From ‘carpenter’ to ‘creative craftsman’ – this is the vision of the Creative Craftsman Apprenticeship Programme (CCAP) while putting in place a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the profession.
As a start, $3.5 million has been set aside to place-and-train 180 Singaporeans with 17 employers signing up to participate in the programme.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) Institute, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the Polytechnic of Western Australia (PWA).
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Lim Swee Say who witnessed the signing said: “I’m very happy to hear that the SFIC has endorsed the proposal from the tripartite partners to come up with a Progressive Wage Model whereby the workers in this sector will have a proper wage ladder to move up.”
In his address, SG Lim also encouraged companies to quicken the pace of redesigning jobs and upgrading the skills of workers to “ensure every job becomes a better job and every worker becomes a better worker.”
SFIC Vice-President and SFIC Institute Chairman Mr Neo Sia Meng hopes to see Singaporeans signing up for the Creative Craftsman Apprenticeship Programme.
“Through this tripartite effort, we hope to see more interested Singaporeans come forward to find out more about this incredibly fulfilling career path, allowing the local furniture industry to grow from strength to strength,’’ he added.
NTUC’s e2i CEO Gilbert Tan couldn’t agree more. “Through the Creative Craftsman Apprenticeship Programme, local workers interested in carpentry will now have opportunities for sustained career and wage progression based on their skill levels and work experience,” he added.
Source: NTUC This Week
