Singapore Moves to Address Manpower Shortage

Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is addressing the need to hire 1,000 new vertical-transportation technicians in the next three years by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with industry partners to support scholarships and sponsorships to attract new talent, Channel NewsAsia reported. More than 2,000 technicians currently maintain approximately 63,000 lifts and 6,000 escalators, according to BCA, but more are needed as the city-state’s tall buildings continue to multiply. Challenges remain, however, including the fact that the vertical-transportation industry competes with higher-paying jobs in industries such as engineering, building services and transportation. The MOU comes in the wake of tighter regulations implemented in 2016 aimed at curbing lift-related accidents.