As a civil engineer in PSA Singapore (PSA) since 2001, 40-year-old Benjamin Tang Chun Wai has seen firsthand how operations at the port have evolved from being manual to becoming highly automated today.
As President of the Port Officers' Union (POU), the thing that is uppermost in his mind is to encourage lifelong learning among the 1600 members to cope with technological changes.
Mr Tang tells us about the port of the future and how lifelong learning is being promoted.
NTUC This Week: What changes have you seen in the development of Singapore's port and how are workers being prepared for these changes?
Benjamin Tang: Competition has become more intensive over the years. With better technology, regional countries have been able to build bigger and more efficient ports to compete with PSA Singapore. Thankfully, PSA has transformed from a local to a global port operator with its presence in 40 ports in 16 countries. With rapid changes in technology, PSA also recognises the importance of training. For this there is the training institute PSA University. There is also a corporate Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in place where every staff has to undergo training for at least 16 hours annually. All this shows the seriousness of training and upskilling in PSA.
What does the "port of the future" mean to you and your members, especially with the Tuas mega terminal coming soon by 2030?
A: To me, "port of the future" is like an "automated warehouse" requiring minimum staff. We will see automated quay cranes, yard cranes, driverless prime movers and robotic maintenance in this future port. What worries me most is that some of our members have worked in PSA all their lives and may not appreciate how disruptive technology can be, making some jobs obsolete. This could lead to a reduction in headcount too. Therefore there is a relentless need to learn, unlearn and relearn new skills and technology.
What steps is POU taking together with PSA management to future-ready its members?
A: POU works with PSA Management to identify skills gaps. It then works with the various institutions of higher learning like the universities and polytechnics to come up with structured courses to address these skills gaps and provide training for its staff. In order to instil the lifelong learning culture in our members, POU together with PSA management and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) will be rolling out a series of SkillsFuture roadshows in the first half of next year.
What are the objectives of these roadshows?
A: POU wants to ensure that its members take ownership of their own training. The roadshows are targeted at all our senior officers working in the terminals. The roadshow will be brought to all the seven terminals over a two week period. It won’t just be focussing on future jobs in the port sector but all sectors in Singapore. We will also be encouraging our members to make use of their SkillsFuture and the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) during the talks. The roadshows will also feature the recent tie between NTUC and Nanyang Technological University where bite-sized courses will be offered. This will help our members have an overall picture of the vast opportunities available in lifelong learning.
Source: NTUC This Week
