SINGAPORE - Nearly 1,000 jobs in the precision engineering industry have been available to job-seekers since April under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, with nearly four in five jobs for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
About 750 of the jobs are for PMETs in roles such as product engineer, electrical and electronics engineer and quality assurance inspector. The remaining 230 non-PMET jobs include those of production operator, welder and pipe fitter.
Meanwhile, there have been about 440 company-hosted traineeships and attachments available in precision engineering, with 360 for PMET roles and 80 for non-PMET roles.
Of the 80 training opportunities available, 60 are for PMET roles, while 20 are for non-PMET roles.
Salaries for the PMET jobs on offer in the precision engineering industry vary according to the specific job nature and skills required.
For example, industrial and production engineers may earn between $2,600 and $6,000, with the 50th percentile at $3,350. Manufacturing engineering technicians can earn between $1,500 and $2,350, with the 50th percentile at $1,750.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo in her weekly jobs situation report on Monday (Sept 14) noted that between April and July this year, more than 260 people have found jobs in the precision engineering industry through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, with two in five job-seekers being mid-career individuals who took part in career conversion programmes.
She added that since April, more than 30 job-seekers have also entered company-hosted traineeships and attachments.
For job-seekers who are new to the industry, there are career conversion programmes to help them, she added.
One of them is Mr Tim Tan, 56, a former production and planning manager in the oil and gas industry who was let go after his former company underwent restructuring.
With the help of Workforce Singapore's Careers Connect job matching services, Mr Tan joined 3D Metalforge - a small to medium-sized enterprise specialising in additive manufacturing and 3D printed services and products - as an operations manager.
Mr Tan was then enrolled into a six-month professional conversion programme for advanced manufacturing engineers in March to help him ease into his new role.
Mrs Teo also noted that despite the more subdued market, the precision engineering industry managed to grow by 11.4 per cent between January and July this year compared with the same period last year.
Among the better performers in the industry are companies serving the medical technology and semiconductor sectors, due to increased demand for Covid-19-related products such as diagnostic kits and ventilators, she added.
They also include companies that supply machinery, systems and parts for tech appliances to support remote working, and companies that provide digital solutions such as sensors for shops to adhere to safe-distancing guidelines.
UPDATE ON SGUNITED JOBS AND SKILLS PACKAGE
On Monday, the Ministry of Manpower also provided more details on the number of jobs, traineeships and training opportunities that have been created under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package so far.
As of end-July, there have been about 50,000 government-funded jobs, traineeships and training opportunities or jobs by public sector agencies. Of this, about 12,700 were short-term roles and 10,500 were long-term jobs for a total of 23,200 government jobs. Long-term jobs refer to placements which are longer than 12 months, and are not limited to permanent positions.
Over the same period, private sector employers provided about 42,000 jobs - 8,000 short-term ones and 34,500 long-term jobs.
Meanwhile, about 24,000 job-seekers have taken up the jobs, traineeships and training opportunities offered.
Among those who were PMETs, about 5,200 found short-term jobs, while 4,600 landed long-term jobs.
For non-PMETs, about 8,600 took up short-term jobs and 5,200 found long-term jobs.
