Taking the Plunge: Professionalising the Plumbing Sector

There is a strategic national need to ensure that essential services in Singapore, such as plumbing, are safeguarded and have a pipeline of local talents. How might we professionalise the plumbing sector in Singapore, addressing the challenges faced and, by doing so, attracting local talents? Through extensive ground experience, a sectoral operation and technology road-mapping (SOTR) exercise, and an international scan, this paper surveys the plumbing landscape; identifies key issues and problems facing the sector, like the lack of progressive career-developing pathways; aging profile of Licensed Plumbers; and lack of price transparency in pricing plumbing services. This think piece also suggests some solutions, including their potential limitations. One potential way forward is a future model, the Career Progression Model (CPM).