume complex equipment.

10.           With such trends in the backdrop, our training institutions and companies must invest in updating and developing capabilities to remain relevant in the future.  NYP has therefore established the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre as a specialist centre to meet companies’ various manufacturing challenges, and provide educational and development training to students on core competencies such as 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping, Manufacturing and Tooling.

11.           Express Tech Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. is an example of an early mover that has benefited from partnering with the Centre to apply Additive Manufacturing technologies.  It collaborated with the Centre on the fabrication of tools via rapid tooling with conformal cooling channels for the mass production of parts for automobile, defence and consumer products.  This collaboration allowed Express Tech Manufacturing to achieve real productivity gains of about 35 per cent.  Their Managing Director, Mr. Leong Yoke Ming, shared that the success of their collaboration with NYP has led them to consider spinning off a startup company to handle conformal tooling services for the region.  I urge more companies, both large and small, to follow the example of Express Tech Manufacturing to partner the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre and leverage on new manufacturing technologies like additive manufacturing.

Conclusion

12.           In closing, I would first like to thank NYP and its dedicated team for having successfully conducted the first run of the PeMC course.  I would like to give special mention to SMF and the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC) for their efforts to create the Master Craftsmen certification, and obtain German recognition of the PeMC course at NYP.  Your partnership is critical to our long-term effort to raise the level of capabilities and productivity of the PE industry.

13.           I also want to recognise the support and encouragement of family, friends, colleagues and employers over the past two

years, which has help these craftsmen meet the stringent academic and practical requirements of the course, while striving to balance the rigours of work-life.  I would like to invite the graduating batch of craftsmen to join me in expressing our appreciation to all family members, friends and employers. 

14.           Finally, I would like to congratulate the first graduating batch of the PeMC course, and the newly-certified Master Craftsmen.  Today’s graduation marks the beginning of the next phase of your professional journey.  As masters and leaders of your craft, you have an important role to play in its continued refinement and evolution.  You now have the responsibility and the skills to lead, groom and nurture the next generation of craftsmen.  Let us work together to ensure Singapore’s status as an advanced and competitive manufacturing centre of the future.  Thank you.

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While there are master craftsmen in countries outside of Germany who are examined and certified according to the German Meister syllabus, this is the first time Meister recognition is given to a training programme that is designed and conducted wholly by a foreign training institution.