Support Plans in Place to Reskill and Upskill Small and Medium-sized Automotive Repair Shops to Handle and Repair Electric Vehicles

Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the plans in place to reskill and upskill staff of small and medium sized automotive repair shops to handle and repair electric vehicles in the coming years; (b) whether the Government will provide support for the infrastructure upgrades in these shops that are needed for the repair and maintenance of electric vehicles; and (c) if so, what kind of support it will entail.

Our vision for all vehicles to run on cleaner energy by 2040 would require our workers in the automotive industry to pick up new skills that can be applied to hybrid or electric vehicle platforms.

The Government will support the transition. Enterprise Singapore (ESG), Workforce Singapore and JTC Corporation supported the setting up of the Singapore Motor Workshop Association (SMWA) Training Academy in December 2020 to equip our maintenance workers with new skills to maintain electric vehicle (EV) components and charging systems. Over the next three years, the Academy will train at least 1,000 automotive workshop technicians in Singapore to maintain EVs. In addition, distributors will also work with automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to train workers in aftermarket services.

Automotive workshops can tap on existing schemes, such as the Enterprise Development Grant administered by ESG, to build new capabilities such as maintaining EV components and charging systems. Companies can also access ESG’s Enterprise Financing Scheme (Fixed Assets) to help fund the purchase of new workshop infrastructure.