There is a growing demand for more skilled engineers in the marine and offshore rig construction industry to supervise the construction of vessels and rigs.
While the industry continues to hire fresh graduates, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Marine Engineering Cluster together with NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have plans to attract Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) with engineering skills to join this industry through a conversion programme.
This will help to speed up both the hiring and training cycles of getting Singaporeans to fill the job vacancies.
This was announced at the briefing by the Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees' Union (SMEEU) and e2i on the newly launched Place-and-Train (PnT) programme for Marine & Offshore Engineers on 28 August 2013.
This $5.7 million conversion programme aims to create a new pathway for mid-career engineers to enter the marine and offshore rig industry.
It will target 60 mid-career engineers, mostly from the general manufacturing industry, to undergo both classroom and on-the-job training.
This will allow mid-career engineers to remain as engineers instead of looking for other employment outside their engineering field and in effect, help prevent structural unemployment within the profession.
Under the new pilot PnT programme for Marine & Offshore Engineers, the Cluster together with its partners will engage the industry to:
Over the next two years, WDA will also set aside $1.2 million for the new PnT programme to subsidise course fees and provide allowances for trainees.
Original article written by Stanley Ho, and can be found in NTUC This Week (27 September 2013)
