Having a skilled and talented workforce forms the foundation of a strong and resilient environmental services industry. We will continue to double our efforts to strengthen corporate capabilities and to build a professional and multi-skilled workforce.

Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Koh Poh Koon launched the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map (ES ITM) 2025 today. The Environmental Services ITM 2025, led by National Environment Agency (NEA) in partnership with its tripartite partners and key industry players, focuses on accelerating efforts to strengthen innovation, improve productivity and create quality jobs.

The 2025 plans will focus on deepening existing industry transformation efforts to build technology-enabled companies, as well as explore new growth areas and new jobs and skills in environmental sustainability. The aim is to create more than 1,600 Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technical (PMET) jobs by 2025.

Held in conjunction with the launch of the ES ITM 2025 was the NEA-Industry Scholarship Awards Ceremony. The NEA-Industry Scholarship programme, a key initiative of the ES ITM, started in 2020 to bring in young talent from ITE and Polytechnics to join ES companies. Today, four scholarships were awarded to deserving individuals, who will take on job roles such as admin executives, operations executives, and management trainees in the ES industry upon their graduation.

ES ITM Initiatives Enabled Industry to Continue Providing Services During the Pandemic

Current industry transformation efforts have led to good outcomes for the ES industry. Key initiatives include the development and implementation of the NEA-Industry Scholarship programme, the INCUBATE (Innovating & Curating Better Automation and Technologies for Environmental Services) partnership programme, outcome-based contracting for cleaning services, and various efforts in creation of quality jobs and professionalising the image of the ES industry. (Refer to Annex A for progress of the ES ITM.)

The COVID-19 pandemic further underscored the need for a sustainable and resilient ES industry that is ready to deal with future public health threats. Key programmes and initiatives underway since 2017 have enabled the ES industry to continue providing services during the COVID-19 pandemic through technology adoption and automation of processes, by using robots and machines to supplement manual cleaning and disinfection regimes performed by workers.

ES ITM 2025 will Strengthen Innovation, Improve Productivity and Create Quality Jobs

To advance Singapore’s green growth agenda, the ES ITM has been refreshed to harness opportunities in environmental sustainability, particularly in material circularity as well as decarbonised waste management solutions. These developments will propel innovation and technology adoption to improve productivity and moderate manpower demand, as well as spur new quality job opportunities for Singaporeans.

The ES industry provides essential services in keeping Singapore clean and liveable. The industry comprises some 1,700 establishments and has a workforce of over 71,000, who are involved in diverse activities from waste collection and treatment, material recovery, to cleaning and disinfection, as well as pest management services. The ES ITM 2025 features four key thrusts for the next bound of industry transformation:

a) Intensify Innovation and Technology Adoption to Improve Productivity and Moderate Manpower Demand

The ES industry will be positioned as one that turns national and industry challenges into value creation opportunities through research, development, and innovation via innovation challenge platforms, and pre-position ready ES firms for emerging opportunities in growth areas (locally and internationally) such as robotics and automation, resource recovery, material circularity, and carbon capture from waste treatment.

On digitalisation, the ES ITM 2025 will support the development of solutions to enable data-driven ES operations and delivery to improve productivity, operational efficiency, as well as alleviate manpower challenges in the industry. These efforts will accelerate the industry’s digital transformation efforts, such as increasing adoption of digital solutions, and identifying and growing digital leaders in the industry.

b) Nurture Promising Firms to Seize New Opportunities and Growth Areas

NEA will continue to scale up ready Singapore-based companies with global capabilities to internationalise, through global networking platforms such as the biennial CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESG) which is organised by NEA for thought leaders, policy makers and industry captains to converge and co-create sustainability and clean environment solutions.

In 2022, the CESG was held from 17 to 21 April 2022 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, with the theme “Towards Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Cities”. Over 11,000 attendees from 65 countries/regions connected with our ES companies and explored business collaborations.

c) Grow Productive Firms to Enhance Service Delivery, Capacity and Resilience

NEA has been driving the adoption of OBC amongst service buyers in the cleaning sector. Efforts include the development and publication of reference guides on OBC and tender evaluation, the development and rollout of OBC training programmes, as well as the provision of 1-to-1 consultancy services for service buyers in drafting outcome-based tenders/contracts.

NEA will continue to collaborate closely with stakeholders in the cleaning sector to drive adoption of OBC amongst private service buyers, and work with the Singapore Pest Management Association (SPMA), Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) and other industry stakeholders to develop a set of OBC guidelines for the pest management and waste management sectors.

d) Create Quality Jobs and Improve Job Prospects for Lower-Wage and Senior Workers

Having a skilled and talented workforce forms the foundation of a strong and resilient industry. Insights on the upcoming trends and in-demand skills were gathered in 2021 through the Jobs Transformation Map (JTM) for the waste management and cleaning sectors, which was released today. The JTM reviewed the progress of workforce transformation efforts since 2017, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce and mapped out a manpower development roadmap from 2021 to 2035. (Refer to Annex B for the JTM on waste management and cleaning sectors.)

The key recommendations centred on strengthening upskilling opportunities of the workforce, re-designing and re-branding cleaning and waste management jobs, and these were considered into the ES ITM 2025 plans. NEA will continue to collaborate closely with tripartite partners to strengthen the local talent pipeline by attracting fresh graduates and mid-career individuals to seize the new opportunities for growth in environmental sustainability and public health.

Job redesign and upskilling will remain cornerstones to enhance job value, especially as jobs evolve with increasing emphasis on automation, digitalisation and sustainability. NEA has also refreshed the Guide on Uniforms for the ES industry to include a new chapter on Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), in view of higher demand in cleaning and disinfection services. [1] NEA will work through industry partners to support these efforts, endeavouring to make the work easier, safer and smarter, and to create multi-skilling opportunities for the ES workforce.

Strong Partnerships Between Stakeholders Will Spur Transformation Efforts

“The Environmental Services ITM 2025 aims to create a vibrant, sustainable and professional Environmental Services Industry for Singapore and growing cities”, said Mr Wong Kim Yin, Future Economy Council (FEC) Resource and Environmental Sustainability Cluster Co-Chair.

“The Environmental Management Association of Singapore (EMAS) will continue to support industry transformation efforts and encourage cleaning companies to adopt technology, and to train their workers to be multi-skilled. We are glad to be on this journey with NEA and will continue to curate relevant training courses and share best practices such as outcome-based contracting with the companies through different platforms and dialogues,” said Mr Tony Chooi, President of EMAS.

“The Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) has played a key role in supporting the development and implementation of the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map. With the initiatives for companies to further build up capabilities in sustainability and digitalisation, this will tie in well with the introduction of the Progressive Wage Model for the waste management sector this year. While we are prepared for these changes, we look forward to how ES ITM 2025 will help to retain and attract local talent into the sector,” said Ms Melissa Tan, Chairman of WMRAS.

“Since the incorporation of the pest management sector in the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map in April 2019, the Singapore Pest Management Association (SPMA) has been working closely with NEA to ensure that the pest management workforce is well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with the public health challenges of tomorrow. With the unveiling of ES ITM 2025, SPMA will continue to be the conduit between NEA and the pest management sector, encouraging the adoption of sustainable pest management solutions through a comprehensive field of knowledge and adoption of innovative technologies (digitalisation, chemistry, equipment and devices), and drive towards quality pest management services," said Mr Albert Lee, President of SPMA.

The ES ITM 2025 will enable us to build operational and manpower resilience in the ES industry, and to create good opportunities for our future generations. NEA will continue to drive efforts with stakeholders and tripartite partners to support the businesses and workforce by maintaining a fair and conducive environment for ES companies to thrive in and developing a responsive training ecosystem that prepares workers for new opportunities.

_{[1] Visit NEA’s website for a copy of the Guide on Uniforms: https://www.nea.gov.sg/industry-transformation-map/create-quality-jobs-improve-job-prospects/guide-on-uniforms-for-environmental-services-industry}