CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (Employment prospects)

Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe asked the Minister for National Development if he will give a report on the present state of the construction industry and indicate also the current employment prospects for Singaporeans in this industry.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Mr Lee Yiok Seng) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

(a) State of the construction industry

Sir, the construction sector of the economy continues to remain depressed. Compared with the first quarter, the industry contracted by 1.5% in the second quarter of this year.

However, the second quarter saw signs of an upturn of construction activity in the private sector. There was a three-fold increase in the value of contracts awarded in this sector over the same quarter of last year. This is linked to the growth of the manufacturing sector and renewed confidence in the property market. At the same time, the number of maintenance and renovation projects is also increasing. This will help towards making up for the slack in new construction work. All this resulted in a growth of 2.8% in the third quarter over the second quarter. However, it is too early to say that the industry has bottomed out.

(b)Employment prospects in the industry

The total construction labour force shrank by 2.8% in the second quarter of 1987 compared with the previous quarter. This is in line with the general decline in the level of construction activity. However, the fall in the number of jobs appears to be slowing down. This is due to an increase in the level of construction activity associated with the private sector market and maintenance and retrofitting work.

According to the 1986 NUS Graduate Employment Survey, the employment rate for architecture and civil engineering graduates had actually improved marginally from 1985. The situation suggests that our graduates have come to terms with economic realities. They have accepted a drop in starting pay ranging from $100 to $400 per month. he survey also revealed that a significant proportion of building and civil engineering graduates managed to find jobs outside the construction industry. With greater emphasis on professionalism in construction, many contractors are also employing graduates to supervise on-site works.

The employment outlook for the Polytechnic graduates appears to be similar. These graduates have also gone through a period of adjustment. As a result, they have more realistic salary expectations and are prepared to be more flexible in their job expectations. The depressed domestic job market has also encouraged many of them to work overseas. One leading international construction firm recently recruited 60 Singapore technicians for a project in China.

Foreign workers still account for a large proportion of the construction labour force (almost 50%) at the tradesmen level. Thus construction work continues to be unpopular amongst our local school leavers. There is a need to train more local workers to take up the skilled construction trades. The trend is for local workers to become supervisors or set up their own firms to undertake minor construction and renovation works after they have gained some experience. We still do not have a sufficient core of local construction tradesmen.

In conclusion, the construction industry is undergoing a restructuring process. The industry must continue to adjust and adapt to this new situation. New employment prospects can be found in the export market and the maintenance and retrofitting sector.