The Development of Construction Education in Singapore

Abstract

In an earlier study, learning by doing (LBD) was found to be insignificant in the Singapore construction industry. This paper examines the development of the formal education system to uncover some of the reasons why so little learning by doing occurs in the construction industry. Under the colonial authorities, construction education was neglected. But after political independence, it developed slowly despite a massive public housing program. Much of the labor supply comes from low-wage unskilled and semi-skilled foreign workers. In the case of local construction workers, skills training takes place within the context of a deliberate general education policy of streaming to reduce the high attrition rate that resulted from the colonial and post-colonial bilingual policy. Screening channels the bulk of weaker students towards the construction sector. At the tertiary level, the rapid expansion of polytechnic education to support high economic growth raises the issue of education quality and limited opportunities for upgrading. The result is a distinctive fourtier system of production based on foreign workers, local semi-skilled workers, technicians and professionals. The stark subclass consciousness is likely to impede learning.