Singapore launched the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map (ES ITM) 2025 in January 2023, which aims to improve productivity and raise standards in the environmental services industry by 2025. NEA’s refreshed plan to transform the industry also aims to create more than 1,600 professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs by 2025. These roles include those of data analysts and sustainability managers as the agency looks to support green growth areas in the industry. Currently, the industry comprises about 1,700 companies and has more than 71,000 workers.
Companies in cleaning, waste collection and pest management will be encouraged to broaden their services beyond one environmental service sector amid labor constraints. NEA said it envisages that by building on the capabilities of companies with sufficient resources, about 10% of them will expand into more than one environmental service sector.
ES ITM will focus on deepening existing industry transformation efforts to build technology-enabled companies and prepare environmental services firms for emerging opportunities in growth areas, both locally and internationally, such as robotics and automation, resource recovery, the circularity of materials and carbon capture from waste management. It will offer SMEs opportunities to optimize and digitalize their processes.
(Sources: NEA; The Straits Times)