Got Skills, No Degree?: It’s all up to you!

By Eugene Koh, Foo Say Nong and Wong Fook Seng

Got Skills, No Degree? is the product of the efforts of several apprentices who wanted to document their experiences from training at the Sembawang Shipyard from 1969. The book also includes the experiences of other apprentices and their subsequent achievements.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd
• Release date: Feb 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9789811864704

Book preview

Got Skills, No Degree?Got Skills, No Degree?Got Skills, No Degree?

Got Skills, No Degree?

It’s All Up To You!

ISBN: 978-981-14-1939-3 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-981-18-6470-4 (eBook)

Text copyright © the Authors, 2019

Got Skills, No Degree?

First published by Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd

28 Sin Ming Lane #06-131 Midview City

Singapore 573972

With the support of

Got Skills, No Degree?

Cover design by Bayu Nugroho

Printed by Ho Printing Singapore Pte Ltd

Book Committee:

Foo Say Nong Eugene Koh Tze Jin Bernard Lai Pak Shen Wong Fook Seng

The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and individual contributors, who had consented to include their stories herein, in their private capacities, and do not in any way represent the views of the Book Committee, the National Heritage Board and/or any government agencies.

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National Library Board Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data

Names: Koh, Eugene, 1952- | Foo, Say Nong. | Wong, Fook Seng.

Title: Got skills, no degree? : it’s all up to you! / Eugene Koh, Foo Say Nong, Wong Fook Seng.

Description: Singapore : Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd, [2019]

Identifiers: OCN 1112096540 | ISBN 978-981-14-1939-3 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Apprenticeship programs--Singapore--History. | Shipbuilding industry--Singapore--Employees--Apprentices. | Sembawang Shipyard Pte. Ltd.--Employees--Apprentices.

Classification: DDC 331.25922095957--dc23

Got Skills, No Degree?

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1 : The Apprenticeship Scheme

Chapter 2 : The Beginnings

Chapter 3 : Pain and Pleasure

Chapter 4 : Got Skills, No Degree

Chapter 5 : Lessons Gleaned and Some Reflections

Chapter 6 : Personal Stories

Richard Hui Ark Kuen: A mirror of many lives

Robert Chia:

Introverted apprentice turns romantic

Kelvin Lim Ang Luck:

From apprentice to businessman to losing it all

Vincent Chua:

From oily marine work to the fragrance of blooms

Mark Chan Mun Keong:

The world is his oyster

Foo Say Nong:

Lost and redeemed through apprenticeship

Leong Chong Ling:

The creative entrepreneur

Edmund Wong:

Building confidence with hands-on training

Wong Fook Seng:

Good enough is neither good nor enough

Chapter 7 : Balancing Skills and Degrees

Chapter 8 : Afterword

The 50th Anniversary 1969-2019

Appendices

Appendix 1 : Who are the apprentices?

Appendix 2 : Letters between Sembawang Shipyard and the apprentices

Appendix 3 : Sembawang Shipyard’s Apprenticeship Training Programme

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Foreword

Singapore’s economic success, going from Third World to First in just over one generation was the result of many factors. The Government implemented the right policies, opening up the country to the world, attracting multinational companies to invest here with their technology and creating jobs. But it could only work if the people were able and willing to do those jobs.

Singaporeans not only responded to the opportunities, they created their own, learning the skills of the trade and applying themselves to the task at hand. What drove them was the hope of a better life, especially for their children. They sacrificed much for their families, doing hard and arduous work, in factories, construction sites, and shipyards. Boys grew up fast to become working men, and later, husbands and fathers. The story of their lives is the story of Singapore—a young, vulnerable country with no natural resources, overcoming the odds to take charge of their destiny and make a better future for themselves.

This book’s account of some of the 120 men who signed up for the Sembawang Shipyard Apprenticeship Training scheme in 1969 is an important part of the larger Singapore story. Their stories are worth reading because they tell what it was like in the beginning, and their voices ring true to the tenor of the times.

From Eugene Koh: When I was in primary 4 or 5, my father had tuberculosis and could not work for about a year. Mother went to work as a washerwoman to supplement the money given by the Social Welfare Department…The apprenticeship scheme offered the opportunity to earn some money and to continue my studies.

From James Lee who asked his father whether he should join the scheme: Up to you! was the short and sharp reply.

From Au Chee Soong: I could not study, so I joined Sembawang Shipyard, landing in the pipe-fitting section.

They were the voices of newly independent Singapore.

For many, it was a lifeline out of poverty, a leap into the unknown, an adventure of a lifetime.

But their individual stories are not all of the happily-ever-after variety. There were ups and downs, divorce, crime, and business failures. But also love, friendship, religion, fatherhood, and family. The work was tough, the hours long, and often, management was indifferent.

Young men had to make their own decisions quickly, with little guidance or knowledge: Whether to stay in the job, move on to another one, or on to a different career altogether. They had to learn fast and take the rough with the smooth.

That is the Singapore Story, as well.

Singapore has progressed much since those days and a new generation has taken over the nation-building task. They may be better educated and more informed but the challenges they have to overcome in the brave new world will require the same pioneering spirit of enterprise and derring do their forefathers had.

I hope this book will encourage more of these pioneers to tell their stories.

Han Fook Kwang

Editor-at-large, The Straits Times

Senior Fellow,

S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies,

Nanyang Technological University

Got Skills, No Degree?Got Skills, No Degree?

Preface

The paper chase. The poverty trap. Luck versus effort. Life and love. All these issues and more are reflected in this narrative of the first batch of apprentices who joined Sembawang Shipyard, half a century ago, in 1969.

Even today, most youths in Singapore come to a crossroad after completing their N-Level and O-Level examinations. They have an important decision to make, one which will have a lasting impact on their lives. Should they take the academic route through the junior college system and aim for a degree, or take the skills-based route at the ITEs and polytechnics? Or should they just stop continuing formal education and jump into the job market? Which is the better path to get ahead in life?

What direction should Singapore’s educational and employment policies take—continue to measure a person’s worth by the academic degrees he attains, or give equal importance to both theoretical knowledge and practical skills he gains?

Conventional wisdom says a degree will get you ahead in life. Our society in general, and employers in particular, value and reward academic qualifications more than skill-based qualifications. Society takes the easy way out—it is easier to gauge a person’s ability from his paper qualifications, with standards easily measured, rather than from his skills.

For those whom going to the university is not an option, learning a skill first, like joining an apprenticeship, is an alternative. The experiences shared in this book could provide some direction to school-leavers. Almost all of these apprentices said that the skills and experiences gained during their apprenticeship had stood them in good stead for life.

The apprentices have shown that starting at the bottom without a degree, is not the end. It is only the beginning. Thereafter what you make of your life can be simply summed up in five words: It’s all up to you.

As the 50th anniversary of the Sembawang Shipyard Apprentice Training Scheme approached, the idea was broached that they revisit their apprenticeship journey. Indeed, as they look towards their retirement, these apprentices realise that each of them has his unique story to tell. Some were excited at the thought of sharing life experiences, while others felt they had nothing great to share. Whichever the case, it is undeniable that the hands-on experience of the apprenticeship scheme contained valuable life lessons.

Singapore had just gained independence in 1965 and was looking at nation-building and industrialisation as its major thrust. Within the short span of 10 years of primary and secondary education, these young men sang 3 different national anthems, starting with God Save the Queen in primary school, then Negara Ku in secondary school and finally Majulah Singapura before they left school. As their nationality changed from British subject to Malaysian to Singaporean, many students of this generation learnt 3 languages—English, Chinese and Malay—but many were not really proficient in any of them.

Due to economic difficulties and other commitments, Britain announced in July 1967 its decision to withdraw from its military bases in Singapore by the mid 70s. Six months later, the deadline was brought forward to 1971.¹ Consequently, the Singapore government had to step up its industrialisation drive to complement the economy’s reliance on entrepot trade and provide employment for the growing population. The British left behind their huge dockyard, providing a great opportunity for the government to start a commercial ship-repair business that could provide many jobs as ship-repair is a very labour intensive industry.

To support this industrialisation programme, a skilled workforce was necessary. Towards this end, in 1968, Sembawang Shipyard and Keppel Shipyard started recruitment for a 4‐year apprenticeship scheme, with a further 1-year bond as journeyman. This scheme was under the purview of the Ministry of Education’s Technical Education Department (also started in 1968). It was an extension of the existing apprenticeship schemes of the then Royal Navy and Singapore Harbour Board. Some bright-eyed 16-year-olds saw the advertisement in The Straits Times of 10 December 1968, while others were informed by family or friends that here was a great opportunity to further their education, learn a skill and be paid at the same time. This was too good to be true in the days when many families were struggling to put food on the table. More than 2,000 applications flooded the mailboxes of the two shipyards.

Sembawang Shipyard selected about 120 of the applicants and on 3 March 1969, this first batch of Sembawang Shipyard apprentices began their 5‐year journey. For these apprentices who came from various social and economic—mostly poor—backgrounds, they were able to learn a skill, earn a little money and continue studies at the Singapore Vocational Institute (SVI) or the Singapore Polytechnic (SP). Some had been encouraged by the example of apprentices from the Naval Dockyard who had joined the merchant navy and found a good living.

The boys grew into men very quickly in the stark reality of their work environment. They learnt about life and the ways of men, their values and vices. The environment was hot, dirty and sometimes dangerous with occasional industrial accidents and fatalities. They juggled work and evening classes at the SVI and SP. Most times they were sleep‐deprived. The money was little; it was hand‐to‐mouth all the time, but they managed to have fun, organise parties, date girls and fall in love.

Upon completing their apprenticeship, the now young men, 21‐ and 22‐year‐olds, left the shipyard to seek their fortunes in the world. Many went on to build successful careers in the engineering, construction, marine, and oil & gas industries. Others reinvented themselves: one opened a book and magazine distribution business, another started a confectionery chain, and a third, a florist business. Among others, there were an oil trader, a chef, a stock broker and a London-trained hair stylist.

In these pages, the apprentices share their experiences and thoughts about the apprenticeship scheme, its usefulness and the impact it had on their lives. These are their stories as they transformed from boys, to ambitious young men, to adults, to fathers and grandfathers.

The Book Committee, in preparing this account, had adopted an inclusive approach, endeavouring to capture the experiences of all 120 apprentices in the ’69 cohort. Many supported the project and eventually told their stories and shared their memorabilia.

Their different stories share a common thread: whatever a person’s academic, social or economic status, it is no barrier to living and enjoying a meaningful life. And the skills they learnt during their apprenticeship years have put them in good stead, whether in their subsequent careers or helping them in being useful handymen for their families in their lives beyond the shipyard.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING

In 1962, the Singapore Vocational Institute (SVI) was established to provide training for students, as an alternative to academic education in secondary schools. In 1979 the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB) was formed to consolidate such training.

In 1992, VITB was restructured as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), providing public vocational education—pre-employment training to secondary school graduates, and continuing education and training to working adults. ITE offers training for trades and diplomas in vocational education for technicians and workers to play supporting roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and law. ITE now has three colleges that offer the National ITE Certificate (NITEC), Higher NITEC, Master NITEC and Diploma (Technical/Work-Learn) Programmes.

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Endnotes

¹ The final British farewell parade was held on ¹ November ¹⁹⁷¹, though British troops stayed on in Singapore until March ¹⁹⁷⁶ as part of the reconstituted ANZUK forces.

Got Skills, No Degree?

CHAPTER 1

THE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME

WHO IS AN APPRENTICE?

A person who learns a trade or profession in a formal programme with on-the-job training and classroom lessons. The apprentice begins work and from the start, he earns money and learns skills through supervised training and classroom education.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE APPRENTICE SCHEME AT THE NAVAL DOCKYARD

Apprenticeship has been in existence from time immemorial where one bonds oneself to a master or sifu to learn a skill. The Sembawang Shipyard apprenticeship scheme has its roots dating back to 1955, when the Royal Navy’s Naval Dockyard Singapore took in its first batch of apprentices.

The construction of the Naval Dockyard was announced in 1923 and completed in 1938 to service the Far East Fleet of the Royal Navy. It had the largest graving dock and the third largest floating dock in the world at that time. Many of the skilled workers were brought in from the Bombay Naval Dockyard and the now defunct Taikoo shipyard in Hong Kong. It was not until 1955 that the Naval Dockyard formally took in its first batch of apprentices. Previously it had some form of a training scheme in 1953.

The apprentices had to be at least 16 years of age and completed a level of education equivalent to today’s Secondary 2, besides passing the test that the Dockyard Technical College administered. Most of the