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Plans to develop certification system for training, wage model to attract more talentCarpentry is a dead-end job?It is a perception that the furniture industry wants to change to attract more workers, which is why it is giving the unfashionable trade a makeover.存倉The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) Institute has announced plans to develop a certification system for training, as well as a progressive wage model in which top carpenters can earn a basic pay of $3,000."This industry is not deemed sexy so we are losing a lot of talent," said the institute's general manager Dominic Ng. "It's perceived as a sunset industry with no opportunities."But the furniture industry is actually growing, said Mr Ng. It was worth $5.74 billion last year, compared with $2.9 billion in 2006.And it is a far cry from when it used to be all about manual labour.Carpenter Yang Cheng Tee remembers how he used to tear coconut husks apart by hand to stuff cushions, when he was an apprentice under his father 40 years ago.Things are much easier now with a lot of the basic work done by machines, yet the number of trained local carpenters is shrinking."We don't have the people. It's a dying trade," said the 64-year-old, now the technical director at Ewins, a local manufacturer of furniture systems.Local hires are hard to come by because of the lack of proper training programmes, added Ewins marketing director Mark Yong.Previously, the old vocational institutes, which were replaced by the Institute of Technical Education, had carpentry and furniture-making courses, but these were ended in 1976 and 1987 respectively.Ewins, which needs up to 25 carpenters, is around 10 short."We put up job ads and not a single local would 儲存ign up," said Mr Yong. "So we turn to employment agencies, who mostly bring in guys from China."Now SFIC, which says it represents 95 per cent of established furniture manufacturers here, is taking action.To make a career in carpentry more attractive, its institute is planning to launch a place-and-train programme in the first quarter of next year with the support of NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).Aspiring carpenters, who will be matched with a suitable employer, will have a six-month traineeship certified by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and Australian institute Polytechnic West.Locals hired through the programme will be given a minimum wage of $1,500 during training and $1,600 after completion.Companies will also be encouraged to follow progressive wage model guidelines, where master craftsmen or artisans can earn a basic pay of $3,000."We want people to see carpenters as skilled professionals," said Mr Ng.The SFIC Institute is hoping to kick-start the process with a job fair at e2i in Jurong East on Tuesday, when 100 vacancies will be available for locals.Ewins' Mr Yong said that in this day of machines, carpenters are still needed for detailing work such as joining pieces and putting the finishing touches to furniture.It also takes a skilled carpenter to understand whether a design is technically feasible, and which materials to use."People think carpentry is just buying a few planks of wood and nailing them together, but there's also technology and specialisation involved," said Mr Yang.And then there is the simple pleasure that comes with the craft. "When you finish a product, and people say it's good, you feel you have accomplished something."joseow@sph.com.sg迷你倉