<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Manufacturing still a vital sector
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->DESPITE being battered in the current recession, manufacturing will continue to be a vital part of Singapore's economy, said Minister of State for Manpower Lee Yi Shyan.
However, the nature of the sector has to change, he added.
'We need more people in terms of design, in terms of product development, in terms of knowledge content. That is where Singapore manufacturing should be heading,' said Mr Lee yesterday after he handed certificates to workers who had completed training under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
'Lower-end manufacturing will always find cheaper places to locate their plants,' he noted.
On the other hand, the climb up the value-add chain would require a more sophisticated workforce.
He said the response to Spur from the manufacturing sector has been heartening.
Mr Lee noted that the sector's workers formed more than half of the 56,000 company-sponsored employees attending courses under Spur, a government scheme that subsidises worker training.
At the event, 36 workers received certificates while representatives from 34 companies pledged to send their staff for training.
Among the companies are some which are already tapping Spur. One of them is Kato Spring, which makes metal stamping parts and precision wire springs. The company, which has about 170 workers, lauded Spur. Said its assistant manager in human resource, Ms Agnes Lee: 'We had to reduce from a six-day to a five-day work week. This might have meant some staff having to take unpaid leave but we were able to use that spare time to send them for training instead.'
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->DESPITE being battered in the current recession, manufacturing will continue to be a vital part of Singapore's economy, said Minister of State for Manpower Lee Yi Shyan.
However, the nature of the sector has to change, he added.
'We need more people in terms of design, in terms of product development, in terms of knowledge content. That is where Singapore manufacturing should be heading,' said Mr Lee yesterday after he handed certificates to workers who had completed training under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).
'Lower-end manufacturing will always find cheaper places to locate their plants,' he noted.
On the other hand, the climb up the value-add chain would require a more sophisticated workforce.
He said the response to Spur from the manufacturing sector has been heartening.
Mr Lee noted that the sector's workers formed more than half of the 56,000 company-sponsored employees attending courses under Spur, a government scheme that subsidises worker training.
At the event, 36 workers received certificates while representatives from 34 companies pledged to send their staff for training.
Among the companies are some which are already tapping Spur. One of them is Kato Spring, which makes metal stamping parts and precision wire springs. The company, which has about 170 workers, lauded Spur. Said its assistant manager in human resource, Ms Agnes Lee: 'We had to reduce from a six-day to a five-day work week. This might have meant some staff having to take unpaid leave but we were able to use that spare time to send them for training instead.'
