SINGAPORE - Certain companies in cleaning, waste collection and pest management will be encouraged to broaden their services beyond one environmental services sector amid labour constraints.
NEA’s refreshed plan to transform the industry aims to create more than 1,600 professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs by 2025. In 2020, a study of the pest management sector commissioned by NEA and Workforce Singapore surfaced issues including varied quality standards, in part due to low entry barriers, as well as a manpower shortage that was underscored by the poor public perception of such jobs.Adoption of science and technology was also slow due to duplication of efforts in research and development by both service providers and suppliers, and concerns over efficacy and returns-on-investment, the study found.
Ms Goh Fang Wei, executive director of the Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore, noted that while digitalisation and automation will help reduce reliance on manpower, attracting younger workers will still be important for the future of the industry.