Council members
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
The Chinese saying, "neng chi shi fu" applies very well to Singapore today. We are lucky. We have a remarkably wide range of cuisines, and of restaurants, hawker centres, bakeries and cafes to indulge in our favourite pastime. The range is growing.
2. The F&B industry has become not just a rewarding business, but an increasingly creative business. The F&B industry and workforce needs to cater to increasingly sophisticated customers, both Singaporean and foreign. We will have to continuously innovate, to create distinct and high quality offerings to distinguish ourselves in a demanding and competitive Asian and global market.
3. That's the objective of today's launch. The F&B Workforce Skills Qualifications framework will help us put Singapore on the map as a country known not only for its huge variety of cuisines, but also its high quality of food service and culinary standards.
A Mountain Range of Successes
4. A continuous infusion of skills and talent is thus critical in driving an F&B industry that thrives on innovation and good service. Our institutes of higher learning are responding to this opportunity. Temasek Polytechnic for example, together with the Sentosa Leisure Group, has set up the Tourism Academy at Sentosa, conducting tourism courses that include teaching students culinary skills and F&B management. ITE College West has started a NITEC course on Western Culinary Skills and F&B Operations.
5. But we cannot rely only on our formal education system to supply the skills and innovative capacities needed for the F&B industry. We need to develop avenues for adult workers to acquire relevant F&B skills so that we can widen their career choices, and have the whole workforce move up and deliver high quality service continuously. Not all adult workers will want to, or find it practical, to pursue higher academic qualifications such as NITEC, diplomas or university degrees. With family responsibilities, they may not find the time to sit through classroom lessons, or learn subjects that are not directly relevant to their workplace. Many may find it more relevant to be trained in practical skills that will help them in their job or help them get the next job.
6. At the same time, we must also have a system to recognize the skills of adult workers that are acquired through work and experience. These workers may not have the formal qualifications but the skills and craftsmanship they have learnt on the job are just as valuable as formal qualifications. They deserve recognition.
7. We therefore need to develop a formal skills qualifications framework for adult workers, to complement our formal education system. We want to signal to Singaporeans that regardless of where they start from, or how they choose to progress in their lives and careers, they always have an avenue to learn, improve and realise their aspirations. Although getting a post-secondary education is of utmost importance, we need alternative paths of advancement for those who somehow missed out or wish to pursue passions in areas that they were not educated in. These skills-based adult training opportunities are all part of the mountain range of successes we want to build in Singapore.
8. That is why WDA decided to develop the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system. It is a system that is designed together with industries, and caters specially for adult workers. Our institutes of higher learning are supporting this initiative. Ngee Ann Polytechnic is providing WSQ training for digital animators. ITE is currently working with WDA to explore the possibility of delivering WSQ training for the precision engineering industry. And Nanyang Polytechnic has collaborated with WDA to set up the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies to deliver WSQ training for retail sector workers. It complements The Retail Academy of Singapore, which is run by the industry and supported by the Government.
F&B WSQ
9. How an adult training system can complement the formal education system is well illustrated in the F&B industry. One can become a qualified waiter, chef, or bartender through a combination of institutional training and on-the-job training, often under the supervision of a master.
10. That is why WDA decided to develop the WSQ for the F&B industry. The qualifications framework is developed by industry representatives, facilitated by WDA, through an Industry Skills and Training Council (ISTC). It is the first time that Singaporefs F&B industry has a structured national skills training system for the adult workforce. The F&B WSQ is similar to systems in Europe, the United States or Australia, where the skills of chefs, bartenders and waiters are recognised nationally through formal qualifications.
Industry Acceptance
11. A system like WSQ is only as successful as the industry's acceptance of it as a standard and a stamp of quality. And I believe WDA has done well in securing buy-in from industry. It is collaborating with established culinary schools, namely, SHATEC and at-sunrice, to train 1,500 chefs in the next three years. On completion of their training, the new chefs will receive the WSQ Certificate in Food Preparation and WSQ Higher and Advanced Certificates in F&B Culinary Skills. Since its launch in April 2006, some 100 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents have signed up, and we expect many more. During training, they will spend most of their time attached to masters, to learn on the job and to ride on their coat tails before eventually becoming masters themselves.
12. In addition, companies such as the Pan Pacific Hotel, Soup Restaurant and Zouk will be using F&B WSQ as a structure to deliver and raise the standards of their in-house training programmes. These in-house programmes have never been formalised or recognised before.
13. Still others, such as APEX-PAL, Delifrance, Kopitiam, McDonaldfs and Komalafs, have committed to developing an assessment-only pathway for their workers. This involves measuring and recognising the experience of workers, and recognising them without making them go through training of skills that the workers already have.
14. APEX-PAL is a good example of how a company uses WSQ to give national recognition to the skills of its long-serving F&B workers, including the mature ones. The company as you know has an impressive portfolio of 6 brands, Sakae Sushi probably being the best known. APEX-PAL has started adopting the WSQ system as part of its in-house training programme. 53-year-old Mdm Lim Yok Bee, the Assistant Outlet Chef at Bugis Junction (Training School), has been with Sakae Sushi for 4 years and has 15 staff under her. She has now received national certification under WSQ Prepare Sushi unit. I understand that with just PSLE qualifications, Mdm Lim was initially nervous about undergoing the WSQ assessment. But she grew more confident after realising that it was actually a demonstration of the tasks she does everyday. She has acquired valuable skills through work, which she did not realize.
Conclusion
15. I thank all of you for your efforts and contributions towards the development of the F&B WSQ. Your continued commitment and partnership are crucial to our F&B industry growing upwards and outwards. Let us all work together to help Singapore and Singaporeans reach up to more peaks, and achieve more prosperity.
