Singapore’s manufacturing workforce has thousands of vacancies – but perception, not qualifications, is keeping engineers away
Singapore’s advanced manufacturing jobs are expanding and running out of people to fill it.
The sector generated more than S$135 billion in manufacturing value in 2024. There were 8,500 job openings recorded in March 2026, the third-highest figure among broad sectors tracked by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The sector grew 12.2% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
The engineers exist. The problem is that many of them are choosing careers in finance or information technology instead.
Why is Singapore’s manufacturing workforce so hard to fill?
Research by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) examined 126 online discussions between 2021 and 2025. All three dominant public narratives about manufacturing careers were negative:
- The sector is where academic under-performers end up
- Automation will eventually eliminate their jobs
- Factory shift patterns are seen as incompatible with a balanced lifestyle
SMF president Lennon Tan, based in Singapore, acknowledged the problem. “We do churn out enough engineers, but ultimately, how many of them land a manufacturing or engineering job? That’s always the challenge,” he said, speaking to The Business Times.
SMF’s research also identified parental influence as a significant driver of career decisions. Parents, Tan noted, frequently steer young people towards other fields. That finding has shaped the federation’s outreach strategy going forward.
Investment commitments secured in 2025 are expected to create 15,700 jobs over five years. Of those, 37% – around 5,809 roles – will be in manufacturing, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB).
What does Singapore’s advanced manufacturing workforce actually do?
The perception gap matters because the reality of the work has shifted considerably. Frencken Group president Dennis Au, based in Singapore, offered a candid assessment of the competitive challenge his company faces.
“A factory environment is never as sexy as sitting in the LinkedIn or Amazon office,” he said. “We don’t have that, right? So we need to figure out other ways to make it attractive to them.”
His answer is technology. Frencken works at what Au described as the “leading edge” of automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Employees experiment with AI tools to automate and improve production processes – a long way from the image of operators working at machines.
How automation is reshaping manufacturing roles in Singapore
At Applied Materials’ Tampines campus in Singapore, robots, automated assembly, and AI-assisted quality inspection handle routine production tasks. That shift changes what people in the Singapore manufacturing workforce are actually hired to do:
- troubleshoot complex system problems
- improve and optimise production processes
- develop software tailored to different customers and vessels
- work across engineering, planning, and commercial functions
“Automation does change the mix of roles and skills we need, but it does not reduce the need for talent,” said Brian Tan, regional president for South-east Asia at Applied Materials. “You do not need to be an engineer to build a career in this industry.”
What HR leaders need to know about retention in manufacturing
Attracting young workers is one challenge but keeping them is another.
Rolls-Royce, operating in Singapore’s aerospace sector, has retained some engineers for five to eight years after joining as graduates. Movement across engineering disciplines is available, as are pathways into account management, sales, and commercial functions. Technicians can progress towards associate engineer positions and pursue further qualifications.
Even so, Rolls-Royce acknowledged that recruiting local young people into technician roles remains harder than filling white-collar positions. Shift work and specialised technical requirements are genuine barriers.
SMF’s Tan was explicit about what the sector needs to offer. Employers must provide “a job with dignity”, a clear career pathway, and a working environment that genuinely appeals to younger workers.
What skills does Singapore’s manufacturing workforce need now?
For HR and L&D professionals designing training programs, the sector’s direction points to a specific skills brief. Roles across Singapore’s advanced manufacturing companies increasingly require:
- AI and automation literacy
- process improvement and data analysis
- cross-functional adaptability, moving between technical, planning, and commercial work
- the ability to operate and improve sophisticated systems, not merely run them
SMF is working with Singapore’s MTI to attract more science, technology, and engineering students into the sector. A digital campaign running from October 2026 until 2028 will spotlight engineers who became managers, entrepreneurs, and business owners.
Tan’s argument about long-term career value has direct implications for how HR leaders frame their employer communications. “In manufacturing, your experience helps you become more entrenched in the sector,” he said. “So you become more valuable as time goes by.”
In a labour market anxious about AI disruption, that proposition may be manufacturing’s most underused recruitment message.
