The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) says that Singapore’s high-productivity farms are helping to create quality employment opportunities — particularly for younger workers — by offering modern agricultural roles that appeal to tech-savvy talent.
One indoor farm operator told the media that over the past five years they have more than doubled their workforce; they now employ 15 people, about one-third of whom are aged under 25.
The farm’s indoor-plant-factory manager, Lee Yuanhao, said the most important attributes they look for in new recruits are strong work-ethic and observational skills. He emphasised that while technical skills can be taught, the attitude must already be there: “If they bring the right attitude, anything can be learned. If they don’t bring seriousness then no matter how we teach, it’s the same.”
According to the SFA, high-productivity farms require talents with multidisciplinary expertise — covering agriculture and aquaculture, engineering, and data analysis. They are working together with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the Agency for Skills Development, employers and higher-education institutions to develop a skills framework for the agri-food industry, offering training courses and funding at various levels to nurture these talents.
One farm founder, Wang Xueli, said that many of the young recruits are recent graduates or interns. She pointed out that one employee is currently studying for a Work-Study Diploma in agriculture and aquaculture at ITE, which she believes will give a solid foundation: “Many Singaporeans are used to structured learning; this lets them begin thinking and exploring the whole industry by themselves.”
Farmers say local demand for home-grown vegetables is increasing year by year, but more needs to be done to lift market-demand further. They are already prepared in terms of equipment and manpower — and once demand increases, they will scale up production accordingly.
