LICENSING TEST FOR ELECTRICIANS

Dr Tan Eng Liang asked the Minister for the Environment, in the licensing of electrical workers under the Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Act, 1974, if the Public Utilities Board will consider (1) granting exemption from the theory paper of the Skill Evaluation Test for Electrical Fitting and Installation conducted by the Industrial Training Board to practising electrical workers with over 15 years' relevant working experience and with limited educational level; and (ii) granting the electrical worker's licence to those who pass in either the Domestic Electrical Fitting and Installation part or the Industrial Electrical Fitting and Installation part of the Test so as to enable them to practise in their separate electrical works.

The Minister for the Environment (Mr Lim Kim San): Mr Speaker, Sir, the reply to the first part of the question is an unqualified yes.

As regards the second part of the question, those who have either passed the Domestic Electrical Fitting and Installation part or the Industrial Electrical Fitting and Installation part of the Test will be granted a licence provided that, after passing the Test, they have two years' experience in the relevant trade.