Lift industry needs to boost number of technicians: Industry players
SINGAPORE: The lift industry needs to boost the number of technicians if it wants to ensure the competency and capability of people in the field.
This is according to industry players Channel NewsAsia spoke to on Friday (Jun 17), following Thursday's announcement by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) to boost capability in the industry so that it has the resources to meet new regulatory requirements.
At lift company Mitsubishi Elevator, technicians have to go through six months of structured in-house training covering practical and theory, along with at least two years of on-the-job training, before they are allowed to work independently in lifts. It is part of Mitsubishi's policy to ensure competency among its technicians.
This practice of conducting in-house training is understood to be carried out by lift companies across Singapore.
One industry player said that when it comes to building up capability in the lift industry, there is a need to attract people to join the industry.
"The challenge is basically a demand and supply problem,” said Ms Mary Kok, head of Mitsubishi Elevator Singapore’s Human Resource and Admin Division. “There are not many people who are interested in our kind of line, in the lift industry. And we're facing competition from the other sectors such as engineering, building services, transportation."
“Look at the age group we're hiring. They're the X and Y generation. They actually look for visibility, they look for comfort, they look for high salary, they look for glamour," she added.
Another industry expert said the lack of new blood into the industry makes systematic training less viable.
"It's good to have a structured training, but unfortunately, when you talk about structured training, you must look at the students,” said Mr Lum Chong Chuen, a member of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technical Committee at the Institute of Engineers Singapore. “Every year, how many students will take up the course? In Singapore, a lot of the courses have been terminated because there're not enough students."
Mr Lum added that companies cannot do away with in-house training, even when structured training is available.
"Structured training is only one part of it,” he said. “There's a general knowledge of all the aspects of a lift and operations. But for a company, there must also be some in-house training for its particular brand or model of the lift which they're maintaining."
BCA has said that its plans to help the lift industry build up capabilities will be announced when ready.
- CNA/ek