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Enhancing the Skills of Foreign Construction Workers
Building and Construction Authority
Singapore

The Problem

Singapore is a small country with a small local population. In tandem with the pace of nation development, the building and construction industry in Singapore became increasingly reliant on foreign workers for its manpower needs as the local workforce is unable to cope with the amount of construction works. These foreign workers generally came from regional countries.

In the past, most of these foreign workers were not adequately trained in the construction trades in their home countries before their arrival in Singapore. They would learn on the job as required. This posed a problem to the Singapore contractors as many of these foreign workers did not have basic knowledge and skills to work safely and competently.

It was costly and impractical to train the large number of foreign workers on construction trades locally in Singapore before they start working. Hence, the Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA) took a proactive approach in requiring the foreign workers to be adequately trained and certified in their home countries before they come to work in Singapore. This ensures that they could be deployed immediately upon their arrival in Singapore.

The Overseas Testing Scheme (OTS) was established by BCA through which BCA collaborated with Singapore contractors to set up the Overseas Testing Centres (OTCs) in the source countries to train and certify the foreign workers in various construction trades. The skill certification framework adopted by BCA is known as Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge) or SEC(K) in short. Today, all foreign workers are required to be trained and certified with SEC(K) in the source countries before they can work in Singapore’s construction industry.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
One of the key components of BCA’s mission is to promote quality excellence in the built environment. To achieve this, a competent workforce is necessary. BCA established the OTS to enable foreign workers to have adequate skills set and levels to deliver quality and productive work in a safe and efficient manner.

Since the commencement of the OTC set-up in 1995, more than half a million foreign workers have been trained and skill certified under the OTS. The OTS has performed a key role in enabling the Singapore construction industry to have adequate supply of skilled manpower to support the development of a quality built environment in Singapore.

Through the OTS, BCA has forged effective partnerships with the stakeholders to raise the skill levels of the foreign workers. The Overseas Testing Centres were set up through partnership with the private sector. Such collaboration has benefited the industry as BCA and the private sector was able to work closely with their counterparts in the source countries and their relevant authorities to carry out the skill training and certification of the foreign workers in the source countries. The process of training and certifying the foreign workers at source enables the contractors to deploy these workers upon their arrival in Singapore. This reduces the down-time required to send the workers for training and prepare them for the job.

The workers also benefit in that they had higher confidence in approaching work in a foreign country, having been trained and passed a skills test. Most of these foreign workers stay and work in Singapore between 3 to 10 years (although they may stay up to 18 years). The training and testing ensured they have adequate competency to carry out the construction work, and had the ability to pick up further skills on the job. It also allows the workers to be deployed almost immediately and draw reasonable wages upon their arrival.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
BCA worked with the Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower in formulating and implementing the policy requiring all new foreign workers to possess the SEC(K) before they are allowed to work in Singapore under construction work passes. Under the SEC(K), the foreign workers have to pass both written and practical test components, which cover specific trade knowledge and hand skills required for the individual trades, to be awarded the certificate.

Under this imitative, BCA develops the test curriculum and syllabi. In developing the test syllabi, BCA works with the industry in analysing and establishing the training needs, designing the assessment criteria, as well as setting the skills standards and testing methodology.

With the established curriculum and test syllabi, contractors in Singapore would be invited by BCA to set up Overseas Testing Centres (OTCs). BCA then works with these contractors on the setup requirements of the OTCs and the design of the testing facilities. Other contractors could then register their foreign workers for training and skill certification at any of these OTCs. To ensure the integrity of the skill certification regime, all skill testing are conducted by BCA officers. With BCA as the central co-ordinating body for the OTS, the OTCs set up were able to meet the manpower needs of the industry.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The main objective of the OTS is to ensure that there is an adequate supply of skilled construction workforce in Singapore. The following underlying principles were adopted in the implementation of the strategies:-

Requiring hiring of skilled workers. To incentivize the contractors to hire skilled workers who draw higher wages, BCA worked with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to introduce tiered levy system in 1995 to allow the contractors (who are the employers) to pay a lower levy for hiring of skilled workers. This helps to bring down the cost for the employers who hire skilled foreign workers. Taking a step further, BCA and MOM made it mandatory in 2000 for new foreign workers to be certified skilled before they can work in Singapore’s construction industry.

Diversification of sources. There were conscious efforts to diversify the sources of foreign workers who are competent in different construction trades and also to enhance supply resilience. Presently, a total of twenty-five OTCs have been set up in five countries – People’s Republic of China (PRC), Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar to give the contractors in Singapore sufficient choice of skilled workers from various approved source countries.

Private sector involvement. The contractors are roped in to set up the OTCs, given that the private sector firms are in a better position to seek appropriate partners in the source countries to collaborate for setting up the OTCs. This pro-enterprise approach allows the private sector to operate the OTCs in a business setting with minimum government intervention, except in the essential areas of setting the testing syllabi and standard, as well as the conducting the tests to ensure integrity of the regime.

Transparency and fairness. The qualifying criteria for contractors to be appointed as OTC operators are set out clearly. Those who meet the qualifying criteria would be invited by BCA to apply to operate OTCs. The skills standards and assessment criteria are also made known in the test syllabi issued to the OTCs and the candidates. Candidates need to achieve the skills standards to pass the test. All skills tests are conducted by BCA officers. This third party certification performed by BCA ensures the integrity of the OTS and assures the test candidates and OTCs on the impartiality of the assessment carried out.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
1995 - The OTC was first started in PRC to enable the foreign workers to be trained and certified skilled before arrival in Singapore. However, skill certification was not a mandatory requirement then. To encourage contractors to send their workers for skill testing, a tiered levy system was introduced. Employers of skilled foreign workers would pay a lower levy.

1996 to 1998 - OTCs were progressively set up in other four countries: Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

2000 – To ensure adequate skill level of the construction workforce, all foreign workers were required to pass the skills test, which comprise of practical hand skills in the relevant trades, in order to work in Singapore.

2003 - The trade test standards were further raised to meet higher expectations on the foreign workers’ ability to apply their knowledge and skills to cope with different site conditions and layout.

2005 – BCA worked with the Ministry of Manpower to develop and implement the policy requiring all new foreign workers to possess the Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge), which includes both the written and practical handskills components, before they are issued with construction work passes and allowed to work in Singapore.

2007 to 2010 – BCA stepped up the efforts to work with the OTC operators to expand the range of trade tests available at the OTCs. The number of trade tests offered at the OTCs in the source countries increased from 9 in 2007 to 24 presently to better meet the manpower needs of the industry.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main challenges encountered were as follows:-

1. Meeting the skills requirements of the industry. Foreign workers that come in to Singapore must meet the skilled manpower needs of the industry. Thus BCA decided to take the lead to design and set the test curriculum to ensure that the candidates are trained and tested on the essential knowledge. Taking a step further, to encourage the contractors to bring in skilled workers, the tiered levy system was introduced in 1995 with the Singapore Ministry of Manpower to allow the contractors (who are the employers) to pay a lower levy for hiring of skilled workers. With the OTS being more established, in 2000, BCA and MOM made it mandatory for new foreign workers to be certified skilled before they can work in Singapore’s construction industry.

2. Setting up the OTCs at source countries. Singapore is a small country with limited resources. Foreign workers are brought in to supplement the small local workforce to support the construction industry. It would be costly and impractical to train the large number of foreign workers on construction trades locally in Singapore before they start working. Therefore BCA worked with the local contractors to set up testing centres overseas as it would be more cost effective to pull our resources together in carrying out the skill training and certification of the foreign workers in the source countries. To enhance the supply resilience of foreign workers, the OTCs are set up in different source countries.


3. Ensuring robustness and integrity of the test system. Given that the skill certification is to be carried out in the source countries, it is essential to uphold the integrity and robustness of the regime. To ensure that the standards are upheld, BCA sets the test syllabi and standards to compel the OTC operators to provide adequate training for the foreign workers so that they can pass the skill tests. More importantly, BCA sends our officers to conduct the skills tests in the source countries. In addition, each candidate’s identity is captured biometrically by the BCA tester when they sit for the test, which will also be used to verify the candidate who subsequently arrives in Singapore.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The OTS is overseen by BCA’s Manpower Development Department (MDD). MDD’s officers establish the training needs, develop the test curriculum and syllabi, design the assessment criteria, as well as set the skills standards and testing methodology. These officers travel frequently to the Overseas Testing Centres to carry out the testing of the foreign workers. MDD also administers, processes the enrolment, schedules the tests and carries out verification of the workers when they arrive in Singapore.

Suitable IT systems are used to minimize the resources required to administer/implement the test regime. The online test application system, test administration system and finger print identification system (for biometric identification of test candidates) were designed/developed by BCA in collaboration with IT vendors. The OTCs tap on the online test application system and the fingerprint identification system under the overseas testing framework.

The costs of carrying out the above activities are recovered from the test fees charged.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The initiative is sustainable and transferable. Today, many countries like Singapore rely heavily on foreign construction workers. It would be essential for these countries to ensure they bring in adequately skilled foreign workers to support their nation and physical development. To do so, we understand that very often, the contractors would travel to the source countries to recruit their workers at the company’s cost. This is very costly and there is no structured regime to ensure skill adequacy of the foreign workers brought in. Singapore’s model of implementing the Overseas Testing Scheme in a structured manner on a national level is certainly more practical and cost effective.

We have replicated twenty-five OTCs in five countries: People’s Republic of China (PRC), Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Scheme was launched in PRC since 1995 and extended to the other countries over the years. The same test methodology is adopted in all the OTCs in the five countries.

Many countries like Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman have expressed interest in our workers testing scheme and have visited us to learn more about upgrading the workers’ skills.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The key elements which make the initiative a success are as follows:-

The Overseas Testing Scheme ensures that all foreign construction workers that come to work in Singapore have one skill. Skills certification serves as an effective and efficient screening mechanism to ensure that the foreign workers have the adequate skill competency to carry out construction work before they are admitted to work in the industry. This not only helps the foreign workers to prepare themselves for the nature of works that they will be undertaking in Singapore but be able to draw reasonable wages by applying their skills on construction related work. As Singapore is small country with limited resources, it is not feasible that each individual contractor carry out their own training and testing of the foreign workers. As the agency to lead the building and construction industry, BCA facilitates the testing by developing a robust curriculum and test regime.

It is BCA’s mission to ensure a safe and high quality built environment. BCA has been progressively raising the skill levels of the foreign workers. As the workers are better skilled, they will be able to work safely and produce better quality works. Since the setting up of the OTS 15 years ago, more than half a million foreign workers have been certified under the scheme. BCA will continue to have regular feedback with the industry so as to improve on the skills certification system.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Building and Construction Authority
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Chiou Peng, Raymond Tay
Title:   Deputy Director  
Telephone/ Fax:   65-6325-5088
Institution's / Project's Website:   65-6325-4800
E-mail:   doreen_ng@bca.gov.sg  
Address:   5 Maxwell Road #17-00 Tower Block MND Complex
Postal Code:   069110
City:   Singapore
State/Province:   Singapore
Country:   Singapore

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