Page 56 - ASPRI2223 eDirectory

DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2022/2023
Against grave odds, ASPRI was able to convince PCMMC to let it champion the project. The Association also managed to line up the financing and resolve outstanding issues concerning the land title to enable the project to kick off as planned.
Work on the project began in March 2015. Developed at the cost of S$200 million by dormitory operator Centurion-Lian Beng Papan Pte Ltd on the 1.5-hectare land it leased from ASPRI, it comprised a two 18-storey blocks for 7,900 workers and a 40,000-sq. ft. training centre. The project was completed in 2016 after 15 months.
In-person
eLearning
Accumulative total
In-person
eLearning
Accumulative total
Phased development
The AITC was developed in phases. In the first phase, it conducted theory classes which just needed classroom space. This gave the centre time to equip and build up its technical training capability.
“We had to build up our investment. It was really a very risky move, because from only 3,000 sq. ft. we shifted to a 40,000 sq. ft facility. It’s more than 10 times. During that time our EC was also worried. So we did a phase approach to see how much the industry could support us,” said Ms Lee.
The centre is almost wholly dependent on its members because of its location. While it
“I thank my team. I remember the time when Francis, Lim Fong Suan and James, the first trustees for the board, we spent so many hours to get to that stage. It was satisfying to pull it off and we were able to get our members to support it,” Mr Quek recalled.
Within six months the dormitory had 80% occupancy, which exceeded earlier expectations. Equally gratifying was the progress of the training centre.
Owned and operated by ASPRI, the centre has eight training classrooms, eight practical
4,700 12,700 26,800
000
4,700 17,400 44,200
54,000 175,000 253,600
000
54,000 229,000 482,600
is ideally suited for foreign workers (FWs), because of its proximity to Jurong Island, it is some distance away from everything else and hence is not ideally suited for third party training.
“Thankfully, we had a lot of support from the members,” said Ms Lee. “The centre delivers ‘real training’ to give workers the right training, the right skills, to help member companies and improve their competency.”
ASPRI invested S$2 million to equip the centre. Taking pride of place is a 4-in-1 skid that resembles a live plant unit to provide real- life training on plant equipment, electrical,
workshops, two computer labs, a lecture hall, and a multi-purpose hall that can host up to 200 participants. It offers both process industry-specific courses and employability skills courses such as the computer literacy and conversational English.
Within four years, it had delivered more than 1 million training hours! “President has given us the target to hit 1 million hours within five years. From FY2016 to FY2020, within four years, ASPRI-IPI delivered more than 1 million training hours to the Process Industry,” said Ms Lee.
Training headcounts
FY16/17
FY17/18
FY 18/19
FY19/20
FY20/21
FY21/22
30,000
0
74,200
267,000
0
749,600
6,600
77,100
157,900
79,500
199,700
1,028,800
9,100
17,200
184,200
124,400
40,500
1,193,700
Training hours
FY16/17
FY17/18
FY 18/19
FY19/20
FY20/21
FY21/22
instrumentation and thermal insulation. Designed and built by members with equipment sponsored by members, EDB, JTC and plant owners, the skid serves multiple functions.
“We have these 13 core skills. These core skills are important to us. It’s how MOM recognises our workers. That means if you get PCM work permit holders, they must engage only in work that requires these 13 core skills,” Ms Lee noted.
As the 13 core skills are interdependent, ASPRI decided then to do a multi-functional skid instead of single setups to train workers from different core skills together.
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