Programme

Session 1.3

Transforming Environmental Services for the Future

Time: 1100 - 1130 | Venue: The NAK Auditorium, Academia

Speaker: Ms Tenny Chow and Mr Lee Eu Gin

Singapore is ageing rapidly, with about one in five residents projected to be above the age of 65 come 2030. In the face of a fast-ageing population, the challenge faced by the healthcare system is twofold: to keep up with the projected rapid increase in healthcare and infection control demand on the one hand, and yet with a constrained workforce on the other. This will be sharply felt in the environmental services space and the cleaning sector, which not only have to contend with the need to increase the frequency of cleaning and disinfection of the environment, but also to address the challenge of maintaining the workforce to take on these tasks. While the local workforce is maturing substantially, it is getting more difficult to hire foreigners due to tightened controls by the authorities. Technologies such as robotics & automation would thus be well positioned to support the cleaning sector in its transition to not only become more attractive to locals, but also to equip Singapore to be more ready for the next Disease X.

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