Singapore's agri-tech sector will add 4,700 jobs by 2030; new scheme launched to retrain mid-career workers for industry

SINGAPORE'S high-tech agriculture sector is tipped to create about 4,700 jobs by 2030, with 7 in 10 roles for professional, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) or skilled labourers.

And 100 job seekers are expected to make the switch into agri-tech in the next 2 years with help from a new career conversion programme (CCP). Even more could take part if there is demand, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said, as he announced the scheme on Friday (Jan 14).

That's as pandemic-related disruptions to the global food supply chain show the need for Singapore to strengthen food security, by growing local production capabilities and creating "a high-tech, productive and resource-efficient agri-food sector", he said. The sector now employs about 2,000 people.

The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to local farm Sustenir Agriculture, which is hiring 8 mid-career workers as part of the programme.

So far, 15 companies have indicated interest in bringing on manpower through the agri-tech CCP, which is a partnership among government agencies Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), as well as Republic Polytechnic (RP). Employers will sponsor the full costs of the RP courses, which comprise both classroom and structured on-the-job training.

While the initial recruitment target allows the CCP to be run in “a very calibrated and also operationally efficient manner”, Dr Tan said that “we will not hesitate to ramp up and put in even more resources should the take-up for the programme be promising”.

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Under the agri-tech CCP, diploma or degree holders will be trained over 6 months as agri-tech specialists, for roles such as farm managers or engineers, crop scientists, and agronomists, or soil management experts. Non-PMETs can look forward to agri-tech operator roles such as supervisors, farm technicians and operations executives, after 3 months of training.

"These roles will require workers to have competencies in areas such as science, infocomm technology, engineering and maths, to build capacities, to build capabilities, as well as to support manpower growth and development in this sector," said Tan.

New hires under the CCP will be employed for at least 1 year, with a minimum monthly salary of S$2,500 for agri-tech specialists or S$2,000 for agri-tech operators.

When asked by The Business Times how increased local production will affect wages and food prices, the minister noted that watchers should also consider the improved productivity and efficiency in the value added and the type of goods being produced.

“That increase in wages I don't think will significantly impact inflation in terms of food prices,” he said, adding that he is more concerned about cost aspects such as utilities, on the back of recent volatility in the wholesale electricity market.

Said Dr Tan: “We should be looking at innovation, we should be looking at improvements in productivity, to ensure that efficiency actually translates into added savings for the food supply chain.”

The agri-tech CCP is expected to complement both the Singapore Green Plan, which lays out a sustainable development road map for the next decade, and the "30 by 30" plan, announced in 2019, which aims to produce 30 per cent of Singapore's nutritional needs locally by 2030.

WSG and the SFA said in a joint statement that they are monitoring the needs of the broader agri-food industry - which also includes aquaculture, egg farming and general farms - and will work with the industry on new CCPs "should there be substantial demand".

Earlier this week, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong told Parliament that WSG is already working on a CCP for sustainability professionals, which can also support workers whose jobs have been affected by the move towards more environmentally friendly set-ups.

WSG's various CCPs help mid-career individuals develop their skills and move into new job roles or industries, including healthcare, technology, logistics, manufacturing and retail.

CCPs can take the form of place-and-train, where workers are first hired by participating employers, or attach-and-train, where they undergo work attachments before finding jobs.

Dr Tan noted in an exchange with the media that participation in CCPs may decline as the unemployment situation improves from its pandemic trough and workers face less impetus to change jobs.

“But this is something that we find is very useful,” he added of the mid-career-switching schemes. “We will further see how we can entrench it, because this will help us to be even more and more well prepared for future crises.”