IChemE Singapore helps form a unique alliance on skills

IChemE Singapore helps form a unique alliance on skills

1st November 2017

The National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) has made IChemE Singapore a U-Associate (UA), bringing it into the fold of a network of professional guilds and associations that work together to help develop plans to progress careers and skills.

The move has seen IChemE Singapore form a unique alliance with three other UA’s and the Oil, Petrochemical, Energy and Chemicals (OPEC) cluster of unions, to accredit and raise standards of Process Technicians and Engineers in the region.

The alliance follows the publication of Singapore’s Energy & Chemicals Industry Transformation Map, launched on 21 October. It details the significant industry growth expected in the country over the coming years, and the expected digital skills engineers should have to perform associated roles.

The aim of the partnership is to uplift standards of Process Technicians and Engineers in Singapore, and improve safety standards. Professional standards for Process Technicians will be co-developed by the partnership, for local OPEC companies to adopt. The new standards will provide a boost to the transferability of skills and prepare them for future changes to their careers.

Under the current system, Process Technicians with years of skills and experience do not have certifications to prove their expertise. This makes them vulnerable when companies face business difficulties, and puts jobs at significant risk.

Chair of IChemE Singapore, Joe Eades, said:

“Thousands of Process Technicians and Engineers will now be able to demonstrate to their peers and employers their experience, judgement and commitment to the profession through an internationally peer reviewed professional qualification framework. This will allow Process Technicians and Engineers greater opportunities for career progression within their organisation and throughout the OPEC cluster.”

IChemE Singapore will collaborate with a number of associations through the initiative, including:

The Amalgamated Union Of Statutory Board Employees (AUSBE), The Chemical Industries Employees' Union (CIEU), The ExxonMobil Singapore Employees Union (EMSEU), The Singapore Refining Company Employees’ Union (SRCEU), The Singapore Shell Employees’ Union (SSEU-Shell), The Union Of Power & Gas Employees (UPAGE), The United Workers Of Petroleum Industry (UWPI), The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), and The Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO).

OPEC Cluster Chairman and General Secretary of United Workers of Petroleum Industry, Karthikeyan Krishnamurthy added:

“The OPEC industries are seeing a lot of changes and it is important that the Labour Movement moves a few steps ahead so that we can ensure our workers are ready and not left behind. OPEC unions working together with NTUC U-Associates to leverage each other’s strengths is a win-win collaboration. There are a few areas impacting some groups of workers that are of urgent importance now, such as the careers of technicians. As a larger collective voice, the alliance will be able to address such issues in a more effective manner.”