2,000 More Jobs In Singapore's Food Manufacturing Sector

The Singapore government has launched an initiative to further develop and create more jobs in the food manufacturing industry.

The initiative was launched last week and is called the Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map (ITM).

One of the main goals is to make Singapore a leading food and nutrition center in Asia. This will lead to a number of globally competitive food companies having a base in Singapore, an increase in sector productivity by 4.5% and 2,000 new jobs for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians, by 2020.

The food manufacturing industry contributes a decent amount to Singapore’s economy. It employs over 40,000 people and added SGD 3.7 billion to the country’s GDP in 2015.

“Singapore’s Food Manufacturing industry is performing well. To continue thriving in today’s world of myriad options, our food manufacturers need to find new ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Leveraging Singapore’s strong reputation for high quality, we could develop new products or product extensions based on lifestyle and health trends, so as to better compete in the global arena”, said Mrs Kee Ai Nah, Group Director (Industry & Enterprise), SPRING Singapore.

Some of the plans of the transformation map include:

• Creation of a Food Innovation Cluster, with resources and shared facilities for R&D and production. This will help companies to develop and commercialize new products.
• Enabling the establishment and expansion of Singaporean food companies in other parts of the world.
• Helping companies adopt new technologies to increase productivity.
• Increasing the number of jobs available in the industry and ensuring enough supply of skilled people.