Lift sector facing shortage of engineers, technicians in SG

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News Source: http://news.asiaone.com Release Date: 2016-8-13

With tighter maintenance rules kicking in last week, lift technicians and engineers are more crucial than ever - yet they remain scarce.

"The whole industry has been short of manpower for the last 10 years or more," said Mr. Sugumaran Pillai, president of the Singapore Lift & Escalator Contractors & Manufacturers Association.

The new rules give more clarity on maintenance standards but the required frequency of life maintenance each month is unchanged.

Of the labour shortage, Mr Quah Eng Hing, secretary of the Singapore Lift & Escalator Contractors & Manufacturers Association, said: "We've always been short of people. The pace of new people joining is slow but the number of lifts is still increasing."

The Building and Construction Authority has said it will look at building up manpower capabilities in the next phase of its review on lift safety regulations.

There are currently about 2,000 lift technicians. But a few big firms account for more than 70 per cent of all lift maintenance work.