By Fawwaz Baktee
Representing each decade in the last 50 years of Singapore's history, here are several workers who were honoured by NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say in his May Day Rally Speech:
1960s - V Vengadasalam, 65, Technical Officer, Singapore Power
When Singapore began replacing overhead cables with safer underground ones in the 60s, Mr V Vengadasalam was tasked to install 22Kv cables and commission substation projects. Some of the physical tasks he had to do then were the laying of pipes to aid in the positioning of heavy transformers and cables.
Over the years, Mr Vengadasalam has seen his job transform from manual labour to something more technical in nature.
Today, the 65-year-old supervises contractor workers and assists engineers with switching duties, cable identification and spiking of power cables.
1970s - Martin Verghese, 70, Associate Trainer, PSA Institute
In 1972, Associate Trainer Martin Verghese became a Quay Crane and Van Carrier Operator, and was the first batch of PSA employees to undergo machine operation training. He was involved in unloading the first containership to berth Singapore at Tanjong Pagar Terminal.
In his later years at PSA, Mr Verghese took on the role of a trainer, guiding other PSA employees on the operations of new types of cranes such as yard stack cranes. To do so, he had to keep up with the evolution of the port industry, constantly upgrade and learn new skills.
According to Mr Verghese, the evolution of the port industry has also caused the change in training methods. Decades ago, the hands-on approach was the way to teach trainees on the operation of the cranes. Today, training is done through a crane simulator.
1980s - Lim Thiam Soong, 55, Train Captain, SMRT
When the first MRT line opened in Singapore in 1987, Mr Lim Thiam Soong was one of the pioneer Train Captains who drove trains from Yio Chu Kang to Braddell.
In his 28 years of service in SMRT, Mr Lim was trained to drive four generations of trains. Train operators had to manually drive the first generation of trains unlike the ones today, which are mostly computerised.
In the past, Train Captains like Mr Lim were trained for technical-based operations. But today, Train Captains are encouraged to reach out to passengers, make information updates and give safety advice.
1990s - Rahmah Abdul, 56, Senior Manufaturing Specialist, ST Microelectronics
When Singapore was hit by the Asian financial Crisis in 1997, Mdm Rahmah found herself retrenched.
She subsequently upgraded her skills and landed a job at STMicroelectronics as a quality specialist.
Mdm Rahmah adapted well to wafer fabrication operations and has been promoted several times over the years. The 56-year-old is currently a Senior Manufacturing Specialist.
2000s - Tan Say Chew, 53, Senior Technical Officer, NEWater
In 2003, Mr Tan took on a job to become the first batch of workers to operate the Bedok NEWater factory after having spent 21 years at the then PUB Sewage Department.
He picked up the skills and knowledge required through on-the-job training. Today, Mr Tan’s job requires him to conduct quality checks of the water from the plant. He has to monitor and control plant operations, ensuring there is no disruption of NEWater supply and that the water produced is within required standards.
Source: NTUC This Week
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