Getting into robotics jobs in Singapore: technician and operator roles

Where robots are used

• Manufacturing: automated production lines, robot arms and collaborative robots ("cobots") that work beside people.
• Warehouses and logistics: automated storage and retrieval systems, and mobile robots.
• Cleaning and facilities: robotic floor cleaners. NEA says partners in its INCUBATE programme have tested and adopted over 50 solutions, including robotic floor cleaners.
• Security: autonomous security robots, run by officers who monitor and manage them.
• Healthcare and construction are also named by ITE as growing users of robotics and automation.

Routes in: ITE and polytechnic

• ITE Higher Nitec in Mechatronics Engineering (24 months, or a 36-month version): control systems, pneumatics, microcontrollers, PLCs (programmable logic controllers), automated systems and setting up robots. ITE lists graduate jobs such as Automation Technician, Mechatronics Technician and Plant Maintenance Technician.
• Singapore Polytechnic: Diploma in Mechatronics & Robotics, with specialisations in Collaborative Robotics and Autonomous Mobile Robots.
• Ngee Ann Polytechnic: Diploma in Mechatronics & Robotics (N50).
• Nanyang Polytechnic: Diploma in Robotics & Mechatronics.
• Temasek Polytechnic: Diploma in Mechatronics (T66), and for working adults, a part-time Specialist Diploma in Robotics & Automation.

Routes in: while working

• Short courses: search MySkillsFuture for robotics, PLC or automation courses. Each listing shows the fee after subsidies and whether SkillsFuture Credit can be used. If you are 40 or above, the $4,000 mid-career credit can go towards a full diploma.
• Career Conversion Programmes: the government funds part of your salary while an employer trains you in a new role. NEA says environmental services firms can use the relevant CCP to reskill staff into redesigned jobs.
• MHA has highlighted a security agency that used a CCP to move its officers from guarding and patrolling to managing autonomous security robot operations.

From cleaning or security into robot roles

If you already work in cleaning or security, you may not need to start over. SWDA’s job map for cleaning describes cleaners shifting towards troubleshooting, and a new role operating AI machines and robots. The cleaning PWM ladder already has a Machine Operator level, and the cleaners’ tripartite cluster is urging firms to adopt autonomous machines. In security, Senior Security Officers now train in remote surveillance. Ask your employer whether the site is bringing in robots, and put your hand up to run them.

Skills to build, and salary

• Hands-on basics: reading electrical and mechanical drawings, wiring, pneumatics, sensors and PLCs.
• Troubleshooting: finding out why a machine stopped and getting it running safely.
• Some programming, from microcontrollers to setting up a robot’s tasks.
• For salary, check MOM’s Occupational Wage tables, which cover over 500 occupations for full-time resident employees, rather than trusting a single number online.