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Knowledge and information occupations in Singapore: A country case study.

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Knowledge and information occupations in Singapore: A country case study.

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Content KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION OCCUPATIONS IN SINGAPORE:
A COUNTRY CASE STUDY
by
Rosita P. Valencia
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Communication Theory and Research)
August 1986
Copyright 1986 Rosita P. Valenica
UMI Number: DP22410
All rights reserved
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JRQSiXA..J.-....Y.ALJENCXA....................................
under the direction of h..eJ F . Dissertation
Committee, and approved by all its members,
has been presented to and accepted by The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillm ent of re
quirements for the degree of
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This dissertation, written by
D O C TO R OF PHILOSOPH Y
Dean of G raduate Studies
D a te A u g u s t >#7 /#> > 1 9 8 6
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Chairperson
To The Loving Memory of Daddy
i l l
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The completion of my doctoral work, and particularly
of this research, was possible only through the generous
assistance of many people.
I wish to thank my dissertation committee members who
patiently read my work and gave me helpful comments. They
are: Professor Everett Rogers (chair) of the Annenberg
School of Communications, University of Southern Califor
nia; Dr. Jorge Schement (co-chair) of the School of
Library and Information Science, University of California
at Los Angeles; and Dr. Westley Bjur of the School of
Public Administration, University of Southern California.
I am particularly indebted to Dr. Schement, who as an
important mentor in our doctoral studies, introduced me
to the concepts of information society and information
work. In particular, I wish to mention that the intel
lectual and moral support he gave to our doctoral group,
as well as his concern for us as his colleagues even at
the start of our program, are highly valued and appre
ciated.
I also wish to thank the other faculty members who
have assisted and encouraged me in many ways: Prof. Herb
Dordick, Dr. Frederick Williams, Dr. Richard Byrne,
and Dr. Janet Fulk. I also wish to acknowledge here
iii
Dr. Meheroo Jussawala of the East-West Center in Honolulu
for encouraging me to continue my study on information
work as my dissertation.
My two-month data gathering in Singapore was made
possible through a grant provided by the Asian Mass Commu
nications Research and Information Centre (AMIC). I there
fore wish to thank Mr. Mr. Vijay Menon, director general,
for sponsoring the data gathering phase of my research as
well as for the hospitality extended to me by his organi
zation during my stay in Singapore.
Part of my data analysis was done in the Philippines
when I returned for a brief home visit after my stay in
Singapore. I am very grateful to my former colleagues at
the Department of Development Communications, University
of the Philippines at Los Banos for their warm hospi
tality as well as for providing me office space and other
important resources to help me finish my work.
I am also indebted to my friends here in Los Angeles
for their assistance and encouragement: Dr. Cecilia
Pastrana, Agnes Uy, Robert Wang, Anne Marie Campian,
Liz Lopez, Florence Brown, Oppie Sagmaquen, and Dr. Leah
Lievrouw of USC; Dr. Susan Heck, Leo and Becky Tamondong,
and Bernadette Clay.
But there are people without whom the goal of
completing my doctoral studies would have been
virtually impossible. These are my family members and
iv
friends whose love, patience and concern I will always
cherish: Dr. Patricia Lum and Fr. Ibarra (Nim) Gonzalez,
my classmates and fellow ’’pilgrims" whose total support
for me was simply amazing; the Rectos, my "second and
adopted family" here in Los Angeles who have encouraged
and helped me specially during the rough times - Leonila
"Nanay" Recto, Dr. Normita Recto, and her sister Fels
Recto and Richard Avalon; Daisy Arenas and Atty. Paz
Pedrajas, my aunt, for their assistance; my sister Nora
and brother-in-law Jessie Mallari for their extreme
patience and all kinds of loving assistance throughout
ray doctoral studies; my aunts, Remy and Nena, and my
sisters in the Philippines - Alice, Emma and Baby, and my
mother, Josefina, for their love and great prayers. And
to my Dad, who is now with the Lord, whom I believe still
cares for me.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................ vii
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................... xiii
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION ................................ 1
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.............. 11
3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ....................... 34
4. METHODOLOGY ................................. 52
5. SINGAPORE: LAND AND PEOPLE ............... 66
6. ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF SINGAPORE 81
7. SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF LABOR: SOCIAL FACTORS.. 107
8. OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES OF SINGAPORE........ 163
9. KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION OCCUPATIONS
OF SINGAPORE .................................... 242
10. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS....... 354
REFERENCES.................................................. 391
APPENDICES.................................................. 398
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Titles Page No.
Allocative Scheme for Various 21
Economic Sectors as Proposed by
Singelmann (1977)
Reclassification of Singapore’s 62
Occupations According to the
Various Typologies
GNP Per Capita, 1980 82
Singapore's Employment and Indus- 88
trial Relations, 1966-1980
Singapore's Basic Needs Indica- 98
tors, 1960, 1970 and 1980
Population Growth Rate of Singa- 111
pore, 1871-1980
Sex Composition of the Popula- 114
tion of Singapore, 1947-1980
Population by Broad Age Groups, 115
1931-1980
Population by Ethnic Groups, 117
1931-1980
Enrollees of the Formal School 127
System of Singapore, 1947-1980
Cumulative Foreign Investments 140
by Industry Group, 1973 to mid-
1983
Cumulative Foreign Investments 142
in Singapore by Country of Ori
gin, 1973 to mid-1983
Growth of Local Investment Com- 145
mitments, 1978-1983
vii
14 JITS - Apprentice Outputs by
Years and Trades (Actual), 1974
- 1983
155
15 Outputs of Tertiary Institu
tions, 1982-1990
158
16 Examples of One-, Two- and
Three- Digit Classification of
Occupations
167
17 Age/Sex Specific Labor Force
Participation Rates, 1970-1983
170
18 Employed Persons By Industry
Groups (One-digit), 1957-1982
176
19 Distribution of Occupations
(One-digit), 1947-1980
178
20 Top Ten Occupations (as Per
centage of Total Employed), 1947
183
21 Top Ten Occupations (as Per
centage of Total Employed), 1957
186
22 Top Ten Occupations (as Per
centage of Total Employed), 1970
189
23 Top Ten Occupations (as Per
centage of Total Employed), 1980
192
24 Summary Table: Top Ten Occupa
tions, 1947-1980
194
25 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified by Sex and Ranked as
Percentage of Total Employed,
1947
199
26 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1957
205
27 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1970
209
viii
28 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1980
214
29 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Age Groups and Ranked
As Percentage of Total Employed,
1970
221
30 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Age Groups and Ranked
As Percentage of Total Em
ployed, 1980
224
31 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Ethnic Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
229
32 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Ethnic Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
231
33 Top Ten Occupations (2-digit)
Reclassified According to Types
of Skills, 1947-1980
238
34 Examples of 2- and 3-digit Clas
sification of Occupations
244
35 Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970 and 1980
255
36 Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
259
37 Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
261
38 All Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified by Sex and Ranked
As Percentage of Total Em
ployed, 1970
263
ix
39 All Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified by Sex and Ranked
As Percentage of Total Em
ployed, 1980
265
40 Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Classified by Sex and Ranked
As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970 (KIO)
268
41 Selected Occupations (3-digit
KIOs) Classified by Sex and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
270
42 Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified by Age Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
274
43 Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified By Age Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
276
44 Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Classified By Age Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of
Total Employed, 1970
280
45 Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Classified By Age Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of
Total Employed, 1980
281
46 Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified By Ethnic Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
284
47 Occupations (2-digit KIOs)
Classified By Ethnic Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
286
48 Selected Occupations (3-digit
KIOs) Classified By Ethnic
Groups and Ranked As Percent
age of Total Employed, 1970
288
X
49
Occupations (3-digit KIOs)
Classified By Ethnic Groups
and Ranked as Percentage of
Total Employed, 1980
289
50 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Ranked as Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
294
51 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Ranked as Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
295
52 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Sex and Ranked
as Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
297
53 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Sex and Ranked
as Percentage of Total
Employed, 1980
301
54 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Age Groups and
Ranked As Percentage of
Total Employed, 1970
303
55 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Age Groups and
Ranked as Percentage of
Total Employed, 1980
305
56 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Ethnic Groups
and Ranked as Percentage of
Total Employed, 1970
309
57 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Classified by Ethnic Groups
and Ranked As Percentage of
311
58 KIOs (3-digit) Reclassified
According to Different Orient
ations, 1970 and 1980
316
59 Computer Manpower by Year
(Actual and Projections)
325
xi
60 List of Occupations (2-digit)
Reclassified According to the
Different Typologies, 1970-
1980
61 Totals of Occupations (2-digit)
Reclassified According to the
Various Typologies, 1970-1980
62 Sex Classification of KIOs
According to Different Typolo
gies, 1947, 1957, 1970, 1980
63 Ethnic Group Classification of
KIOs According to Different
Typologies: Chinese Group,
1970 and 1980
64 Ethnic Group Classification of
KIOs According to Different
Typologies: Malay Group,
1970 and 1980
65 Ethnic Group Classification of
KIOs According to Different
Typologies: Indian Group,
1970 and 1980
329
333
337
347
349
350
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
No. Title Page
Analytical Framework of the
Study
Population Density, 1901-
1983
Population Age Distribution,
1957, 1970, 1980
Population by Ethnic Groups,
1957, 1970 and 1983
Gross Domestic Product, 1973-
1973-1983
Industrial Origin of Gross
Domestic Product, 1968, 1973
1973, 1978
Family Planning, 1973-1983
Age Distribution of Primary
and Secondary School Students,
1973 and 1983
Students Per Teacher, 1973
and 1983
Enrollment in Educational Ins
titutions, 1973-1983
Enrollment in Institutions of
of Higher Learning, 1973-
1983
Graduates of Institutions of
Higher Learning, 1973-1983
Fields of Study of University
Graduates, 1973, 1978, and 1983
Gross National Product (GNP)
No.
49
69
70
71
95
99
113
131
132
133
134
135
136
146
xiii
15 Real Annual Growth Rates of
Major Sectors, 1973-1983
147
16 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
148
17 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
149
18 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
150
19 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
151
20 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
152
21 Imports/Exports of Selected
Commodities, 1973-1983
153
22 Labor Force, 1973-1983 (Aged
15-64 Years)
172
23 Activity Status of Population
By Age Groups and Sex, 1970-
and 1983
173
24 Age Specific Labor Force Par
ticipation Rates, 1957, 1970
and 1983
174
25 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1947
201
26 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1957
207
27 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1970
211
xiv
28 All Occupations (2-digit) Clas
sified By Sex and Ranked As
Percentage of Total Employed,
1980
29 Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs)
Ranked As Percentage of Total
Employed, 1970
216
299
xv
__
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Context of the Study
Various scholars and writers have documented the
apparent transition of industrialized countries and some
developing nations into information-intensive and service-
oriented economies. This phenomenon which has been
labelled as "information societies" or "post-industrial
societies" was based on certain observed social trends.
These social observations include: (a) the significant and
pervasive impact of computers and computer-based communi
cation technologies in the home and in the workplace;
(b) the predominance of knowledge and information workers
in the labor force; (c) the growing importance of the
service sectors and an "information sector" in terms of
its contribution to the economy; and (d) the increasing
privatization of information.
The literature on information societies has been
diverse and wide-ranging. A partial explanation for this
is that no consensus has been reached regarding the con
ceptual definition of information societies. The debate
continues regarding the validity and parameters of the
concept from different perspectives. What has emerged,
though, is a growing literature with different kinds of
emphasis and levels of analysis. For example, some writers
1
have focused on the effects and consequences of the new
communication technologies as harbingers of social change.
These technologies, from this perspective, can potent
ially alter the human environment because they are
interactive, time and distance insensitive, with capaci
ties for instant access and retrieval of information,
as well as vast capacity for storage (Williams, 1981;
Rada, 1982). The literature on new applications of these
technologies in the home and in the workplace has been
growing and includes a variety of topics such as com
puter conferencing, teleconferencing, new banking servi
ces, and electronic mail.
Some scholars, on the other hand, have emphasized
social systems in the context of domestic and interna
tional policies on communication and information. Thus,
the control and ownership of communication resources
have consequences in terms of international relations
(Schiller, 1981; Ganley and Ganley, 1982). Controversial
issues include transborder data flows, space allocations,
concentration of capital, and regulatory problems in
telecommunications, privacy as well as access and democra
tic participation.
Economic researchers have also been interested in
information societies. Some emphasized the problems
generated by the setting of new rates for the diverse
services provided by the new communication technologies.
2
Others worked on the more theoretical aspects of inform
ation economics. The traditional assumptions of neo-class
ical economic theory have been challenged in the search
for more valid explanations of changes in the information
intensive-economies (Jussawala and Ebenfield, 1984).
Employment and Occupations
Another important theme in the literature on inform
ation society is employment. Several writers have docu
mented the dramatic changes reflected in the occupational
structures of the workforce in many industrialized
countries and the occupational patterns of some new indus
trializing countries (NICs). These changes include the
following: (a) the shift of the workforce to nonfarm
employment; (b) the rise of new occupations such as those
related to computer technologies; and (c) the expansion
of the service sector.
The Rise of Knowledge and Information Occupations
Most striking among these developments is the growth
of information occupations. The OECD in 1981 stated that
among the member countries, knowledge and information
occupations gained an extra 2.8 % in share of the total
economically active in each five-year postwar period (OECD
Report. 1981; 23). In the U.S., for example, close to half
of the workforce was classified as information workers,
holding jobs where the production, processing or distri
bution of symbols were the main activities (Porat, 1977).
In 1976, the Netherlands employed 42 % in services, with
with government workers comprising 69 % of those employed
in services (Shelp, 1982). It has been documented that
many jobs in government bureaucracies involve the product
ion, processing, and distribution of knowledge and inform
ation. Moreover, Japan, in the late 1970s, had become the
number two service economy in terms of employment (Shelp,
1982).
Changes in occupational structures can spawn both
opportunities and social problems even in industrialized
countries. A study of California showed that information
occupations are on the rise but displacements and bifurca
tion of the labor force along ethnic lines and educa
tional levels seem to be evident (Schement, Dordick and
Lievrouw, 1983).
Likewise, many developing countries which are deli
berately moving into the ’’brain industries" or building
their information sectors will probably experience changes
in their labor structures also. Institutional factors and
rapid changes in technology may (or may not) exacerbate
the problems of surplus unskilled labor and shortage of
scientific manpower. In terms of international trade,
technological innovations may erode the comparative
advantage of (cheap) labor, but the rapid diffusion of
technologies may be beneficial in the long run for
some countries (Jussawala and Cheah, 1984). However, the
social consequences of changing labor patterns associa
ted with the information sector are still relatively
unknown.
Focus of the Present Study; Singapore
Some developing countries have benefited immensely
from the international and regional trade based on inform
ation industries. Examples are the newly industrializing
countries of Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Brazil and
Singapore, to name a few.
The present study focuses on Singapore as NIC which
is deliberately making a transition towards an information
society both in terms of its information sector and
employment patterns. Singapore is also a city-state, and
the growth of its information sector seems to find
its correlates in the urbanization process. The produc
tion of information has been considered as a new eco
nomic factor for urbanization, because it creates
new urban employment opportunities, changes urban spatial
patterns, transforms demographic structures and other
social patterns (Kwok and Au, 1985).
Singapore therefore presents an interesting case
study for occupational patterns in the context of its own
development experiences. Moreover, Singapore is now at a
crossroad, having achieved its growth targets in the last
twenty years. It is also unique among the ASEAN countries,
in terms of its economic patterns, but at the same time,
it is increasingly looking towards its regional neighbors
as partners in development. Its experiences in this pro
cess of transformation may provide valuable insights to
other countries seeking to speed up their development.
Rationale for the Study
The present study focuses on Singapore’s occupational
structures, with a special emphasis on knowledge and
information occupations (KIOs) which some social theo
rists say may be the "new wave” of the future and the
most predominant type of work. However, there are still
many unresolved issues both at the theoretical and empi
rical levels, about the concepts of information socie
ties, KIOs, and social transformation that need to be
analyzed. Thus, this study hopes to contribute to
resolving some of these issues, particularly the relation
ship between "information societies” and the dynamics
of social change and their impact on labor force and
occupational patterns. Using Singapore as a case study
highlights these social dynamics because of the delibera
teness in the planning and implementation of the country’s
social change policies, making the causal relationships
among social factors easier to discern. Moreover, Singa
pore is now at a crossroad, preparing to restructure
its economy again and reorienting its policies towards
the "information age." This makes Singapore appropriate
for becoming a "benchmark case" for future "informa
tion societies" in the context of newly industrializing
countries in Asia.
General Ob jectives of the Study
Following are the general objectives of the present
study:
(1) To examine and apply the analytic concepts of
the information society literature on the labor force and
occupational structures;
(2) To identify the trends and patterns in the occu
pational structures of Singapore, particularly in the
subset of knowledge and information occupations (KIOs);
(3) To examine the social forces that have shaped
the occupational structures, specifically the knowledge
and information occuppations (KIOs);
(4) To analyze the implications of the observed
trends in the occupational structures in relation to the
process of social transformation of Singapore.
Research Questions
(1) What are knowledge and information occupations?
What are their characteristics? Why are they important?
(2) What are the general trends in the occupational
structures? What are the trends in the subset of know
ledge and information occupations (KIOs)?
Analytical Questions
(1) What were the socio-demographic characteristics
of those who held these different occupations?
(2) What were the social factors that have influenced
the supply and demand structures of the occupational
patterns and the knowledge and information occupations
(KIOs)?
Theoretical and Projective Questions
(1) What social, political, economic and demographic
factors will affect the supply and demand for the KIOs?
(2) How will these jobs/occupations evolve over the
next two decades?
(3) What are some of the implications of these social
changes to Singapore and other ASEAN countries?
Organization of the Present Study
Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the study and
includes the rationale, objectives and research questions.
Chapter 2 discusses some of the related literature on
topics like the "post-industrial" society, and "inform
ation society," "service-based society" and their indi
cators. It also includes some of the critiques of these
concepts. Chapter 3 is the conceptual framework. It re
views some of the relevant literature on information-
oriented and service-based societies and their relation
ship with occupational structures. Chapter 3 explicates
also the analytical framework used in the study, its
premises and its components. Chapter 4 discusses the
sources of data, the different methods used in data-
collection and analysis, and in addition includes the
different typologies proposed by various scholars in
categorizing information workers.
Chapter 5 provides a brief background on Singapore,
its land and people, and some of the highlights in its
history, both as a colony and as nation. In Chapter 6, the
economic history of Singapore is presented, specifically
starting in the mid-sixties, after independence as an
island nation. The emphasis is on the economic policies
that were implemented for restructuring the country.
Chapter 7 analyzes in depth the social factors that have
influenced the supply and demand structures, both for the
labor force and the occupations in Singapore. The dis
cussion emphasizes demographics and the educational poli
cies for the "supply side" and on investments on the
"demand side." Chapter 8 integrates the labor force struc
tures and the occupational patterns observed in Singa
pore in the last 40 years. The emphasis is on the top ten
occupations, in relation to the total workforce and the
industrial distribution of labor. Using census data from
various years, occupational changes along sex, age and
ethnic lines are also discussed. Chapter 9 focuses on
knowledge and information occupations (KIOs) as these are
9
compared with the characteristics of the total work
force. Patterns in the reclassification of occupations
according to the typologies proposed are also included.
The last chapter, Chapter 10, is summary, conclusions and
implications. It integrates the various chapters accord
ing to the analytical framework and presents also some of
the implications of the study for policy and research.
10
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter provides a brief review of related
literature on information society within the field of
communications literature as well as the post-industrial
society literature. Thus, this chapter is divided into two
parts: (1) an overview of the common themes in the inform
ation society and post-industrial society literature; and
(2) a focus on the unresolved theoretical issues regard
ing the relationship between social change and the inform-
mation society and post-industrial society concepts .
Part I
What is the Information Society?
Interest in the concept of information and know
ledge and their relationship with societal changes in the
U.S. gained momentum in the early 1960s when some econo
mists isolated features of the U.S. economy that seem
related to the "production of knowledge." Fritz Machlup,
one of the early scholars who used this concept, out
lined the reasons for his interest in his book, The Pro
duction and Distribution of Knowledge (1961).
The production of knowledge is an econo
mic activity, an industry, if you like,
like. Economists have analyzed agricul
ture, mining, iron and steel production,
but they have neglected to analyze the
production of knowledge... There are many
11
reasons why an economic analysis of the
production of knowledge can be interest
ing. Some of these are:
(1) It is a fact that increasing
shares of the nation’s budget have been
allocated to the production of knowledge.
(2) It can also be shown that a
large portion of the nation's expendi
tures have been financed by government,
so that much of the production of know
ledge depends on governmental appropria
tions . . .
(6) The production of one type of
knowledge, namely, technology, results in
continuing changes in the conditions of
production of many goods and services.
(7) One may advance the hypothe
sis that new technological knowledge
tends to result in shifts of demand from
physical labor to "brain workers."
(8) There is evidence of a change
in the composition of the labor force in
the US,particularly of an increase in the
share of "knowledge-producing" labor in
the total employment. (Machlup, 1961: 9-
10)
Parallel observations were noted, too, in the 1970s.
Daniel Bell (1974) proposed that:
The two large dimensions of a post
industrial society ... are the centrality
of theoretical knowledge and the expan
sion of the service sector as against the
manufacturing economy. The first means
an increasing dependence on science as
a means of innovating and organizing
technological change. The second, the
expansion of services in the economic
sector, has been most striking in the
U.S.but has occurred in Western Europe
as well. In 1960, a total 39.5 % of
workers in the enlarged common market
were in services. Thirteen years later,
in 1973, the proportion had risen to
47.6 %. (Bell, 1973: xix)
Other writers had similar views. Marc Porat (1977)
asserted that the U.S.is an information-based economy.
By 1967, 25 % of the GNP originated
in the production, processing, distribu
tion of information goods and services.
In addition, over 21 % of the GNP ori
ginated in the production of information
services by the private and public
bureaucracies for purely internal uses.
By 1970, close to half of the U.S. work
force was classified as information work
ers, holding a job where the production,
processing, or distribution of symbols is
the main activity. This group of workers
earned over 53 % of all labor income.
For other scholars, information society meant parti
cularly powerful communications technology as the harbin
gers of social changes. It was argued that the "contem
porary explosion in communications technologies such as
computers, satellites, tapes, discs, microprocessors, and
new telephone and radio services, are perceptibly changing
the nature of our human environment" (Williams, 1982: 11).
Such statements echo the basic premise of an early writer
and philosopher, Jacques Ellul, in his book, The Technolo
gical Society (1965). In that book, Ellul argued that "in
economics (technical-social phenomena), changes in quan
tity can reach a threshold, creating a change in quality.
The enormous massing of technique caused them literally to
change their character" (Kuhn, 1971: 90). For the tech
nologists, Jacques Ellul might have anticipated the
13
nature of the new communication technologies which are
interactive, time and distance insensitive, with great
potential for instant access and retrieval of information,
and an almost unlimited capacity for storage. How such
technologies affect people as well as how these are inte
grated into the day-to-day activities are the subjects of
a growing literature. Topics such as computer conferen
cing, teleconferencing, new banking services using auto
mation, electronic mail, the cellular radio, and the
impacts of personal computers are examples of subjects for
research and popular literature.
As mentioned previously in the Introduction, some
writers and scholars focus on social systems, in the
context of domestic and international policies. Herb
Schiller in Who Knows: Information in the Afie of Fortune
500 (1981) as well as Oswald and Gladys Ganley in To
Inform or To Control; The New Communication Networks
(1982) discussed the consequences of ownership and control
of these communication resources within the context of
international relationships. In the domestic front, other
writers identified regulatory problems for telecommuni
cations, cable, and of course computers in the context of
democratic participation and access, privacy issues,
the stakes for labor, and grassroots community organiza
tions. In the international scene, specific problem areas
such as transborder data flow and competition among
14
industries are discussed in terms of domestic regulatory
policies and international politics.
In these diverse literatures, levels of analysis tend
to shift from the grand theory level (e.g., societal
nature, international social systems, impacts on nation
states) to the medium range analysis which emphasizes uses
and applications of communication technologies in various
social settings, e.g., business, medicine and education.
There are also studies that focus on specific technologies
and their impacts.
Given these thoughts by various writers and scholars,
certain themes emerge in the literature of information
societies. First, there is interest in the roles of power
ful technologies in societal transformations. Second,
there is the theme of social systems as the organizing
force in the utilization and distribution of benefits
derived from these new technologies. Also, a third theme
focuses on demographics, employment and occupational
changes as significant forces in social change in the
context of information societies. A fourth theme is the
"industrial park approach." An example is the study that
traces the beginnings and changes in "Silicon Valley" as
the primary industrial park for the electronics industry
in the U.S. (Rogers, 1983). The fifth theme is "econo
mics" (primarily microeconomics) that emphasize the set
ting of new rates for services derived from the new coramu-
JL3
nication technologies and the implications in terms of
regulatory policies. Lastly is the theme of political and
economic relationships of nation-states in the context of
information technologies and industries.
Part II
The Theme of Societal Evolution: Information Society as
Post-Industrial Society
Basic to the theoretical literature of societal
transformation is "post-industrial society," a concept
that gained wide currency among scholars, particularly
among sociologists, starting in the late 1960s. It is
this concept which emerged in the early seventies as the
generic terra for the many social changes observed in
industrialized countries. Among these observed changes,
some writers focused on the role of information or know
ledge as the crucial component of social transformation.
Empirical Basis of Post-Industrial Society
Its Indicators
It will be recalled that the social observations
which indicated a "major change" had occurred in the
U.S. economy included: (a) in the 1960s, an increasing
share of the nation's budget had been allocated to the
production of knowledge (Hachlup, 1961); (b) by 1967,
25 % of the GNP originated in the production, processing,
and distribution of information goods and services (Porat,
1977); (c) the increase in the share of "knowledge-
16
producing" labor in the total employment (Machlup, 1961),
and by 1970, close to half of the U.S. workforce was clas
sified as information workers (Porat, 1977); and (d) the
centrality of theoretical knowledge in this future society
as well as the expansion of the service sector compared
with the manufacturing economy (Bell, 1973).
Daniel Bell defined a society as post-industrial (as
compared to industrial) when "it is primarily information-
producing instead of goods-producing; when the motivating
power is information power instead of machine power" (Mon
tagna, 1977 ; 49-50). As summarized by Montagna, Bell
cited the following as evidences in The Coming of Post-
Industrial Society ;
The only nation with more than half
its labor force engaged in service-
producing occupations (about 60 % in
1973), and more than half its gross
national product is produced by these
services. Whereas in 1900, 7 in every
10 workers in the U.S. engaged in the
production of goods, by 1980 the propor
tions will be reversed: 7 in every 10
10 workers will be engaged in service-
producing industries. Bell contends that
the occupational distribution of the
"post-industrial society" is represent
ed in the preeminence of the professional
and technical category. It is the group's
development and control over theoretical
knowledge and technology that makes the
new society unique.
These social trends were not limited to the United
States but were also observed in other industrialized
countries, that is, the expansion of services has occurred
IX
in Western Europe as well. In 1960, a total of 39.5 % of
workers in the enlarged common market were in services,
and thirteen years later, in 1973, the proportion had
risen to 47.6 %.
These observations had been the empirical basis of
the concept of post-industrial society and of an informa
tion-based economy. Together with the observed and pro
bable effects of powerful communication technology, these
concepts gained wide currency among many writers and scho
lars who heralded the coming of a distinct stage in the
economic development of countries, after the industrial
stage.
Some Origins of the Post-industrial Concept
Daniel Bell published The Coming of Post-Industrial
Society in 1973 but it was by no means the first reference
to "post-industrialism" nor to the concept of "service
society." Michael Marien (1977) who published an article
on the origins and visions of the concept of "post-indus
trial society," described some of the earliest sources
of this term as well as Bell’s contribution:
Daniel Bell acknowledges Arthur J.
Penty, a guild British socialist, as the
the first writer to use the post-indus
trial label in a 1917 book, Old Worlds
for New: _A Study of the Post-Indus
trial State♦ But a few additional words,
at least, can be added to this history.
Penty published a book in 1922 entitled
Post-Industrialism, in which he credits
the term to Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, a
British - educated Indian who was
18
influenced by Ruskin and who later became
a well-known expert in Eastern art at
the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The earliest reference to post
industrialism that I have been able to
find is an advertisement for an antholo-
gy, Essays in Post-Industrialism edited
by Coomaraswamy and Penty, that appeared
in the end pages of a 1913 edition of
Hillaire Belloc's The Servile State.
However, I have been unable to find any
evidence that this book was ever pub
lished. In any event, Penty's definition
of post-industrialism — "the state of
society that will follow after the break
up of Industrialism, and might there
fore be used to cover the speculations of
all who recognize Industrialism is
"doomed" is not the one that is nor
mally used today. As we all know, Penty
was wrong... or was premature by half a
century... Bell deserves credit for being
the first writer to use the post-indus
trial label to describe a service socie
ty, and for writing the greatest number
of words in its behalf. But he is far
from being the first person to describe
the service society as the next stage of
societal evolution.
Post-Industrial Themes By Liberal Social Theorists
Interest in the concept of post-industrial society
continued in the 70s and was pursued by several scholars.
Some of these perspectives were reviewed by Gershuny in
his book, After Industrial Society? The Emerging Self-
Service Economy? (1978). Gershuny discussed some of
the "post-industrial" ideas espoused by four "modern
improvement" liberal theorists: Ralf Dahrendorf (The New
Liberty, 1975), Daniel Bell (The Coming of Post-Industrial
Society, 1974), J. K. Galbraith (Economics and the Public
19
Purpose, 1974), and E. F. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful,
1974), From this review, Gershuny (p.33) identified six
themes concerning the nature of post-industrial society.
a) Politics and change — The main
block to the transition from the so-
called 'growth goals’of industrial socie
ty to the 'improvement goals’ of the
post-industrial society is the 'planning
system’ or the "mature corporation" by
(Galbraith), or the 'industrial classes'
(Dahrendorf). Education is the answer
provided by Galbraith and Schumacher, and
yet it cannot be expected that the
schools will produce anti-materialists
when the entire social setting of the
schools is materialistic. Who shall then
lead the political struggle for changed
goals? Dahrendorf suggests the existing
political elites or the radical student
generation of the 1960s while Bell sug
gests the developing technocratic elites
for the role.
b) Technocracy and Planning— The
liberal theorists agree that in the post
industrial society, the government will
have a large role to play. Schumacher and
Dahrendorf see planning as a tool to
avoid mistakes in policy-making, while
while Galbraith sees governnment planning
as taking over the "planning system"
(mature corporation) in order to super
vise its dismantling and support small
business.
c) Increasing role and scope of educa
tion - The authors under review agree
that education will be important in the
post-industrial society. Dahrendorf sees
education's function as making people
better, while Galbraith and Schumacher
add the social function of altering the
public consciousness from the goal of
growth to that of improvement. Bell sees
it as a means to prepare the technocratic
elite.
20
I
d) Change in consumption patterns— A
central theme of Bell' s book is the
increasing proportion of consumption in
the services, the tertiary sector, as
opposed to goods in the primary and
secondary sectors. Productivity will rise
in the primary and secondary sectors,
freeing manpower for the tertiary. Schu
macher and Dahrendorf see improvement in
working environments such that distinct
ion between work and leisure become
blurred. For Galbraith, innovation (in
production) will be determined by social
needs, rather than by the planning sys
tems’s imperative for expansion.
(e) Changing attitude to, and condi
tions of employment — Bell sees an in
creasing proportion of the working popu
lation in the service sectors, parti
cularly in education, administration, and
research. Schumacher and Galbraith sug
gest altering the working environment,
at the cost of productivity, in order to
reduce alienation in the workplace. To
do this, Galbraith and Dahrendorf intro
duce the concept of guaranteed minimum
wage.
f) Changing nature and scale of orga
nizations — Dahrendorf and Schumacher
both point to the alienation stemming
from involvement in large organizations
and suggest that organization size should
be the minimum compatible with its allo
cated function. Bell and Galbraith sug
gest that the planning system (mature
corporation) should be constrained to
bring its goals into conformity with
those of the state.
Criticisms of the Post-Industrial Society
Critics by and large agree about the major indica
tors cited by the post-industrialists, e.g., the changes
in the occupational structures, changes in the contribu
tion of the service sector to the GNP, and the apparent
21
effects of technology on society in general. However,
they question the conclusions and implications drawn by
the post-industrialists from these observed social
trends. The following section discusses the questions
raised by various authors regarding the conclusions and
implications put forward by the post-industrialists.
Although some of the literature cited in this section
were not originally written in the context of the post-
industrialisra debate, the articles and books cited dis
cussed thoroughly the crucial concepts on which post
industrialism and information society literature have
been built.
Argument The emergence and growth of the
"service sector" in terms of its share in employ
ment does not necessarily mean the decline of the
industrial sector or ja break from the industrial
age. The service-based society is not always
post-industrial. Therefore, there is no case for
post-industrialism as a^ distinct stage in socie
tal transformation.
The "post-industrial" concept, in its recent appear
ance, was based on the growth of the "service sector,"
both in terms of its sizeable contribution to the GNP and
its growing share of employment for the U.S. and other
industrialized countries. However, it can be argued that
the emergence and growth of the service sector in terms
of its share in employment does not always lead to the
decline of the industrial sector, nor does it signal the
"end" of the industrial era. Therefore, the concept of
22
post-industrial society as the next stage in societal
transformation has limited and specific applications and
by no means universal as implied in the "post-industrial1 1
hypothesis.
Evidence No. 1: The Fischer-Clark model is ambi
guous as basis for the sectoral transformation
of employment.
An important part of the argument against the "post
industrial" concept is the inherent ambiguity in the
Fisher-Clark, the three-sector model of labor force and
employment distribution. The Fisher-Clark model states
that economic activites can be divided into sectors:
primary industries (agriculture, fishing, forestry,
mining); secondary industries (manufacturing, construc
tion, utilities and tertiary industries (commerce, trans
port, communication, and services.)
This three-sector scheme had been accepted by
economists and social theorists for the last 40 years and
is used widely in measuring the number and distribution of
workers within each sector and among industries. According
to this scheme, a "pre-industrial society is charac
terized by agriculture as the dominant economic activity;
industrial society or industrialism (a term introduced
by Carlyle in the 1830s) is characterized by mechanical
production and the manufacture of goods; in a post-indus
trial society, there is affluence and leisure and the
majority of the labor force is engaged in services such
23
as government, health care, education, entertainment, and
sales" (Marien, 1977: 417).
An important criticism of the Fischer-Clark model
is that is does not reflect accurately the complexity of
the economic activities within the service sector, the
sector which is crucial to the post-industrialism concept.
Singelmann (1977) summarized some of the criticisms of
the Fischer-Clark model.
Consider only the differences bet
ween economic activities such as trans
portation, banking and financing, and do-
omestic service, all of which belong to
the tertiary sector. What do these servi
ces have in common (other than the fact
that they do not produce a tangible pro
duct) to suggest that their role in eco
nomic development, and the labor force
force trends resulting from it, are com
parable enough to permit an undifferent
iated analysis of services? Truly, these
these industries differ along many di
mensions, be it in their capital input,
size of establishment, or nature of out
put, to name only a few.
Singelmann, in turn, in his work, From Agriculture
to Services: The Transformation of Industrial Employ
ment (1977) proposed a new allocative scheme which
reflects the heterogeneity of the service sector.
Instead of a three-sector model, there are six major
groupings that can be used to analyze industries and the
labor force: extractive (agriculture), transformative
(roughly the industrial sector), distributive services,
producer services, social services, and personal services.
24
Table 1. Allocative scheme for sectors and industries as
proposed by Singelmann and Browning (1975)
I. Extractive
1) Agriculture, fishing and forestry
2) Mining
II. Transformative
3) Construction
4) Food
5) Textile
6) Metal
7) Machinery
8) Chemical
9) Miscellaneous manufacturing
10) Utilities
III. Distributive Services
11) Transportation and storage
12) Communication
13) Wholesale trade
14) Retail trade (except eating and drinking places)
IV. Producer Services
15) Banking, credit, and other financial services
16) Insurance
17) Real estate
18) Engineering and architectural services
19) Accounting and bookkeeping
20) Miscellaneous business services
21) Legal services
V. Social Services
22) Medical and health services
23) Hospitals
24) Education
25) Welfare and religious services
26) Nonprofit organizations
27) Postal services
28) Government
29) Miscellaneous professional and social services
25
Table 1 con't.
VI. Personal Services
30) Domestic services
31) Hotels and lodging places
32) Eating and drinking places
33) Repair services
34) Laundry and dry cleaning
35) Barber and beauty shops
36) Entertainment and recreational services
37) Miscellaneous personal services
Evidence No. 2: The sectoral transformation of the
labor force does not necessarily follow the
sequential, linear evolutionary stages implied
in the Fischer-Clark model.
In the same work, Singelmann showed that there is no
basis for stating that the sequential, linear evolution
ary stages of sectoral transformatin of the labor force in
terms of economic activies are universal. His study of
the seven industrialized countries showed that at least
there are three patterns. The first pattern, exemplified
by the Western European countries composed of England,
Italy, France and Germany, showed that the decline in
agriculture led to the expansion of the transformative
(manufacturing) industries. However, these countries also
had a sizeable (one-third) of their employed in the ser
vice sector by 1971. The second pattern of sectoral
transformation is exemplified by the U.S. and Canada.
These two countries had more of their employment in
services than in the transformative sector in 1920, and
that gap widened continously through 1970. Japan, a lead
ing industrialized country, is the example for the third
pattern: the decline of agriculture direcly led to a pre
dominance of services with a small proportion of the labor
force in the highly productive transformative sector. This
pattern can be attributed largely to technological inno
vations. The findings of Singelmann’s study showed that
the the sectoral transformation of the labor force,
_____________27
an extremely important aspect of economic development
and social change* does not always follow the linear and
sequential path of the Fisher-Clark model. The only obser
vation which was consistent was the decline of employment
in agriculture* But this decline may lead to the simul
taneous growth of the transformative (manufacturing)
sector and specific types of service activities (e.g.,
producer services such as banking and finance). Or it may
lead to the decline of the transformative sector and then
the growth of the service sector (in general). Alter
nately, it may lead directly to the growth of services
and bypassing the transformative or manufacturing sector.
The implication of the above discussion is that the
phenomenon observed, e.g. the emergence and growth of the
service sector, cannot be correctly called post-indus
trial. What is clear from the historical experiences
of seven industrialized countries is that it is "post-
agricultural" and it is service-sector based, but not
always "post-industrial."
Evidence No.3 : "From services to goods - the emer
gence of the self-service economy" (Gershuny,1978).
Gershuny in his book, After Industrial Society - The
Emerging Self-Service Economy (1978), argued that the
"service economy and service employment" linkage that Bell
proposed in his book, The Coming of Post-Industrial
Society (1974) is not necessarily true.
28
Gershuny examined data from the United Kingdom and
other industrialized countries to illustrate his argu
ments. First, he did not believe that an increase in
employment in the service sector means greater consump
tion of services. On the contrary, expenditure on ser
vices (with the exception of health and medicine) had
fallen in the U.K. and other developed countries over the
last 20 years, although service occupations (e.g., mana
gerial, technical and professional) have increased (for
other reasons).
Second, technology makes possible the replacement of
human skills with goods in the provision of services.
As countries get richer, certainly new demands and needs
arise. However, technology also advances and "advancing
technology is precisely the progressive mechanisation of
activities which formerly required the intervention of
human skills - the replacement of services by goods." In
other words, what we may see is the progression from the
home washing machine and home music machine to the home
hospital machine or the home university. The shift we may
observe is not from goods to services but from "services
to goods," or more precisely, from "capital investment in
manufacturing industry to capital investment in the home,
may be best summarized not as the service economy but as
the self-service economy."
29
Other Critiques of the Post-Industrial Theories
In a more recent work, Richard Badham in The Sociolo
gy of Industrial and Post-Industrial Societies (1984) sum
marized some important critiques on the post-industrial
hypothesis. In this work, Badham discussed the relation
ships between the ’’industrial society” concepts and the
’’post-industrial” images emerging from the literature.
...The new society was distinctively
post-industrial in the limited sense that
this term had been used during the 1950s
and 1960s.
...Whereas the rise of industrial
society was associated with the centrali
ty of the corporation as an economic
institution and the development of large-
scale manufacturing industries producing
coal, steel, cars, ships, and trains, the
post-industrial society was characterized
by the rise to prominence o the univesity
and the political system, the transform
ation of the corporation into a social
institution and the development of elec
tronics, computers and service indus
tries. (p.57)
An important critique of the post-industrial concept
is that it has exaggerated "the extent and significance
of the trends it describes" (p.58). For example, the
expenditure on research and development (R&D) as an indi
cator is weak, not only because the price of knowledge has
changed, but the indicator included mundane factors like
office equipment and stationery. It is also difficult to
quantify the impact of knowledge on economic growth. Fur
thermore, the R&D expenditure reflected a political
30
project or military expenditure rather than a social trend
(pp.58-59) .
The "service sector" evidence is also suspect. For
one thing, the manufacturing workforce has remained essen
tially the same. Also, various countries have differen
tial rates of occupational change. Further, the service
sector has expanded because of the requirements of the
manufacturing sector. Moreover, the significance of the
increase in the number of the managerial, professional
and technical occupations is weakened by long working
hours, the pressures of widespread unemploymment, to name
a few (p.59) .
In sum, the post-industrial theories, as an interpre
tation of the development of modern industrial states, has
been widely criticized, "for their lack of originality and
their inadequate interpretation of contemporary trends"
(p.57).
Summary of the Chapter
In this chapter, a review of the related literature
was presented. Within the field of communications, the
important themes in the information society literature
were identified. The social changes observed and which
were later used as empirical basis for the concepts of
information society or post-industrial society were
discussed. Also presented in the chapter were some of the
31
common "post-industrial themes" proposed by some liberal
theorists in the mid-seventies. Finally, the criticisms
on the post-industrial society concepts were discussed,
particularly the aspect of social change, economic
growth, and the service-based societies. An important
argument was that the emergence of a service sector
(a major indicator used for the post-industrial and
information society concepts) does not necessarily mean
the decline of the industrial sector or the break from the
industrial age. An important piece of evidence was the
finding of a sociologist (Singelmann, 1977) that different
countries undergo different patterns of sectoral trans
formation. The decline of agriculture as a major employer
did not necessarily result in the increase of the manufac
turing sector and then the increase of employment in the
tertiary sector. In some countries, the manufacturing
sector grew (in terms of employment) together with the
tertiary or service sector. In other countries, the manu
facturing sector did not grow in employment, but services
sector absorbed the workers "released" by the agricul
tural or extractive sector.
In addition to this discussion, an allocative scheme
for the different economic sectors of society as pre
sented by Singelmann was also included. Other evidences
against the "post-industrial society" concept were also
discussed. For example, there was the trend that manufac
32
tured goods seem to be replacing some types of
services, e.g., a music box rather than a theater, or a
home university video program. This trend was labelled by
Gershuny as the "self-service economy."
More criticisms were summarized and presented by
Badham (1984). He suggested that the post-industrial
theories have exaggerated the significance of the social
trends which they used as indicators of social transforma
tion. For example, the use of the R&D expenditure as
indicator raises questions about quantifying the impact of
knowledge on economic growth and the R&D expendi
ture as a reflection of political and military efforts
rather than as a "true social trend." Also, the ser
vice sector evidence is inadequate because the growth of
the service sector can be attributed directly to the
growth of manufacturing .
Chapter 3
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter focuses on occupational structures with
in the broader context of the debate on the nature and
processes of social transformation, particularly in the
information-oriented and service-based societies that are
currently being studied. This chapter consists of three
parts: (1) a review of literature of occupational struc
tures in the context of information societies and "post
industrial" societies, in industrialized and developing
countries; (2) a brief discussion of service occupations
and knowledge and information occupations (KIOs); and
(3) an analytical framework for studying the occupational
structures and particularly the KIOs of Singapore.
Part I
Social Processes and Occupational Structures in
Information- and Service-Based Societies
Our discussion in the previous chapter showed that
important indicators of social transformation included
shifts in the employment patterns of industrialized
nations. It was also shown that although many scholars
agreed on the same observations, that is, a sizeable por
tion of the workforce was predominantly engaged in
services and that the service sector had grown dramati
cally, the conclusions drawn from these observations
differed greatly. As a consequence, the implications for
34
the future patterns of the occupational structures vary,
depending on the perspectives proposed by these scholars
regarding the social and political processes that accom
pany the societal changes observed. These viewpoints on
the emerging information- and service-based societies
are discussed in the following section. Some touch on
occupational structures directly, others indirectly, but
all discuss the processes and projected outcomes of this
social transformation.
Post-Industrialism and Occupational Structures
For the liberal, functionalist proponents of post
industrialism, a clear example of projections regarding
occupational structures may be those of Daniel Bell
(1974). In the post-industrial society, Bell predicted
the preeminence of the professional and technical class.
This technocratic orientation is closely related to the
following concepts: (1) the shift to a service economy;
(2) the centrality of theoretical knowledge as the source
of innovation (an axial principle) and (3) the creation of
new intellectual technology. In addition, Bell drew major
distinctions between: (1) sets of workers; (2) "estates”
of the professional class; and (3) locations of profess
ional activities.
Bell draws a major distinction between
this leading professional class (or set
of classes) and other classes of workers:
technicians and semi-professionals, then
35
clerical and sales; and finally, craftsmen
and semiskilled, (p.374)
He distinguishes four "estates" of
the professional class. Members of the
cultural estate, such as numerous lite
rary intellectuals, can be expected to
disagree frequently with members of the
scientific, technological, and adminis
trative estates. Members of the profes
sional class are employed in various "si-
tuses" or locations of occupational acti
vities: businesses, government, univer
sities and research organizations, social
complexes, and the military. Although
though the classes may be represented ho
rizontally by statuses, post-industrial
society is organized vertically by situ-
ses. (Jones, 1980: 117-118)
Critiques of Bell’s predictions about the central
role of the technocratic class were advanced by several
writers. Most took the form of conflict theory within the
post-industrial society framework.
Post-Industrialism and Class Antagonism: .A Conflict
Theory View
Although working within the post-industrial society
framework, French sociologist Alain Touraine, espoused a
different perspective. Like Bell, Touraine saw informa
tion as the central factor in post-industrial society
(Montagna, 1977: 52-53). However, instead of focusing
only on the technocratic and professional class, Touraine
proposed divisions between different sections of the domi
nant technocratic groups and the new working class. His
class divisions nevertheless provided a "fundamentally
36
bipolar model of class formation and conflict based on
differences in authority" (Badham, 1984: 57-59). The post
industrial society therefore is an "over-integrated socie
ty which creates a new working class of 'dependent par
ticipants* without authority over their economic deci
sions" (Montagna, 1977: 53). The important difference then
between Touraine and Bell can be described as follows:
Whereas Bell supports the ideology of
meritocracy and liberal individualism,
Touraine sees the development of an anta
gonistic class of workers in a direct po
litical struggle through occupational or
ganization and cultural action. (Mon
tagna, ibid.)
Another perspective of the conflict view of post
industrial society was proposed by Gartner and Riessman
(1974). They stated that this "new service society" could
not develop in a vacuum, and basically it is "emerging in
a neo-capitalist industrial context" (Singelmann, 1977:
130-131). The nature of this "new service society " in
this context was amplified by other writers:
Some have argued that the shift in the
industry structure of employment towards
services has resulted in the final pene
tration of the capitalist mode of produc
tion into all economic activities (Manel
1968; 1972; Braverman, 1974). The growth
of service industries in these countries
so far at least, has not altered the fact
that most workers have no control over
their labor. Although their wages have
markedly risen above the subsistence
level, very few workers are able to
accumulate capital. (Singelmann, ibid.)
Another important aspect in this new society is its
occupational stratification. To Gartner and Reissman
(1974), in this "new post-industrial service society" a
new class will be made up of groups that can usually be
found in the secondary labor market. These are usually
"women, the young, and minorities who have less power
and status and who are 'dispensable' as producers, but
not as consumers. The consumer, in a service society,
is a crucial force of production" (Montagna, 1977: 53)
This antagonism among the emerging classes within the
service sector "may be the new dimension of the class
struggle."
Post-Industrial Society as Postcapitalist
Robert Heilbroner (1973) stated that in spite of
"socialist" programs in the post-industrial society (e.g.,
guaranteeed incomes and public health plans), this new
society remains capitalist because of the economic concen
tration of resources and the linking of elites. This has
a direct impact on occupational distribution in society
and as Heilbroner pointed out:
The large firms are predominant in seve
ral of the occupational groups in the
service sector. For example, the 50 lar
gest banks in the U.S. employ one-third
of all banking employees. And the top 50
insurance companies employ almost one-
half of all insurance employees. ( Mon
tagna, 1977: 54-55)
38
Summary of Critiques of the Post-Industrial Society
Theories
Lofgren (1985: 26) summarized some important cri
tiques of the post-industrial society concepts, particu
larly Bell's predictions about the central role of the
technocratic class in post-industrial society.
For instance, the notorious forecast
that the technical - professional elite
will emerge as the dominating stratum in
the 'new society* has not fared well
well when confronted with empirical-his
torical evidence. In Heilbroner’s view,
for example, there is no indication that
the decision-making power in the large
corporations has been transferred to a to
a knowledge elite. Nor does a more equi
table distribution of wealth and income -
implied in the post-industrial vision of
a society of 'professionals1 and 'informa
tion workers* no longer concerned with
'industrial' politics — seem to have
accompanied socio-economic developments
of recent decades.
Lofgren also cited some of the more fundamental cri
ticisms to the post-industrial theory itself. The liberal
post-industrial theorists, particularly Bell, "underempha
sized the continuity of the future society with industrial
capitalism," a fact that was the focus, on the other hand,
of the conflict theory of post-industrialism. Some of
the features of this continuity include "rationalisation,
bureaucratisation, and profit-maximization. These aspects
of industrialization now manifest themselves as computeri
sation and the decline of blue-collar work1* (pp. 26-27).
There were also criticisms regarding the occupational
39
and class structures for both the liberal and conflict
views of post-industrialism . These were summarized by
Badham (1984: 55-59).
Firstly, the basis for the fundamental
structural unity of the new classes
(technocratic, professional, knowledge,
service, anti-technocratic) is only
vaguely defined.Second,... it has been
their tendency to assume that the class
consciousness of such groups directly
reflects their objective class situa
tion. Thus, the central social signifi
cance has been attributed to the service
ethic of the professional class..Thirdly,
the theorists of post-industrial society
not only fail to reveal the necessary
unity of such classes, they also fail to
justify their assumption of increasing
power. Functional indispensability of
technical classes and research institu
tions does not necessarily confer power.
Thus, Badham's critiques stressed the following:
ambiguity of definitions of the different occupational
and work classes of the post-industrialists; overempha
sis of the power of the technical classes in society; and
perhaps the most severe criticism, exaggeration of the
significance of the social trends that the post-industria
lists used as indicators of social transformation into a
"new society."
Post-Industrialism and the Third World
Dominance, Dependence, and Post-Industrialism
In a review article written by Harry Targ (1976), two
global phenomena, dominance and dependency and post
industrialism, were analyzed in the context of interna
tional relations (pp. 478-479):
The further integration of the glo
bal system into a unified heirarchy of
control and accumulation is facilitated
by the new technological expertise gene
rated in post-industrial societies. The
movement of Center nations from indus
trial to post-industrial economies sug
gests a new global division of labor
whereby "pre-industrial” and "industrial
societies" extract raw materials and
transform them into finished products,
while those in positions of power in
post-industrial societies make criti
cal decisions about material extraction,
production and allocation of production
outputs.
Targ's view was that the coming of the post-indus
trial society would benefit the "Center" (or dominant)
nations. Skills generated by technology will enable tech
nocrats to control the environment as well as the world
economy. Theoretical knowledge is therefore important for
control purposes and social engineering, adopted as public
policy, will facilitate the dominance of Center nations.
The net result of these trends, according to Targ, is the
"blurring of boundaries" and greater integration of
countries (Centers and Peripheries) in terms of common
structures, common interests, and common belief systems.
Summary of the Literature Review
The following summarizes some of the major points
raised in the relevant literature on the social processes
that affect occupational structures in the context of
41
service-based and the post-industrial” society:
1) The axial principle of the future is theoretical
knowledge and the professional or technocratic class shall
be preeminent (Bell, 1973),
2) This "new society" is an over-integrated society
that creates a new working class of dependent partici
pants (Touraine, 1973),
3) The "new service society" is growing within a neo
capitalist industrial context (Gartner and Reissman,
1974) .
4) The service sector is made up of groups without
power and status, the secondary labor market, made up
of people who are "dispensable". The service economy must
utilize the socialist mode of production of active parti
cipation in decision-making at all levels of work. The
consumer is also crucial as a force of production (Gart
ner and Reissman, 1974).
5) The shift of employment to services has resulted
in the final penetration of the capitalist mode of pro
duction into all economic activities (Singelmann, 1976).
6) Policies of "Center" nations to increasingly pene
trate "periphery nations" and distort their economies are
made more effective by the use of skills generated in
post-industrial societies - skills evolving from the
greater capacities of technocrats to control not only the
42
physical environment but also the minds of men (Targ,
1976).
These different perspectives given by various scho
lars on post-industrial and information societies under
score the importance of the historical and socio-economic
contexts in social transformation processes. As one
writer stated, social trends do not occur in a vacuum.
They are outcomes of social forces acting in concert, or
those which are in conflict. Thus, to ignore the histori
cal and socio-economic forces at work may lead to wrong
conclusions about the direction and magnitude of these
social trends.
Part II
Service Occupations and Knowledge and Information
Occupations (KIOs)
Emerging from the post-industrial society and infor
mation society literature is the consensus of various
writers that expansion of the service economy or the ser
vice sector will be a fact of life in the coming de
cades. However, this social trend does not necessarily
imply the demise of the industrial age nor will it alter
the social relations that have characterized industria
lism. But regardless of whether industrialization
accelerates or diminishes in importance, what seems clear
is that as the service sector and the service economy
expand, occupational structures will also change. For
_________________ 43
example, the OECD (1981) reported that service employment
had grown in many industrialized countries and that a
substantial portion of these service occupations are
engaged in the production, distribution, and manipula
tion of information (symbols).
What is the linkage between service occupations
(or those found in the service sector) and the KIOs (know
ledge and information occupations)? Apparently, the KIOs
can be found in any sector of society, including manufact
uring. However, we would expect that more KIOs can
be found in some types of services such as (using Singel-
mann*s typology): distributive services ,e.g., communica
tion; producer services that include banking and financial
services , insurance, real estate, engineering and archi
tectural services, accounting and bookkeeping, and legal
services; social services such as education, postal ser
vices, government, and miscellaneous professional and
social services. However, there is always the possibi
lity that KIOs such as computer programmers or electronics
engineers working in the manufacturing sector.
What are the social implications of these trends?
What will happen if (a) more people are employed in KIOs;
(b) and that these KIOs are predominantly found in certain
types of services? Occupations are indicators to a
large degree of societal stratification along income, age,
sex or ethnic lines. Therefore occupational changes on a
______________ 44
massive or societal level can facilitate social consen
sus or alternately, increase social conflicts. We may see
together with the growth of the service sector either one
or all of the following consequences: (a) the growth of a
"secondary labor market" composed of the vulnerable groups
like women, the young, the elderly, and minorities in
industrialized countries; (b) the emergence of a "new
working class" within the service sector predicted by
Touraine and other critical writers; and (c) the heirar-
chization of skills in both the manufacturing and service
sectors according to the growing trend of international
division of labor ; (d) the expansion of the middle class
composed of "technocrats" and professionals in some deve
loping countries. These possibilities are by all means
important, and changes in occupational structures are
clearly related to these future scenarios. For many
countries, such social trends can spawn economic oppor
tunities as well as social problems in the near future.
Part III
Analytical Framework of the Study
This section discusses the analytical framework used
to study occupational structures and the accompanying
social processes in this research. The major premise of
this framework is that occupational structures are embed
ded in a specific historical context and shaped by social,
45
political and economic forces interacting within that
context. The observed changes did not happen or occur
in an historical vacuum. In other words, the direction
and magnitude of changes observed in occupational struc
tures are shaped by social forces which are identifiable.
For example, it is not enough to agree about the observed
shift in employment in the industrialized countries
towards service occupations, and more specifically, know
ledge and information occupations (KIOs). Nor is it useful
to make a prognosis that technocratic elites will wield
the decision-making power in the coming decades. Such
social observations (e.g., dramatic increase in service
workers) as well as predictions (e.g., adverse impact of
changes will be felt most keenly by those in the "second
ary labor market" or the "dispensable" workers of socie
ty), will be meaningful only when viewed as present or
future historical phenomena brought about (or to be
brought about) by identifiable social forces. These social
factors operate within a specific contextual field that
can be defined as a particular country, or a group of
countries that may share some very fundamental character
istics (e.g., industrialized, capitalist, etc.).
Since occupational structures constitute an important
indicator of social changes (what people do for a living
is important), particularly in the literature of informa
tion- and service-based societies, their systematic study
46
can shed light into the processes of social transform
ation .
As mentioned in the previous chapters, the study of
Singapore's occupational structures and its knowledge and
information occupations (KIOs) provides an empirical
basis to the study of information-oriented and service-
based societies, particularly among newly industrializing
countries or NICs. The key factor that makes Singapore an
an important case for the study of the dynamics, proces
ses and impacts of information-oriented and service-based
societies is that the Singaporean government has made a
conscious and deliberate decision to restructure Singa
pore's economy once more, and this time into an "inform
ation-oriented economy." Given the famous Singaporean
thoroughness, efficiency and dedication, the efforts of
the government might succeed, from an economic pers
pective. However, the sociological impacts of the se
cond restructuring might be very different from the
first industrialization efforts during the mid-sixties
and seventies. Thus, in a very real sense, Singapore
represents a specific case in a typology of "inform
ation-based and service-based societies."
Components of the Analytical Framework
The analytical framework presented borrows its compo
nents partly from the macroeconomic model of manpower
forecasting and the labor force approach in sociology.
47
However, the analysis of the data combines the contextual-
historical (e.g., economic history) and sociological
perspectives. The specific methods shall be discussed in
Chapter 4 (Methodology).
Figure 1 shows the different components of the
analytical framework. The first is Actors. This com
ponent represents the major institutions that influence
and shape the economic policies of Singaporean life. There
are only two: the Singaporean government which exercises
almost absolute control over Singaporean life, and the
multinational corporations (MNCs). The political economic
system is corporatist-capitalist, with a strong orienta
tion towards the international economy. In fact, this
orientation is so strong that government policies are
perceived to be similar to the MNCs. Some critics go to
the extent of labelling the country as "Singapore, Incor
porated ."
The second component is policies. These are the ins
truments by which the social events are influenced. The
third component is composed of the social factors of
supply and demand. In this study, supply factors dis
cussed are demographic patterns and the learning system of
the country, both formal and nonformal or work-related
institutions. For the demand factors, investment was dis
cussed as a critical variable.
The fourth component is the labor force. This is an
48
Figure 1. Components of the Analytical Framework Used in the Present Study.
ESITIUnCNAL
ACIORS
INSITM10NAL
INSTRMNIS
9CX3AL FACTORS
CF SUPPLY
AND DEMAND
LAKE RME
PATTERNS
OCCUPAHCNAL
SIRUCIURES
Singaporean
Government
^Economic
Policies
Supply
(Denographic
Patterns and
Educational
Policies
determinants
and Patterns
of labor Force
Participation
Subset of
Knowledge and
Information
Workers (Trends,
Patterns, and
Characteristics
SiDtinational
Corporations
demands
(Investments)
^Industrial
Distribution
of the
Workforce
S '
V £ >
immediate determinant of occupational and industrial
distribution and structures, the fifth component and so
these concepts are discussed in one chapter. The last
component is the subset of knowledge and information
occupations (KIOs) and non-KIOs.
The assumption of this framework is that these
components affect each other, although the major force is
the actor component. It is also assumed that the present
occupational patterns, including those of the KIOs, can be
explained by this analytical framework. It also means that
quantitative prognosis about the future patterns of the
KIOs can also be explained using this framework. Thus,
if we were to test Daniel Bell’s prediction that in the
information-oriented and service-based society (of the
future), the technocratic class shall be predominant, this
analytical framework can be used to find both the his
torical and empirical basis of such a prognosis. The next
chapters shall discuss these different components individ
ually, and the last chapter shall reconstruct the Singa
porean experience according to this framework.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter presented a brief review of the litera
ture on information-oriented and service-based societies,
with an emphasis on the concepts that affect the occupa
tional structures of these societes. As a major indicator
50
of social change, the shift of occupational patterns to
wards information-oriented and service-based occupa
tions is viewed to be accompanied by other social proces
ses. Discussed also in this section was the linkage bet
ween service and information occupations. An analytical
framework for the study of occupational structures in an
information-oriented and service-based societies was was
also presented. The components of this framework are: the
institutional actors, their policies, the social factors
of supply and demand, the labor force patterns, the occu
pational structures, and the subset of knowledge and
information occupations (KIOs).
51
Chapter 4
METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the different methods and
procedures in the collection and analysis of the present
data. It discusses the following : the analytical pers
pectives used, data sets collected, the data collection
procedures, and the specific methods used to analyze the
data. In addition to the above, definitions of some
important concepts will be included. For example, the dif
ferent typologies for knowledge and information workers
as proposed by various scholars are discussed in this
chapter.
Analytical Perspectives
As mentioned in the previous chapter, this study used
primarily the contextual-historical approach as the main
analytical perspective. The reason is that occupational
structures are embedded in a specific context, shaped by
a country’s history as well as its prevailing political
and economic system. Thus, to study occupational struc
tures as a phenomenon in itself may not be so meaningful,
particularly if one of the objectives is to understand the
social forces that shaped it. Moreover, future trends are
more difficult to discern if based solely on quantitative
projections (e.g., number of jobs within a decade). It
52
is quite clear that for some countries like Singa
pore, institutional intervention is a key factor in
future events.
The level of analysis used was the aggregate level,
relying in many instances on macroeconomic data (e.g.,
GDP, investments, etc.) as well as on labor force data
(e.g., demographic patterns, industrial employment, etc.).
This level of analysis complements the contextual-histo
rical analytical perspective.
Data Sets Used In the Study
The qualitative data for the study consist mainly of
the political and economic history of Singapore. Sources
for this were articles written by key government officials
as well as reports issued by various institutions of the
country, primarily by the powerful Economic Development
Board (EDB).
The quantitative data were mainly census and other
statistical information published in the various census
books and statistical yearbooks published by the Singa
pore government.
Census data for the years of 1947, 1957, 1970 and
1980 were used as primary sources of information. In terms
of occupational data, one-digit, two-digit and some
three-digit code data were used for the various census
years. One-digit codes (the major group) represent the
highest level of aggregation and show the very broad
fields of work rather than specific types of work
performed. The full explanation for codes as well as the
assumptions of the census data are discussed in Chapter 8
(Labor Force and Occupational Structures). Important sour
ces of information, in addition to the statistical year
books published by the government, were the census
monographs written by Prof. Saw Swee Hock of the National
University of Singapore. These census monographs included
The Population of Singapore (1983) and The Labor Force
of Singapore (1984). These were used primarily in
Chapter 8.
Data gathering was conducted from May 18 - July 18,
1985 in Singapore. This was made possible through a
research grant awarded to the author by the Asian Mass
Communications Research and Information Centre (AMIC), a
regional organization based in Singapore.
Methods Used for Data Analysis
The primary methods used for analysis were histo
rical and institutional analysis, use of interpretative
percentages to find out some occupational patterns, and
reclassification of census data into knowledge and inform
ation occupation typologies proposed by various scholars.
54
Some Limitations of the Data Gathered
Several limitations have to be considered in inter
preting the results based on the census data:
1) Census data on occupations were obtained in
published forms (e.g., statistical yearbooks) and many
times these were presented in summary tables. Thus, not
all levels of aggregation (e.g., the fifth level) were
available.
2) Strictly speaking, only the data sets for the 1970
and 1980 (two-digit and three-digit) occupations are com
parable. The 1947 and 1957 data sets obtained were diffi
cult to compare except probably at the one-digit or high
est level of aggregation. Many of the details that the
researcher wanted were not available in published form and
with the latest update. The researcher found that it was
quite difficult to gather manpower data in Singapore.
3) Data sets on occupations gathered from the census
materials of various years (not census monographs) con
sisted of the following:
a) Occupations by sex distribution - All the
decades under this study had available data on this
variable: 1947, 1957, 1979 and 1980. Analysis included
all two-digit level occupations and some three-digit
level jobs.
b) Occupations by ethnic and age distribution—
Data sets available were only for 1970 and 1980. No compa
55
rable data sets were obtained for 1947 and 1957 at the
two-digit and three-digit levels.
Definitions and Typologies of Knowledge and Information
Occupations As Proposed By Various Scholars
This section discusses some of the definitions and
typologies used for defining and identifying categories
for knowledge and information occupations. These were used
in reclassifying the occupational data in Chapter 9 (Know
ledge and Information Occupations).
Fritz Machlup (The Production and Distribution of
Knowledge in the United States: 1961)
In his book, Machlup identified two categories of
knowledge workers: (a) knowledge-producing and (b) not
knowledge-producing. He also raised the question of whe
ther all white-collar workers should be regarded as
knowledge-producing workers. He decided it was not so.
Knowledge-producing workers were defined as those whose
product is a message, a piece of information, anything
primarily designed to create an impression on someone's
mind. Transporters, transformers, processors, interpre
ters, analyzers and original creators of communication of
all sorts will be regarded as knowledge-producing workers.
Also included in the knowledge-producing category from
the blue-collar workers were: members of the printing
trade, particularly electrotypers and sterotypers, set
ters, pressmen and plate printers (p.33).
Excluded as not-knowledge-producing in the profes
sional, technical and kindred occupations were: chiro
practors, dentists, funeral directors and embalmers, all
nurses, pharmacists, 50 % of physicians and surgeons (on
the assumption that only one-half of their work is diag
nostic and therapeutic advice and prescription), all
technicians (medical, dental, etc.), therapists, healers
and veterinarians. Also excluded from the group of
"managers, officials, and proprietors were: railroad
conductors and all salaried or self-employed managers in
retail trades, automobile repair services and garages."
From the group of sales workers, excluded because they
are less specialized in "sales talk" than in handling
the merchandise were hucksters, peddlers, all persons
in retail trade.
Marc U. Porat (The Information Economy of the Uni ted
States: 1976)
Porat added a fourth sector to the conventional tri
partite sectoring scheme. He called this an "information
sector" and included all workers holding an information
job. He footnoted that this category included: teachers,
selected managers, selected clerical workers, selected
professionals and people who work with information
machines (e.g., computers and telephone operators). The
criterion of including an occupation in the information
sector is that the informstion-handling aspect of the job
overshadows the non-information aspects.
The typology of information workers Porat proposed
was as follows:
a) Markets for information
1) Knowledge producers (scienti
fic and technical worker and private-
information services).
2) Knowledge distributors (educa
tors, public information dissemina
tors, communication workers).
b) Information in markets
1) Market search and coordination
specialists (information gatherers,
search and coordination specialists,
planning, and control workers).
2) Information processors (non
electronic based and electronic based).
c) Information infrastructure
1) Information machine workers
(non - electronic machine operators,
electronic machine operators, tele
communication workers).
Jorge Schement and Leah Lievrouw (Five Categories of
Information Workers: 1983)
Schement and Lievrouw proposed a classification sys
tem that organized occupations by information-related
tasks, in order to focus directly on information (or in
formation technology) manipulation as the principal work
ing behavior. Occupations whose main task is the product
ion, recycling, or maintenance of information technology,
58
are therefore by their nature defined as information
work. These categories of information work were based on
the taxonomy of behavioral outcomes of instruction orga
nized by Bloom, Krathwohl, Harrow, and others. These
instructional outcomes (behaviors) are divided into
cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. In turn,
each of the domains is subdivided into increasingly com
plex levels of behavior. The Dictionary of Occupational
fitles was also identified as the most comprehensive
listing of occupational descriptions for the entire U.S.
workforce.
Following are the five categories of information
workers:
a.Information Producers— Like the
other writers, the basis for this catego
ry is creativity. However, this does not
refer only to "new knowledge," but also
to the synthesis and reorganization of
knowledge or information. The basic as
sumption is that all knowledge is deriva
tive, and therefore synthesis and reor
ganization are creative efforts. Thus,
this category is much broader than com
parable categories proposed by other
writers.
This category includes any worker
whose task is interpretation, creation,
synthesis, composition, modification,com-
combination, or other related activities.
This category then includes scientists
and engineers, but it also includes ar
tists, architects, lawyers, market ana
lysts, computer programmers, teachers,
and most physicians.
b.Information Recyclers — Workers
in this categoy move information from one
59
place to another, or transform it from
one form to another. The principal acti
vities include translation, transforma
tion, transfer, routing and other simi
lar. Typical jobs in this category are
are postal workers, secretaries, word
processor operators, printers, transla
tors, and telephone operators.
c* Information maintainers— This
category is roughly analogous to one that
Porat considers part of the "information
distributor class. It includes libra
rians, archivists, curators, and other
people who store and maintain informa
tion. The distinctive activity in this
category is judgment. Workers make judg
ments on the basis of what is worth keep
ing or not. Occupational tasks in this
this category encompass description, dis
crimination, comparison, organization,
analysis, categorization, and labelling;
the ability to break down material into
its component parts.
d.Information Technology Produ
cers— All workers who produce the first
stage of components for that technology,
are included in this category. For exam
ple, workers assembling cathode ray tube
or computer chips and telephone plugs
would come under this category, but not
workers extracting or processing raw ma
terials (silicon, copper, plastics). This
category includes the most traditional
industrial assembly skills, applied in
what we have broadly classified as "in
formation technology" industries.
e.Information Technology Maintainers—
This information work category includes
workers who maintain, monitor, repair,
operate, or otherwise care for informa
tion technology after it is built.
Reclassifying Singapore *s Occupations
As part of the data analysis in Chapter 9, some of
the occupations in Singapore's workforce were reclassi-
fied according to the various typologies presented. The
question is: are the Singaporean occupational titles com
parable with those of the U.S. on which most of the typo
logies were based? The answer is yes, given the awareness
that there may exist some cultural bias. The account below
describes the basis of Singaporean occupational titles:
The Singapore Standard of Occupa
tions Classification (SSOC) 1978 was de
veloped to reflect the changes in the
economic structure since 1973. The SSOC
provides a common framework for the com
pilation and classification of the occu
pations of Singapore's workforce. It is
designed for use not only in the 1980
Census of Population but also for all
subsequent censuses and surveys requiring
occupational classifications. Hence fu
ture changes in economic structure that
can be foreseen were also taken into con
sideration. The SSOC 1978, however, does
not differ substantially from the Singa
pore Standard Occupational Classification
and Dictionary (SSOCD) 1973 and conforms
basically to the International Standard
Occupational Classification (1968).
Table 2 shows a sample of the reclassification of
two-digit occupations for the Singaporean workforce using
the typologies discussed above.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter continued the discussion on the analy
tical perspective and the methodology used in the study.
Level of analysis was the aggregate, using macroeconomic
data (e.g., GDP) and census data. Information collected
for quantitative analysis was primarily census materials
61
Table 2, Sample of reclassification of Singapore’ s occupations according to various typologies
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
Physical Scientists and
Related Technicians
Architects, Engineers and
Related Technicians
Aircraft and Ships’ Officers
life Scientists and
Related Technicians
Medical, Dental, Veterinary
and Related Workers
Statisticians, Mathematicians
Systems Analysts and
Technicians
Economists
Accountants
Jurists
Teachers and Related Workers
G \
ls >
Table 2 can’ t.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
Authors, Journalists and
Related Workers
1 1 1
Professional, Technical and
Related Workers
1 1 1
Legislative Officials and
Government Administrators
1 1 1
Clerical Supervisors 1 1 1
Stenographers and Typists 1 1 1 1
Bookkeepers, Cashiers and
Related Workers
1 1 1
Computing Machine Operators 1 1 1
Transport, Gomnunications
and Supervisors
1 1 1 1
Mail Distribution Clerks 1 1 1
Telephone and Telegraph
Operators
1 1 1
Os
u >
Table 2 con’ t.
Legend: Typologies and their authors
A Knowledge Producers (Machlup)
B Nonknowledge Producers (Machlup)
C Information Producers (0KD/\Porat)
D Information Processors (OHD/Porat)
E Information Distributors (OECD/Porat)
F Information Infrastructure Occupations (OHD/Porat)
G Information Producers (Schement & Leivrouw)
H Information Recyclers (Scheraent & Leivrouw)
J Information Technology Producers (Schement & Leivrouw)
K Information Technology Maintainers (Schement & Leivrouw)
L Ncm-Information Occupations (Schement & Leivrouw)
M Non-Information Occupations (Schement & Leivrouw)
N "Not Sure” Category
on occupations. Qualitative data were primarily accounts
about the economic history of Singapore and the institu
tions involved in its transformation. Discussed also in
the chapter were the various typologies and definitions
of information work and information workers proposed by
various scholars. These concepts were used in Chapter 9
to reclassify occupations in the Singaporean workforce.
Chapter 5
SINGAPORE : LAND AND PEOPLE
This chapter shall describe the land, people and
institutions of present-day Singapore and also includes
a brief, chronological narrative of its history as an
island nation. The information and materials for this part
of the chapter have been quoted largely from two principal
sources: Singapore-Facts and Figures, 1984 and Singapore
Statistical Charts, 1983-84.
The Country
Land
Singapore consists of the island of Singapore and
some 57-odd islets within its territorial waters. The
main island is about 41.8 km in length and 22.9 km in
breadth, and 570.4 km in area. It has a coastline of 131.5
km. Total land area, including the islets is 618.1 km.
Singapore's immediate neighbors are Peninsular Malay
sia to the north, East Malaysia to the east, and Indone
sia to the south. Singapore is linked with Peninsular
Malaysia by a 1,056 m causeway which carries a road,
a railway and a water pipeline across the Strait of Johor.
At Putri Narrows, the strait is 640 m wide; near
the northwest corner of the island and 914 m wide
near the causeway.
__________________________________________________________________________
Some of the islets are of increasing economic
importance. The major ones are Pulau Tekong Besar
(1,792.8 ha); Pulau Ubin (1,019.2 ha); Sentosa (308.90
ha); Pulau Bukum Besar (144.8 ha); Pulau Merlimau (55.0
ha); and Pulau Ayer Chawan (169.2 ha). Pulau Seburus
Dalam extends from Katong to Changi.
Climate
The main features of the climate of Singapore are a
relatively uniform temperature, high humidity and abundant
rainfall due to maritime exposure of the island and its
close proximity to the Equator.
Flora and Fauna
There are about 3,000 ha of forests on the main
island and surrounding islets managed by the Nature
Reserves Board. The largest trees and greatest density of
native species are found at the 66-ha Bukit Timah Nature
Reserve, which includes the highest topographical point
(175 m) in Singapore. A relatively undisturbed swamp
forest is found in Yishun, while remnants of mangrove
forests are found in the Kranji and Pasir Ris.
Population
The population of Singapore as of Nov. 30, 1983 was
2,02,000. Compared with 1982, the population increased
by 30,200 persons or 1.2 %. The population density
rose from 3, 999 persons per km in 1982 to 4, 048
persons per km in 1983.
67
The population was composed of 1,917,100 Chinese,
368,500 Malays, 160,000 Indians (including Pakistanis,
Bangladeshis, and Sri Lankans) and 55,800 persons of other
ethnic groups. The Chinese constituted 76.6 % of the
population, the Malays 14.7 %; the Indians 6.4 %; and
persons of other ethnic groups, the remaining 2.3 %.
There were 1,275,500 males and 1,226,500 females,
giving a sex ratio of 1,040 males per 1,000 females. The
Chinese and the Malays had a fairly even sex distribution
of 1,015 and 1,069 males per 1,000 females, respect
ively. The Indians had a relatively less balanced sex
ratio of 1,288 males per 1,000 females.
Birth and Death Rates
The crude birth rate declined from about 42.7 per
1.000 population in 1957 to 16.6 per 1,000 in 1983. The
total fertility rate dropped from 6,406 per 1,000 women
aged 15-44 years in 1957 to 1,624 per 1,000 women aged
15-44 in 1983. The crude death rate declined from 7.4 per
1.000 population in 1957 to 5.3 per 1,000 in 1983.
Language
Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), Tamil and English are the
official languages. Malay is the national language and
English is the language of government administration.
The main Chinese dialects are Hokkien, Teochew,
Cantonese, Hainases, Hakka and Foochow. Mandarin is
increasingly used in place of dialects among the Chinese.
: 68
Parsons Per Square
K i lometer
4.000-
3.500
3,000 >
2.500
2. 000-
1,500-
1 , 000-
5 0 0 -
♦
500 Persons Per
Square Kilometer
1970
1957
rail
1947
Persons Per Square
Kilometer
1983
-4,000
3,500
-3,000
-2,500
-2,000
-1,500
1,000
500
Cft
iC_
POPULATION DENSITY, 1901-1983
S o u rce: S in g a p o re Statistical C h arts, 1 9 8 3 /8 4 .
FIGURE 2
Male
□
Female
•vl
La-
Age Group
70 Q Over
6 5 -6 9
6 0-64
55-59
50-54
4 5-49
40*44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10- 14
5 - 9
0 - 4
Age Group
70 8 Over
6 5 -6 9
60-64
55-59
50-54
4 5-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5 - 9
0 - 4
Age Group
70S Over
6 5 -6 9
6 0 -6 4
55- 59
50-54
45-49
4 0-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15*19
10-14
5 - 9
0 * 4
Thousand
Persons
200150100 50 0 50 100150200
1957
200150100 50 0 50100150 200
1970
200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200
1983
POPULATION AGE DISTRIBUTION, 1957, 1970 8 1983
S ource: S in gap ore Statistical C harts, 1983/84.
FIGURE 3
Thousand P a rso n s
1,000
900 ■
800
Mala
| | Femole
700 -
500 -
300 -
200 -
Chinese Malays Indians Others Chinese M alays Indians Others Chinese Malays Indians Others
1957 1970 1983
POPULATION BY ETHNIC GROUP, 1957, 1970 a 1983
S ou rce: S in gap ore Statistical C harts. 1983/84.
FIGURE 4
Thousand P erso n s
1,000
900
(-800
700
h 600
500
r4oo
300
200
100
•0
Telegu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Hindi and Bengali are spoken
by ethnic Indians.
Literacy
The general literacy rate, defined as the number of
literate persons per 100 persons age 10 years and over,
was estimated to be 85.2 % in 1983. The estimated literacy
rate for males was 92.2 % and for females 78.1 %.
About three-fifths of the literate persons were
literate in only one official language or else were
monolingual. Among the monolingual, those who were lite
rate in Chinese only predominated, followed by those
literate in English only. Among those who were lite
rate in two or more languages, persons who were literate
in both English and Chinese predominated while those lite
rate in both English and Malay ranked second.
Citizenship
Singapore citizenship is acquired by birth, descent
or registration. The 660,374 persons have registered as
Singapore citizens since 1957.
There were 7,400 applications for Singapore citi
zenship in 1983, of which 6,413 were approved.
History
This section covers the brief history of Singapore as
a city-state and also includes a chronology of the impor
tant events in its history. The principal source is
Singapore: Facts and Figures, 1983-84.
72
History in Brief
The original seaport of Teraasek or Singapore was
founded in 1297 as one of the three kingdoms of the
trading empire of Srivijaya, based in Palembang, in
Southern Sumatra. It was destroyed in 1376 by the Maja-
pahit empire based in Java.
Modern Singapore was founded in 1819. Sir Stamford
Raffles, in his search for a new British commercial center
in the East, recognized its immense potential as soon as
he set foot on the island. Acting independently of the
government in Penang, he established a base here on
behalf of the British East India Company. He secured a
concession from Sultan Hussein Mohamed Shah and Temeng-
gong Abdu'r Rahman on February 6, 1819, for the establish
ment of a trading post on the coast between Tanjong Malang
and the Kallang River.
From 1819 until 1823, Singapore was a dependency of
Bencoolen. From 1823 to 1826, it was under the direct
control of the Governor-General in India. John Crawford,
the Resident, concluded in 1824 the final treaty with the
Sultan and Temenggong of Johor, which ceded Singapore to
the East India Company in full sovereignty.
In 1826, Singapore was joined with Penang and Malacca
to form the Straits Settlements under the general super
vision of Penang. In 1830, the Straits Settlements were
placed under the government in Bengal.
________________________________________________________ 73
The Settlements were removed from the administration
of Bengal and placed under the personal supervision of the
Governor-General of India in 1851.
After the Indian Mutiny, 1857-1859, the government of
India passed from the East India Company to the India
Office in London.
To investigate the fiscal position of the Settle
ments, a commission, headed by Robinson, Governor of Hong
Kong, was in favor of a transfer of authority and, in 1867
the Straits Settlements became a crown colony directly
under the Colonial Office. With the policy of British
intervention in the Malay States, the Governor of the
Straits Settlements doubled as High Commissioner of the
Malay States. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869
increased Singapore’s prosperity and progress. In the wake
of prosperity, the influential mercantile community
demanded a voice in the administration of the colony.
This community became instrumental in spearheading signi
ficant changes in the workings of the constitution.
The bulk of the population prior to the outbreak of
the First World War were transients and were politic
ally indifferent.
Singapore surrendered to Japanese troops on
February 15, 1942, and was under Japanese occupation for
three and a half years. After September 5, 1945, when the
Japanese surrendered, the island was run by the British
74
Military Administration; civil administration was restored
on April 1, 1946 and Singapore was accorded a new status
as a separate crown colony.
With the restoration of peace and resumption of
commerce after the Second World War, the people began to
agitate for a greater involvement in government. The first
step towards self-government was taken in 1948 when
Singapore held its first elections for six seats out of
the 22 in the Legislative Council, with a majority of
officials and officially appointed members. The next step
was taken in 1953 with the appointment of the Rendel
Commission, whose recommendations were put into effect in
1955, establishing a 32-member Legislative Assembly, of
whom 25 were elected from one-member constituencies.
In the general election, the Labor Front led by David
Marshall won ten seats. The support of the Alliance and
two of the nominated members enabled Marshall to form the
government.
In 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of
Malaya, put forward his idea of a Greater Malaysia to
consist of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei,
North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak. In spite of vehement
opposition from Indonesia, Malaysia was proclaimed on
September 16, 1963, consisting of the 11 states of Malaya,
Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
75
Chronology
1816 A trading station was established in Singapore
by Sir Stanford Raffles under an agreement
between the British East India Company and the
Sultan of Johor and the Malay ruler of the
island.
1824 Singapore was ceded in perpetuity to the East
India Company by the Sultan.
1830 The Straits Settlements were brought under the
Presidency of Bengal in India.
1851 Singapore was transferred to the direct control
of the Governor-General of India.
1867 Control of Singapore was transferred to the
Colonial Office.
1942 The beginning of the Japanese occupation.
1945 The surrender of Japan and the reoccupation by
the Allied Forces.
1948 Six elected members out of a total of 22 were
included in the Legislative Council for the
first time.
1955 A new constitution was introduced, providing a
Legislative Assembly with an elected majority of
25 out of total of 32 members. The Cocos islands
was transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia.
1958 May: Discussions were concluded in London on
the terms of the Order in Council required to
give effect to the decisions of the Singapore
Constitutional Conference of 1957.
August: The State of Singapore Act was passed
in the United Kingdom Parliament, providing for
the establishment of the State of Singapore, and
enabling the promulgation of the Constitution by
Order in Council, and the establishment of a
Singapore citizenship .
October: Christmas island was transferred to
the Commonwealth of Australia.
November: The Singapore Constitution Order in
76
1959
1961
1962
1963
1965
1967
Council was brought into operation by proclama
tion of the Governor.
May 30 : General election to the first fully
elected Legislative Assembly was held. The
People's Action Party won 43 seats out of 51
and formed the government.
June 3 : Singapore Order in Council came into
operation: Singapore achieved internal self-
government .
May 27: The formation of Malaysia to include
the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak,
Brunei and North Borneo (now Sabah) was proposed
by the Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. The
Singapore government gave its support.
August 1 : Agreement was reached in principle
between the Malayan and British governments that
Malaysia should come into being by August 31,
1963.
September 1 : Singapore referendum: 73 % of the
electorate voted in favor of merger with Malay
sia.
July 9 : The signing of the Malaysia Agreement
at Marlborough House, London.
September 16 : With the formation of Malaysia,
Singapore became independent within the Fede^
ration of Malaysia.
September 21: The PAP was again returned to the
Legislative Assembly with 37 seats out of 51 at
the general election.
August 9 : Singapore became a fully independent,
sovereign nation on separation from Malaysia.
September 21: Singapore became the 117th member
of the United Nations.
December 22: The Constitution Amendment Act was
passed under which the Head of State became the
President and the State of Singapore became the
Republic of Singapore.
June 12: Singapore issued its own currency.
77
1968
1971
1972
1973
1976
1977
1979
1980
1981
April 13: The Supreme Court of Judicature Act
came into force.
April 18: By elections in five constituencies:
the PAP won the two contested seats and was
returned unopposed in the other three seats.
31 October: The British Far East Command ceased
operations.
September 2: General election: the PAP was
returned to power for the fourth time.
May 8: The currency interchangeability agree
ment with Malaysia came to an end.
September 13: Parliamentary Membership Bill,
1976, was passed six constituencies were eli-
eliminated and ten created, increasing the
number of constituencies from 65 to 69.
December 23: General election: PAP was returned
to power for the fifth time, winning all 69
seats; 16 seats were returned unopposed.
May 14: A by-election in Radin Mas: the PAP and
the Workers’ Party contes ted and the PAP won by
7,152 votes.
July 23: A by-election in Bukit Merah : the
PAP and the Barisan Sosialis contested and the
PAP won.
February 10: The PAP won all seven seats in
by-elections. Two of the seats were uncontested
on nomination day. The Workers’ Party, the
United People's Front, the United Front (now
Singapore United Front) and an independent can
didate contested in the other five.
July 29: Parliamentary Membership Bill, 1980,
passed, increasing the number of constituencies
from 69 to 75.
December 23: General election: the PAP was
returned to power for the sixth time, winning
all 75 seats; 37 seats were returned unopposed.
October 31: The Workers’ Party won the Anson
by-election.
78
December 31: Singapore's time was brought
forward half an hour in line with a common
Malaysian time.
Government
Parliament
Parliament is unicameral and consists of 75 members
elected by secret ballot in single-member constituencies.
Every citizen 21 years of age or over is eligible to vote
and subject to certain qualifications, to stand for
election to Parliament. Voting is compulsory.
The life of a Parliament is five years from the date
of its first sitting, unless it is dissolved earlier. A
general election must be held within three months after
every dissolution of Parliament.
Parliament meets periodically but there are no
scheduled dates of sittings. The conduct of parliamentary
business is governed by rules of procedure which are
adapted from those of the House of Commons at West
minster. Members may speak in Malay, Mandarin, Tamil,
or English in debates and simultaneous interpretation is
provided. Parliamentary sittings are open to the public.
The privileges, immunities, and powers of Parliament
and of the Speaker, members and committees are contained
in the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.
The Judiciary
The judicial power of Singapore is vested in the
79
Supreme Court and in the Subordinate Courts. The judiciary
administers the law independently of the Executive. The
inviolability of judges in the exercise of their duties is
safeguarded by the Constitution.
The Executive
The President of the Republic of Singapore is elected
by Parliament for a term of four years. The first presi
dent, Yusof bin Ishakj, who was elected to the office
of Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) on December 3,
1959, died on November, 1970. Dr. Benjamin Sheares, sworn
as President in 1971, died during his third term of office
in 1981. Mr. Chengara Veetil Devan Nair assumed office as
President on October 24, 1981.
The President appoints as Prime Minister a member of
Parliament who commands the confidence of the majority
of the members of Parliament. On the advice of the Prime
Minister, the President appoints other ministers from
among the members of Parliament to form a Cabinet.
The Cabinet is responsible collectively to Parliament
and comprises the Prime Minister and 14 ministers.
The two top officials of the Singaporean leadership
are Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister and Dr. Goh Keng
Swee, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Education, respectively.
80
Chapter 6
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF SINGAPORE
This chapter amplifies the chronological account of
Singapore's history. The focus is primarily on the eco
nomic transformation of Singapore and the social forces
that brought about this social change. Heralded as
one of the "economic miracles" among developing nations,
Singapore stands out among the ASEAN countries and
other developing nations in terms of economic indicators.
Table 3 shows the 1980 GNP of Singapore compared
with the other ASEAN members, and based on these figures,
its economic growth has been truly remarkable. But the
conditions of a city-state are very unique compared to
the average developing country. Whether the Singapo
rean experience can be a "development model" for other
Third World countries to emulate remains to be seen.
This chapter covers the most important factors and
policies that affected the economic transformation of Sin
gapore. Its political life since independence had been
dominated by one party. However, since the government has
been responsible for the formulation and implementation
of the economic policies since the days of independence,
its role shall be discussed in the context of economic
change.
81
Table 3. GNP Per Capita, 1980-
GNP Per Capita
Country
1980
(US$)
Average
Annual Growth
1960-1980 (%)
Low-Income Countries 260 1.2
Middle-Income Countries 1,400 3.8
Industrial Market Economies 10,320 3.6
Asean
Singapore 4,430 7.5
Indonesia 430 4.0
Malaysia 1,620 4.3
Philippines 690 2.8
Thailand 670 4.7
Other Asian NICs
South Korea 1,520 7.0
Hong Kong 4,240 6.8
Source: World Development Report 1982, The World Bank
Adapted from Lim Chong-Yah, Economic Restructuring in
Singapore (1984)
Government
The cohesive leadership of Singapore is probably the
most important social force in its transformation as
a city-state. It is known for its efficiency and
integrity as well as its pragmatism and still continues to
be so today. The following account describes what PAP
was in 1959 and up to the present time.
Singapore became a fully independent
republic in 1965. The People's Action
Party (PAP) has now been in power conti
nuously since 1959, governing Singapore
first as an internally self-governing
state, then as a state in the Federation
of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965, and since
1965 as a sovereign state. The PAP gained
all the seats in Parliament in the last
three general elections, and dominates
the political scene to the extent that
organized opposition parties have vir
tually ceased to exist.
The dominant political figure in Sin
gapore is Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, a 66-year
old, English - educated Chinese, who
founded the PAP in the mid-1950s, became
the Prime Minister in 1959 and has been
the head of government ever since.
On its way to power the PAP went
through an acute internal power strug
gle which ended in the victory of the
social democrat right wing of the party.
In the process, a number of politicians
were imprisoned or went into exile. At
the same time, the party acquired a rigid
internal organization which concentrates
power into a few hands. Apart from a
constant preoccupation with the threat
from Communism, the PAP has had to meet
problems such as the conflicting claims
of the English and Chinese languages,
the treatment of Malay and other minori
ties, and the spread of foreign in
fluence.
83
The effect of the political system
has been to create a highly efficient and
manageable community, in which living
standards have improved over the last de
cade, and in which problems get solved
efficiently and quickly. (Economic Intel
ligence Unit Ltd., 1978)
1959-1965 (Economic Structure Prior to the Separation from
Malaysia)
Before independence, Singapore was faced with enor
mous problems. Between 1960 and 1963, it experienced
widepspread strikes that affected all sectors of society.
Unemployment was very high, abetted by the influx of
workers from Malaysia. Confronted with this situation,
the Singaporen leadership embarked on the restructuring of
the political and economic life of Singapore.
Before 1965, economic planning was based on access to
a domestic market that included Malaysia. This market was
lost when Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, thus
leaving little choice for economic options. The Singapo
rean leadership faced three immediate and serious prob
lems: (a) lack of domestic market because of the island's
small population; (b) lack of skill and technology, and
(c) lack of natural resources and capital (Ong, 1978:
43). Moreover, its entrepot economy was not growing fast
enough to generate sufficient jobs. Restructuring the
economy became a paramount concern for the island-nation.
However, the Singaporen leadership had already
embarked on industrialization even before independence.
_________________________________________________BA
But its strategies were very different from those pursued
after independence.
The early phase of industrialization
of Singapore followed a policy of import
substitution; tariffs were imposed over a
wide range of consumer imports in order
to protect the small domestic market from
import competition. The objective was to
attract investment into the manufactu
ring sector and to provide manufacturers
with some breathing space to overcome the
problems associated with the infant in
dustries and infant industrial economies.
Its use as a short-term measure to encou
rage industrialization was particularly
evident in the 1963-66 period, initially
because of the negotiations for a common
market with West Malaysia and later be
cause of excess capacity resulting from
the abortive common market arrangement.
However, with enlightened leader
ship, strong external reserves, the need
to stabilize the cost of living, and the
realization that the domestic market was
too small for firms to take advantage
of the economies of large-scale product
ion, tariffs and quotas did not prolife
rate to the same extent as that found
in many newly industrializing countries.
It became increasingly evident that while
an import substitution policy may have
been necessitated by the need to at
tract investors during the early phase,
its continued existence would serve only
to retard the prospects for sustained
industrial growth. (Chia Siow Yue, 1972:
33)
It was clear that the perception of the Singaporean
leadership at this time was that they had to take action
in order for the young nation to survive on its own.
1965- 1973 (Restructuring and Industrialization: High
Growth Period)
Early after independence, the government decided that
the strategy to be used was the export of labor-intensive
manufactures in order to reduce high levels of unemploy
ment. The second strategy was to diversify the economic
structure by encouraging military, trade, finance, and
transportation activities (Pang, 1984). Of the economic
activities mentioned, industrialization was the major
hope for rapid job creation. In a 1962 Annual Report of
the Economic Development Board, industry was expected to
create at least 98,000 jobs before 1970. And this was
long before the withdrawal of the British forces stationed
in Singapore in 1968 (Ong, 1978: 12).
Government * s Role
In the restructuring process, the government
assumed a major role. Some writers attribute the success
of Singapore to the '’stability" of its government. The
same group of people under the PAP has governed the
island state since 1965 and had been involved in the
economic restructuring of Singapore. Though it functions
under the principles of free market enterprises, the
government of Singapore participated vigorously in the
nation's economic life in the early 1960's and up to
the present.
Early on, the Singporean leadership decided that the
86
success of the industrialization process, on which they
pinned their hopes for growth, could not depend on local
capital alone. In other words, Singapore had to woo
foreign capital in massive amounts. To achieve this goal,
a favorable climate for foreign investments had to be
created and to achieve this end, several economic measures
were implemented. The most important ones are discussed in
the following section.
(1) Provision of Social and Economic Infrastructures
for Industry— To accommodate foreign investors, Singapore
literally transformed its land. It took the risk of
investing in building its postal services, telecommunica
tion facilities, seaports, roads, and utility supplies in
anticipation of the needs of industry (Ong, 1978). More
over, it developed industrial estates:
Industrial estates were developed with
ready built factory buildings and pre
pared land, fully serviced by roads and
utilities. These estates were esta
blished close to housing estates in order
to minimize the transport cost and time
wasted in travelling by workers.
The existence of these estates
enabled factories to start production in
a few months after deciding to esta
blish in Singapore. The speed with which
an industry could be set up created for
Singapore a reputation of efficiency.
(Ong, 1978: 18)
An important effect of the provision of social and
economic infrastructure was that it generated a sizeable
number of jobs which helped reduce unemployment problems.
_________________ 87
Table 4. Singapore’s employment and industrial relations
(selected years, 1966-1980)
1966 1970 1975 1980
labour force (15-64 years)
(1,000) 566 693 852 1,093
Percentage of woman in
labour force 23.5 28.0 30.2 34
Unemployment rate (%) 8.9 6.0 4.5 3
Union members among
employed (%) n.a 17.3 25.7 23
Industrial stoppages
(nunber) 14 5 7 -
Industrial stoppages
(workers involved) 1,288 1,749 1,865 -
Industrial stoppages
(man-days lost) 44,762 2,514 4,853 -
Trade disputes (number) n.a 486 709 484
Sorces: United Nations Economic Bulletin for Asia and the Pacific,
Vol.27, No.l, 1976.
Note: - means nil or negligible.
88
(2) Provision of Skilled Workforce — Industrializa
tion requires both skilled and unskilled workers, and the
Singaporean government quickly moved to provide man
power requirements in two ways: (a) upgrading its work
force by restructuring its educational system; and (b) by
allowing foreign workers to stay in Singapore for limited
periods of time. Yoh Poh Seng and Lira Chong Yah (1978)
described this process succinctly:
Further, to satisfy the industrial
sector's requirement for skilled and
technically trained manpower, the predo
minantly academic educational system in
Singapore was restructured to allow a
technical bias. A considerable number of
vocational schools and technical insti
tutes were built.. .Greater flexibility
was allowed to trasfer from academic to
technical education. At the tertiary le
vel, the higher institutions of learn
ing were urged to incrrease their output
of engineers, management, and technical
personnel.
Lastly, immigration and work permit
restrictions (operative since February,
1966) on the inflow of personnel required
for industrialization were relaxed to
help meet the acute shortage of certain
categories of workers. Here, Singapore's
proximity to West Malaysia turned out to
be a great advantage both in respect
of the supply of labor of which there was
a shortage, as well as in the supply of
long-term private capital and some mana
gerial and entrepreneurial skills. Ac
cording to an unofficial estimate, for
example, about 50 percent of the workers
resident in Jurong are from West Malaysia
on a work permit or temporary basis,
(p.21)
(3) Insuring "Industrial Peace" - A favorable cli
mate for investment requires not only a skilled workforce
but also the absence or at least a minimum of strikes and
other disruptive behavior on the part of the workers. This
condition had been dubbed "industrial peace" by some Sin
gaporean writers, and its main purpose is to keep
labor costs low for the investors through measures that
induce wage restraint. In the case of Singapore, the
government adopted two economic measures to accomplish
this: (a) through legislation (e.g., the Employment Act
of 1968) and (b) through the influx of foreign workers.
The Employment Act of 1968 was
designed to spread emploment and reduce
the cost of fringe benefits. It sets out
extensive regulations about hours of work
work, overtime (including maximuras), ho
lidays and bonuses. Amendments to the In
dustrial Relations Act, also made in 1968,
made non-negotiable management preroga
tives such as promotion, internal trans
fer , recruitment, retrenchment, dismis
sal . and allocation of duties. (Under
lined by writer of the present study)
In setting upper limits on fringe
benefits and reducing the number of
negotiable issues, the labor laws of 1968
moderated the rise in labor costs. Equal
ly important was the decision to issue
work permits to foreign workers. The vast
influx of immigrant workers beginning in
1968 and reaching the peak of over
100,000 in 1973 about one-eight of the
total workforce restrained the rate of
wage increases. (Pang Eng Fong, 1984: 45)
In addition to regulations discussed above, . there
were also government policies on collective bargaining.
90
Furthermore, the laws enacted had the effect of weakening
the roles that unions play in the life of the workers. It
must be remembered that the goal was primarily to keep
industrial peace in the labor-management relations.
David H. Clark (1977) described briefly some of the
provisions of the Employment Act of 1968:
... Perhaps the most important issue in
the Government's regulation of collective
bargaining is what role unions can play
under labor amendments passed in 1968...
...Most union leaders appear to be will
ing to live with the current laws,
saying that it is in the national inte
rest to do so..Job security measures are
one of the most important parts of col
lective bargaining but the amendments
have put the Government and the emplo
yers as the protectors of worker secur-
ty. For example, if a worker feels that
he has been discharged unfairly, he may
file an application for reinstatement to
the Minister of Labor. The grievance pro
cedure is not involved because bargain
ing about such matters is forbidden. As
one writer said shortly after the amend
ments were passed, it is hard to say what
remains for the unions to do, that is,
what role is left for the trade union
leaders as representatives of the work
ers. (Underlined by the writer of this
study.)
(4) Provision of Economic Incentives
and Tax Holidays— In addition to savings
in labor costs, the government provided
many economic incentives to firms inte
rested in setting up their facilities in
Singapore, particularly in the early
years and phase of industrialization.
New companies setting up industries
which contribute to the Singapore economy
and which qualify for pioneer status are
exempted from paying the standard 40 %
tax on company profits for a period of
91
five years or more depending on the size
and type of investments. To encourage
these companies to export, manufacturing
companies can qualify for three extra
years during which they are taxed at 4 %
instead of 40 %. (Ong, 1978: 19)
(5) Provision of Banking and Financing Services- The
support system for a manufacturing sector usually comes
from the service sector. Singapore encouraged the the
establishment of banking and financing services that
included permission for foreign banks to set up branch
offices in the city-state.
(6) Participation of the Government in the Industrial
ization Process— Government not only promoted policies
that encouraged foreign firms to set up their operations
in Singapore. It also participated directly, by setting
its own business ventures.
Some business ventures require very
large capital investments like the air
lines, shipping lines, ship repair and
building, and lending money on a long
term basis and to more risky business. In
such cases, the Singapore Government
created companies such as the Singapore
International Airlines (SIA), Neptune
Orient Lines Keppel and Sembawang Ship
yards and the Development Bank of Singa
pore (DBS). These were business ventures
which local individual businessmen or
companies could not go into. (Ong, 1978:
23)
(7) Other Export Promotion Efforts Undertaken by the
Government The leadership of Singapore conducted a very
systematic campaign to attract foreign capital into the
92|
city-state. In addition to the efforts mentioned above,
the Singaporean government "organized trade missions
abroad, participated in international trade fairs, entered
into trade agreements, collected and disseminated overseas
product requirements (both information and actual orders)
to local manufacturers... It conducted extra investment
promotion efforts to sell Singapore to foreign industria
lists through the Overseas Investment Promotion Centers"
(Yoh and Lim, 1978: 20-21).
1973-1979 (Other Economic Policies and Event s)
Net Effects of Singapore1s Industrialization
Strategies
The early years of industrialization were periods of
rapid change, and more importantly, high growth for Sin
gapore. The country boasted of 8.5 % average annual
growth rate of real GDP between 1970-1980 as well
almost full employment. The manufacturing sector expanded
considerably, absorbing much of the surplus labor avail
able before independence. However, depending on one’s out
look, the industrialization process had effects on Singa
pore that can still be felt and observed today. The fol
lowing are probably the most important :
(1) Inflow of massive foreign capital into the
Singaporean economy — Foreign capital is now a fact of
life in Singaporean economy. The entire industrial stra
tegy was based on the perception of the Singaporean
______________________ 93
leadership that foreign capital was the critical ingre
dient in Singapore’s development. It was the belief that
’ ’foreign investments provided Singapore with an important
vitalizing force that she needed for industrial growth.”
Yoh Poh Seng and Lim Chong Yah (1973) described the change
in foreign investments in Singapore in this manner:
According to the Economic Development
Board’s data on all pioneer firms in
Singapore, foreign equity capital jumped
from $8.6 million at the end of 1962 to
$84.4 million at the end of 1966 and
further to $252.8 million in mid-1969.
The bulk of this foreign capital was
invested in the petroleum industry (43 %
in 1969); textiles and garments industry
(17 %); and metals and engineering indus
try (10 %). The largest investor was the
United Kingdom, taking up 30.5 % of the
total subscribed capital in all pioneer
firms as well as non-pioneer firms in
Jurong in March, 1969. Over 90 % of the
British investment was in oil compa
nies. Other foreign investors in
order of importance were the United
States, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia and
Malaysia. Foreign capital made up 51.8 %,
44.2 % and 54.2 % of the total paid-up
capital in pioneer firms in 1962, 1966,
and 1969, respectively..Between 1966 and
1969, however, the progress of pioneer
industries depended more on foreign in
vestments, the share of which rose from
from 44.2 % to 54.2 %.
What accounted f or this inflow of
foreign investments into Singapore in the
1960s? According to the survey carried
out in 1966-67, foreign investments in
manufacturing arose out of trade: high
costs of transportation drove certain
producers to shift from importing to ma
nufacturing of bulky or fragile commodi
ties, while the local market, although
small, led others to set up local manu
facturing facilities on the basis of ex-
BID ion Dollars
35
30 ’
25 -
Billion I
Annual Growth Rates of
Gross Domestic Product
Per Cent
-24
A t Current
Market Prices
-20
At I96B
Market Prices
73 75 77 79 8 1 83
□ Current Market Prices
1968 Market Prices
20 - Market Prices . 4
i 1 »— 1 tit % 1 i 0
73 75 77 79 8 1 83 p i
iilllJ
Dollars
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1 9 8 1 1982 1983
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, 1973 - 1983
S o u rce: S in gap ore Statistical C harts, 1983/84.
FIGURE 5
pectations of protective measures. Access
to the Commonwealth markets for Singa
pore attracted export-oriented indus
tries, particularly from Taiwan and Hong
Kong. Lastly, political disturbances in
areas such as Hong Kong, Indonesia and
Malaysia, side by side with the politi
cal stability of Singapore were main
ly responsible for the flight of ethnic
Chinese capital from those areas into
Singapore. Tax concessions had only a
minimal impact on foreign investors and
in any case they were also offered by
every neighboring country attempting to
industrialize. What added attraction to
investment in Singapore were, as already
mentioned, the efficiency and integrity
of the local government, the availability
and efficiency of public utilities and a
stable and work-oriented labor force, and
a well disciplined workforce at that.
Ever since the introduction of the Em
ployment Bill and the Industrial Rela
tions Ordinance, the number of man-days
lost in strikes dwindled into complete
insignificance. (Underlined by the writer
of the present study)
(2) Creating .jobs and achieving levels of full
employment Singapore's industrialization policy was
embarked primarily to create employment, and to this
extent it was extremely successful. In 1966, the total
number of persons employed was 524,000, with a participa
tion rate of 55.4 %. The percentage of unemployed was
8.7 %. In 1975, unemployment rate was 4.5 %, the partici
pation rate was 59.2 %, and the total of employed per
sons was 813,000. The peak period for the decade was
in 1973 when the labor force participation rate was
61.5 %, the unemployment rate was 4.5 % (Yearbook of
Statistics. 1976-77). The details of the labor supply
96
and demand shall be discussed more fully in the next
chapter. But the important point to stress here is that
full employment was achieved as a result of the industria
lization strategies adopted by the Singaporean government.
It is also interesting to note that it was the manufactu
ring sector which grew considerably, whether measured in
in terms of contribution to National Income, employment
or export earnings (Lim, 1978: 48-50).
During the period of 1959-65, an aver
age of only 3,000 direct jobs a year was
created by the manufacturing sector.
However, following the introduction of
the new industrial policies in the period
after 1965, employment generated in the
manufacturing sector increased sharply,
averaging 25,000 direct jobs per year
after 1968 and continuing well into the
1970s. Industries manufacturing textiles
and garments, transport equipment, wood,
electronic and electrical products and
printing and publishing were mainly res
ponsible for this spurt in employment
growth. The 1970s saw the strong emer
gence of the electrical and electronic
products industry as a_ powerful genera
tor of employment, and by 1974, this in
dustry was responsible for over a_ quar
ter of total employment, thus replacing
replacing the textile and garments in
dustry as the leading employer. (Under
lined by writer of present study.)
(3) Provision of basic needs for the ma j o r i t y of the
population Table 5 shows some of the basic needs indi
cators for 1960-1980. Pang Eng Fong (1984) described the
Singaporean experience:
Since 1960 household income has more
than tripled while average household size
91A
Table 5 . Singapore Basic Needs Indicators,
1960, 1970, and 1980
1960 1970 1980
Per Capita GDP at 1968
Prices (S$) 1,400 2,690 5,035
Annual Population Growth
Rate (%) 3.5 1.7 2.2
Life Expectancy at Birth
(years) 63 67 70*
Infant Mortality Rate (per
1,000 live births) 35 21 12
Unemployment Rate (%) 13.5* 6.1 3.5
Household Monthly Incane
(S$) 3005= 591** 1,066***
% of Population Literate
(age 10f) 56* 72 84
% of Population Living in
Public Housing Flats 8 35 68
Number of Persons per
Doctor 2,560 1,522 1,222
Number of Persons per
Public Bus 1,220 607 371
Telephones per 1,000
Population 35 78 333
% of Households with
TV Sets 4. 9#* 82***
% of Households with
Refrigerators 2D* 47** 88***
Sources: Singapore, Department of Statistics, Yearbook of
(various years); idem, Annual Key indicators, 1969-1980;
idem, Report on the Household Expenditure Survey, 1977/
78 idem, Monthly Digest of Statistics, vol. 20, no. 5,
May 1981; idem, Census of Population 1980, release no.4
(Singapore: Singapore National Printers, 1981); Singapore,
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Economic Survey of Singa
pore, 1980.
Adapted from Pang Eng Fong, (1982) Education, Manpower and
Development in Singapore. Singapore: Singapore University
Press.
* Estimated
** 1972/73 figure
1977/78 figure
Billion D ollars B illion D ollars
E a f l K a E s s l
Trade Transport 8 Financial & Other
Communication Business Servic
Agriculture Manufacturing Quarrying & Utilities
8 Fishing Construction
Services
INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, 1968,1973, 1978 8 1983
(At Current Market Prices)
Source: Singapore Statistical Charts. 1983/84.
FIGURE 6
vo
vo
has fallen from nine members to about
five, mainly because of a steep drop in
fertility beginning in the early 1960s.
Widespread unemployment in the early
1960s had given way to widespread labor
shortages in the late 1970s. With the
expansion of educational opportunities,
the literacy rate rose from less than
60 % in 1960 to over 80 in 1980. In 1960,
over half the population lived in over
crowded shophouses or in huts. Today
two-thirds are housed in high-rise public
flats. The infant mortality rate has
dropped sharply from 35 to 12 per 1,000
live births, a level comparable to that
of developed countries. Average life
expectancy increased by seven years
since 1960, thanks largely to better
living conditions and medical care. As
income rises, household ownership of con
sumer durables has spread. Today, over
four out of five families own a refrige
rator and a television set compared with
less than half in 1970. In other words,
Singaporeans today live longer, are
better fed and housed, and have greater
access to a wider range of public ser
vices than at any other time in their
history. (Pang, 1984: 8)
1980s and 1990s (Prospects and the Restructuring for the
"Second Industrial Revolution" in Singapore)
As early as 1970, the Singaporean leaders started
planning for a "second industrial revolution." It was not
called as such, but a rough development model seemed to
have guided their economic strategies. Tann Watt Moi of
the Economic Development Board outlined this in an article
written in the early 70s.
Future strategy for development -- With
limited manpower resources and assuming
that excessive intake of immigrant labor
is both politically and socially imprac
tical, continual economic development
100 ' .
has to be programmed within a new set
of priorities and criteria from that of 5
to 10 years ago in order to remain
internationally competitive, future deve
lopment should stress on quality and not
quantity. For the manufacturing sector,
this means switching from relatively
low technology, low value-added indus
tries to science-based high value-added
operations.
Some examples of the initial result of
this switch are: the upgrading of the
textile/garment industries and the upgra
ding of the electronic components assem
bly operations into the manufacture of
electronic products. New industries would
would include metal and metal engineering
and electrical products, electronic pro
ducts (e.g.,calculators, opto-electronic
tubes, and industrial control equipment
and precision engineering products, came
ras, lenses and projectors).
The optimum utilization of limited
manpower resources can thus be continual
ly adjusted upwards as labor is conti
nually groomed for higher levels of tech
nical achievement. The inevitable deve
lopment process seems to be (in five
stages).
(1)
Pre-industrial-
(4)
High ttech- —
nology
industries
(2)
-Early -----
Industria
lization ,
low tech-
industries
(5)
Brain service
industries
(3)
Medium
techno
logy
industries
Some stages of development as illus
trated have already been experienced by
countries like the U.S., Germany, Swit
zerland, Japan resulting in their need
for off-shore operations for their rela
tively lower technology industries. Sin
gapore cannot be the exception if higher
1Q1
goals of economic achievement are as
pired. (pp. 40-41)
Singapore Enters the Information Age
In the February/March, 1985 issue of I_T FOCUS, a
publication of the National Computer Board of Singapore,
an article based on the budget speech of the Minister of
Finance sums up the reorientation, or restructuring of
the Singapore economy in the 1980s. It follows closely the
plans that were discussed in the article of the EDB in
1970:
The products for the 1980s among
others, cover those which are computer-
related such as:
* High value, skill - intensive, low
weight equipment which include computer
peripherals, medical diagnostic equipment
and sophisticated control device.
* High value custom-designed one-off
products for specific purposes. Examples
are process plants, automation systems
and ocean engineering equipment.
While market niches exist for Singa
pore’s manufactured products, the great
est potential for economic growh lies in
providing sophisticated services. World
trade in services is growing twice as
fast as trade in goods.
"We must use our expertise and exper
ience in manufacturing to branch out
into engineering and technical services,
specially computer software," Dr. Tan
said.
Other services which Singapore has a
comparative edge include telecommuni
cations, a field of activity that is
closely tied up with computers in terms
of voice, data, and image transmissions.
_________________1 07
Singapore has excellent communication
facilities which are of world standard
and the telecommunication industry has
great potential to be a leading industry
in the information age.
Singapore * s domestic market is small
and the way to achieve high economic
growth is export of goods and services.
Currently, Singapore has mutual agree
ments with several countries to avoid
double taxation. To further stimulate
export activities, Dr.Tan takes a big
step forward in announcing unilaterally
tax credits for service income remitted
to Singapore from countries which do not
have the Avoidance of Double Taxation
agreement (DTA) with Singapore.
.... In addition, the computer services
industry is geared to be a major activity
in Singapore's economy in the coming
years. (Underlined by writer of the pre
sent study)
Outcomes and Trends in the Economic Transformation of
Singapore
In sum, the important outcomes that occurred as a
result of the industrialization policies pursued by Singa
pore were the massive inflow of foreign capital into the
Singaporean economy, and the dramatic reduction of unem
ployment, high growth rates, the provision of basic needs
and services to the Singaporeans. Other important conse
quences were the trade off between growth and equity that
had to be made during the early years of industrializa
tion, and the continuing dependence on foreign capital,
making Singapore extremely vulnerable to the fluctuations
of the international economy. The exchange that the Sin
gaporean leadership deliberately made for this dependency
. . _ _ _ _ _ 102
was that foreign firms would bring into Singapore massive
capital, links with established markets, and skills and
technology. To the Singaporeans, this was worth their
while since these policies transformed Singapore into an
"economic miracle" among developing nations.
However, in contrast to the image of "economic
miracle," another perspective in terms of the impact of
industrialization policies pursued by Singapore was arti
culated by Frederic Deyo in his book, Dependent Develop
ment and Industrial Order (1981):
Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan are small
countries with limited domestic markets,
few resources, and in the first two
cases, minimal agricultural potential. On
the other hand, they all entered their
periods of rapid economic growth with
an overabundance of workers who were
acquisitive, partially urbanized, and
highly responsive to wage incentives.
Under these circumstances, development
planning in all three cases turned natu
rally to an export-oriented growth stra-
gegy based on labor-intensive industry.
And, from the beginning, the efficient
upgrading, utilization, and discipline of
human resources became the touchstone of
development success. In each of these
countries, the state has made massive
human capital investments in education,
housing, and public health. But, con
versely, it has imposed tight corporatist
controls on unions in order to stabilize
labor costs and to enhance labor product
ivity and industrial stability.
(pp. 110-111)
Deyo identified the commonalities in the experiences
of these "economic miracles" among developing nations. An
104
important factor was the presence of strong unified elites
who opted for export-oriented, labor-intensive growth
strategies because of minimal natural resources. The
social cost of that strategy, as implied by Deyo, was
authoritarian corporatism, with tight controls on labor
and opposition. Another contributing factor identified
by Deyo was the absence of independent and dynamic pro
fessional or entrepreneurial classes, a fact that facili
tated control by the ruling elites. Deyo’s perspective
has clear affinities with the dependencia and radical
theories of development, but it provides a good balance to
the "success story" approach to the Singaporean experience
by showing the social costs of any development strategy.
Summary of the Chapter
In this chapter, the key events and the important
policies economic policies which Singapore pursued were
discussed and documented. The government played a major
role in transforming Singapore’s economy. Compared with
its other Asian neighbors, the Singaporeans today enjoy
a relatively high income in addition to having almost
full employment levels. Singapore pursued a labor-inten
sive industrialization path in the late sixties and seven
ties. To achieve this end, Singaporean leadership tried to
attract massive foreign capital, the attraction primarily
the political stability of the country and a disciplined
____________________ 105.
workforce. Wage controls were set and unions were not
encouraged to play adversarial role to management, but
were expected to "cooperate." Singapore also provided the
massive infrastructure for both workers (in terms of
industrial estates and public housing) and private
business (buildings, roads, telecommunications). The
major effects of such policies was the inflow of massive
foreign capital and the creation of jobs for the Singa
poreans. For the 1980s, Singapore is reorienting its eco
nomic structure towards the "brain industries" that rely
high technology, capital-intensive and high productivity
industries. In spite of the economic progress of Singa
pore, some critics say that the Singaporean experience was
achieved at a high social cost, and that it is a case of
"dependent development."
106
Chapter 7
SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF LABOR: SOCIAL FACTORS
The purpose of the present chapter is to provide an
overview of the social factors that have shaped and
influenced the supply and demand of labor, and conse
quently the labor force and occupational structures of
Singapore in the last 25 years. Although it is not a study
on forecasting, the discussion borrows from some of the
economic models used in projecting manpower needs of a
country. Analyzed in this section are aggregate data
such as demographics, educational levels, economic out
puts and industrial data. However, this chapter does not
discuss specific demand and supply equations for the
purposes of quantitative manpower forecasting but rather
identifies the most important social factors that have
influenced the supply and demand for labor and occupa
tional structures of Singapore. Furthermore, the empha
sis of the analysis shall be to link the trends in the
supply and demand interactions to the general process of
social change that transformed the Singaporean society
in the last 25 years.
Social Factors that Determine the Occupational Structures
of Singapore
The social factors that shape and determine the occu
pational structures of Singapore can be conceptualized in
107
terms of supply and demand. In the model used as basic
framework for this chapter, supply includes the demo
graphic variables such as population size, growth rate,
fertility level, mortality levels, age composition, sex
composition, urban/rural distribution, family size and
family structure. Also included under supply are "cons
traint factors" such as job preferences, general values
and norms towards certain jobs, attitude towards women’s
employment, emigration and returning migrants, mechani
zation and automation, reemployment or change in employ
ment and wage patterns. "Support" variables are also under
supply and include: educational levels of the popula
tion, number of educational institutions, and training
centers, opportunity to expand the existing and esta
blished additional educational institutions, educational
institutions’ capacity to produce, mobility aspirations
and chances, willingness and ability to migrate and
emigrate, family income, retirement age, permissiveness
for child labor, and infrastructure.
For this particular study, the focus shall simply be
on two important variables under the supply structure.
These are population characteristics and educational
structures, policies and outputs. Since the purpose of
this chapter is to give a background on the labor
force and occupational patterns of Singapore, these two
variables of supply have been identified as more impor-
___________________________________________ _ _ ____________ i oft
tant for the social change perspective than the other
factors. Singapore is an island country with a very small
population, and therefore its people or population is
the major natural resource. As for its educational
structures, they act as an important allocative mechanism
for the industrial and occupational distribution of its
labor force.
Under demand factors are number of jobs, types of
skills/training needed for jobs, capital (e.g., savings,
loans, aids/grants), economic growth rate, distribution of
industry (sectoral and geographical), and investments. For
this particular study, the focus shall be on economic
growth rate and investments. These of course are closely
tied to the economic policies of the country, more so in
the case of Singapore where the domestic market is very
small, making it almost completely dependent on foreign
investments and international trade.
The last social factor, political system, shall be
treated as an encompassing factor because as shown in the
previous chapter on the economic history of Singapore, the
government influences all aspects of social life, both
the supply factors, such as demographics, and the demand
factors like investments.
109
Supply Factors
First Factor in the Labor Supply Structure: Population
Growth
The supply of labor depends on many factors, but its
base is always the population. Jakubauskas and Palomba
(1973: 38) stated the relationship between population and
economic growth:
Changes in the size and nature of
population have far-reaching effects on
the welfare of an economy. First, the
quantity and quality of a nation’s popu
lation influences the quantity and quali
ty of labor supply that will be forth
coming. Second, the quantity and composi
tion (age, sex, average size of fami
lies) of a nation’s population influence
the amount and composition of the goods
and services which that nation consumes.
Third, important economic philosophers
have claimed that the age structure and
rate of growth or decline of population
exert an influence on the quantity and
composition of savings and investments.
Fourth, population changes affect a
nation’s standard of living.
Growth Rate
Conscious and cognizant of the importance of popula
tion size in its economic growth, the Singaporean govern-
nment made very deliberate attempts to regulate the size
of population. Table 6 shows the population growth trends
from 1871-1980, with a total population of 2,413,945 in
1980 and an annual growth rate of 1.5 % (Saw Swee Hock,
1981: 2 and Census, 1980). Singapore couples are now
producing only 1.7 children on the average, which is one
of the lowest numbers in the world. Prof. Saw Swee Hock
1 1 0
Table 6. Population growth rate of Singapore, 1871-1980
Census Year
Population
Intercensal
Increase
Annual
Growth Rate
Number Per Cent
1871 97,111 0 0
1881 137,755 40,644 3.6
1891 181,612 43,857 2.8
1901 227,592 45,980 2.3
1911 303,321 75,729 2.9
1921 418,358 115,037 3.3
1931 557,745 139,387 2.9
1947 938,144 380,399 3.3
1957 1,445,929 507,785 4.4
1970 2,074,507 628,578 2.8
1980 2,413,945 339,438 1.5
^Source: Sow Swee Hock (1981) Demographic Trends in Singapore.
Singapore Department of Statistics
1X1
(1981: 11) explained this phenomenon:
In Singapore the rapid decline in
mortality in the early post-war years was
followed by the equally spectacular de
cline in fertility that was observed to
commence in 1958. Unlike the mortality
decline which was the natural consequence
of better medical care, improved public
health conditions, and rising living
standards, the fertility decline was very
much hastened by government effort in
the form of various population policies.
The main components of the population
control programme are the family planning
services provided through the Family
Planning and Population Board, the legal
ized abortion on demand, the legalized
voluntary sterilization, and the incen
tive and disincentive measure at promo
ting a small family size and steriliza
tion as an effective method of birth
control.
Sex Composition
Table 7 (Census of Population, various years) shows
the sex composition of Singapore's population, 1947 to
1980. The males have been predominant in the population
but the percentage declined in 1980, while the females
increased steadily though the increases had not been spec
tacular. As of 1980, there were 1,231,797 males (51.02 %)
and 1,182,148 females (48.97 %).
i ' -
Age Composition
The age composition patterns of Singapore's popu
lation can be seen in Table 8 (Saw Swee Hock, 1981: 24
and Singapore Statistical Charts, 1983-84). The table
shows that the very young population (0-4 years) peaked in
1 1 2
113
Thousand Persons
Thousand P ersons
F irst Visit to Family Planning Clinic
'•*. Sterilization
FAMILY PLANNING, 1973-1 983
Source: Singapore Statistical Charts. 1983/84.
FIGURE 7
T IT
Table 7. Sex Composition of the Population of Singapore, 1947-1900
% of % of % of % of
1947 Population 1957 Population 1970 Population 1980 Population
1)
Population 938,144 1,445,929 2,074,507 2,413,945
2)
Sex Composition
A. Male 514,963 54.89 762,760 52.75 1,062,058 51.20 1,231,797 51.03
B. Female 423,181 45.11 682,169 47.18 1,012,449 48.80 1,182,148 48.97
Table 8. Singapore population by broad age groups, 1931-1980*
Age Group (Years) 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980
Thousand
Total 557.7 938.1 1,445.9 2,074.5 2,413.9
0 - 4 49.1 114.5 264.7 235.4 193.7
5-14 96.5 222.7 354.4 569.4 459.4
15-29 184.0 246.7 366.7 582.9 837.1
30-59 204.1 320.5 404.8 568.5 750.1
60 & Over 24.0 33.7 55.3 118.3 173.6
Per Gait
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
0 - 4 8.8 12.2 18.3 11.4 8.0
5-14 17.3 23.7 24.5 27.4 19.0
15-29 33.0 26.3 25.4 28.1 34.7
30-59 36.6 34.2 28.0 27.4 31.1
60 & Over 4.3 3.6 3.8 5.7 7.2
^Source: Saw Swee Hock (1981) Denographic Trends in Singapore.
Singapore: Department of Statistics
1957 and dropped until 1980. The working age groups, 15-29
and 30 to 59, showed increases until 1980, but the biggest
increases were registered by the old age group, 60 and
over. Consistent with its low birth rate and declining
mortality rates, the Singapore population shows the same
increase in its older age brackets similar to that in
other advanced industrialized countries such as the U.S.,
Japan and certain European countries.
Ethnicity
Singapore has historically been a multi-racial and
pluralistic society, in addition to the fact that it also
had a long history of admitting foreign workers. Like
any multi-racial society, the potential problem of con
flict between groups always looms in the horizon. In the
case of Singapore, the memories of some bitter race riots
in Malaya in the early and mid-sixties which indirectly
contributed to the decision to build an independent
nation, have made the present Singaporean government
always cautious of its race policies.
In Singapore, the population consists of four major
groups: Chinese, Malays, Indians and "Others". Table 9
shows the different percentages from 1931 to 1980 (Saw
Swee Hock, 1981: 16-17, and Census of Population, various
years). The Chinese had always been in the majority
(76.9 % in 1980), and trailing behind are the Malays
(14.5 %), Indians (6.4 %) and "Others" (2.3 %). The
116
Table 9. Singapore population by ethnic groups, 1931-1980*
Ethnic Group 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980
Number
Total 557,745 938,144 1,445,929 2,074,507 2,413,945
Chinese 418,640 729,473 1,090,596 1,579,866 1,856,237
Mil ays 65,014 113,803 197,059 311,379 351,508
Indians 52,456 711,927 129,510 145,169 154,632
Others 21,635 22,941 28,764 38,093 51,568
Per Cent
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Chinese 75.1 77.8 75.4 76.2 76.9
Malays 11.6 12.1 13.6 15.0 14.6
Indians 9.4 7.7 9.0 7.0 6.4
Others 3.9 2.4 2.0 1.8 2.1
^Source: Saw Swee Hock (1981) Demographic Trends in Singapore.
Singapore: Department of Statistics.
117
proportions of the different races have not changed very
much since 1931, except for a decline (percentage-wise) in
the Indian population. As for the "Others", this category
consists primarily of a diverse group of nationalities,
e.g., Europeans, Eurasians, Japanese, Arabs, Australians
and New Zealanders. It is interesting to note that
Prof. Saw Swee Hock (1981: 17) considered this category or
group of the population as a "vital segment of Singapore
in view of their valuable contribution to the development
process of the country." Although vaguely stated what
these contributions are, it can be deduced from Singa
pore's history as a colony and as an independent nation,
that the "Others" category, mostly Europeans and Japanese,
provide the links to the international community and flow
of trade on which Singapore's economy depends.
Migration
Of the total population increse of 339,438 for the
period of 1970-1980, 24,065 (7 %) were attributable to a
net surplus of migration. This is useful for Singa
pore, because as its economy was restructured, it reached
full employment in the late seventies, and the accompany
ing labor shortage required the "continuous importation
of foreign workes and settlers."
Prospects for the Future in Terms of Population
Prof. Saw Swee Hock (1981: 64-75) provided some
U8J
projections for the population of Singapore. These trends
are summarized below:
(1) Given a decreasing annual growth rate of the
population, the five-year increase will fall from 148, 756
(for 1980-1985) to 93, 087 (for 1995-2000) with a total
population of 2, 929, 662 at the end of the century.
(2) The sex ratio of the population will improve,
with 1,481,970 (50.5 %) males and 1,447,692 (49.5 %)
f emales.
(3) The age structure will show progressive shift
towards an older population. The working age bracket of
30-59 will register large increase (from 31.1 % in 1980 to
46.5 % in 2000), while the 60 and over age bracket will
also register a large increase (76.2 %). This means that
there will be a greater old age dependency than child
dependency for the coming decades.
Second Factor in the Labor Supply Structure: Educa
tional Institutions and Policies
An important determinant of the labor force and
occupational patterns is the educational structures of
Singapore. As mentioned earlier, education performs a
major allocative function in society, but more so for
Singapore, where it is a vital factor in the country’s
economic restructuring. Starting in its early years as an
independent nation, the Singaporean Government has per
ceived its citizens as economic units of production,
119
and has therefore instituted both formal and nonforma1
learning systems for the explicit purpose of training the
workforce into skilled and productive workers to satisfy
the demands of industries. The enormous success of the
early seventies has led to another "economic restructuring
phase" for the 1980s, otherwise known in Singapore as the
"information age" or alternately, the "computer age."
Manpower development therefore is Singapore’s top
priority given the fact that manpower is its only natural
resource. Education, then, is a key factor in any econo
mic plan. In Singapore, the formal educational system and
the various types of training programs run by both the
government and industries are perceived as one inte
grated system, contributing in very specific ways to the
overall manpower demands of the economy. The following
section describes the general education system, some of
the key institutions, the number of students enrolled in
the system and some of the current policies that will
influence the direction and content of the educational
system in the coming decades.
General Education System
The following includes a description as well as a
diagram of the formal educational system in Singapore.
The account is taken from a report issued by the Economic
Development Board (EDB), a powerful and a major institu
tion in the country that oversees the planning and imple-
1 2 0
mentation of various development plans. This report was
researched and written by Mark Lam (1983: 5-6):
Singapore follows the conventional
layout of primary school, secondary
school, pre-university schools or junior
colleges and university or tertiary ins
titutions.
Academic education and education in
general is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Education. The Ministry of
Education also administers the Vocational
and Industrial Training Board (VITB)
which offers broad-based skills training.
The Economic Development Board (EDB)
runs various training centers and
institutes for the training of skills at
craftsmen and technicians level. These
are the Joint Industrial Training Centres
and the German-Singapore Institute (GSI),
the French-Singagpore Institute (FSI) and
the Japan-Singapore Institute of Software
Technology (JSIT).
At degree level, the Nanyang Techno
logical Institute (NTI) supplements the
National University of Singapore (NUS) in
producing engineers for industry. Unlike
the engineers from the NUS which will
have a more academic R&D slant, the NTI’s
graduates will be application and
industry-oriented.
In addition, Training Institutes for
Continuing Education caters for the up
grading and further training of existing
workforce.
General Education-Primary, Secondary and
Pre-University Levels
In the 6 years of primary education,
the students, besides literacy and nume
racy, take subjects in science, civics
and moral education, and social studies
(geography and history).
Following primary education is 4 or 5
1 2 1
years of secondary education. This is a
bilingual system with equal emphasis on
English and one other language such as
Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The first two
years in secondary school is a general
course. In addition, all of the males and
one-half of the females have to take up a
technical subject, namely, metal work,
woodwork, or basic course in electricity.
In the third year, students are
streamed into one of the following:
science, technical, commercial, and the
arts.
Students will sit for the Cambridge
General Certificate of Education at
Ordinary Level (GCE at ”0" Level) exam
ination at the end of their secondary
school course. While some take their GCE
' ’O'1 Level examinations after four years,
others have to pass a Certificate of Se
condary Education (CSE) examination first
before proceeding to do the "0" Level
examinations. For those who only com
plete the CSE examinations, they will be
admitted to the Vocational Institutes of
the VITB and joint industrial training
centres of the EDB as apprentices.
A student with an "0" Level Certifi
cate may continue to do two-year course
in a junior college or a three-year
course in a pre-university centre. Alter
natively, they may join the Vocational
and Industrial Training Board, an Eco
nomic Development Board (EDB) training
centre as apprentices or one of the Poly
technics.
Students in Pre-University classes
will do academic and technical sub
jects. An additional option is computer
Science which is offered at all junior
colleges. Students who pass the Pre-
University course will be awarded a Gene
ral Certificate of Education at Advanced
(GCE ”A”) Level. They may then proceed to
the University, the Polytechnics or the
Joint Industrial Training Institutes ad
ministered by EDB.
1 2 2
Past and Present Educational Policies
The rapid industrialization in the mid-sixties had
prompted the Singaporean government to orient system
atically its educational system towards its economic
development goals. This means that in practice, manpower
planning and educational planning in Singapore are two
sides of the same issue. In spite of objections of cer
tain educationists at the time, the primary approach that
had been taken to educational planning was the "man
power requirements approach." The Singaporean government
at that time was concerned that the "the design of the
learning system leads to an operation that is cost
efficient, flexible enough to be reoriented whenever
necessary to meet the needs of economic development, and
easily subject to government control and review" (Skolnik,
1975: 37-38). Ten years after this study on Singapore's
educational system was made, the same general policy
of a close and highly deterministic linkage between
manpower needs and educational system is still followed
today. The other important additional function of the
educational system was "to foster social education in
order to prevent national development from foundering on
social disorganization, ethnic disharmony, or severe
social malaise" (Skolnik, 1975).
Other more specific policies and institutional
changes were undertaken in the early seventies to meet
__________________________________________________________ 123
economic goals. The impact of such policies could be seen
on the outputs of the educational system over the years as
well as on the industrial and occupational distribution of
the labor force. These policies, formulated in the early
seventies, are still evident today and were largely based
on the results of manpower surveys undertaken in 1969-
1970 by the Economic Research Centre of Singapore. The
preliminary conclusions of the study indicated the fol
lowing: "the rates of returns to training were higher
for those with a secondary than those with a primary
education; that the expansion of second and third level
education might be warranted; that the demand for tech
nical and vocational graduates would rise rapidly; and
that job training should be left to employing institu
tions, although government subsidies might be offered
if this was found to be efficient" (Skolnik, 1975: 31).
As of 1975, Skolnik reached the following conclusions
about the Singaporean educational system and its linkages
with the rest of the economic and political system. These
conclusions, as shown in the previous discussion of the
present structure of the educational system, are still
valid today, (1985) showing the strong continuities in
the social policies pursued by the government, the
"major actor" in Singaporean life (77-78):
The basic choices confronting the
design of education and manpower programs
were faced many years ago and the deci-
124
sions made then continue in force today
(1975). In the choice between quality
and quantity, Singapore has opted for
quality. Government has long been deter
mined to avoid a surplus of graduates,
and secondary school enrollment have
only recently been expanded. As a corol
lary to approximating a closer "fit11
between manpower needs and educational
output, Singapore has also chosen to
emphasize "technical” rather than "aca
demic" education. This, in turn, has
meant that government rations education-
nal places according to what it believes
are the requisites for economic develop
ment; maximizing individual choice is
not a priority of the learning system.
Wages, too, are subject to direct and
and indirect government controls.
Given these "ideological underpin
nings," the nationwide learning system
exhibits several prominent character
istics. First, control of the system is
highly centralized and there are nume
rous governmental and quasi-governmental
inputs. Secondly, a large proportion of
the learning programmes are formal in
approach. Third, there are extensive
linkages among various parts of the
learning system and nonformal education
plays a pivotal role in terms of those
linkages. Finally, there is extensive
participation in the system.
The system as a whole, for example,
is clearly oriented towards the role
it can play in economic development.
The first priority is the education and
training of skilled manpower. Social edu
cation is important because of the compo
sition of Singaporean society, but it
remains a second priority. "Further edu
cation" is not considered critical from
the point of view of government policy
except to the degree which it encourages
participation in community activities.
125
Enrollees of the Formal School System
Table 10 shows the number of students enrolled in
the formal school system of Singpore from 1947 to 1980. It
shows that in general the school system has improved, with
an enrollment figure from a low of 9.4 % in 1947 to 20 %
of the total population in 1980. As expected, the biggest
percentage of students enrolled were in the primary
grades, although this declined as a percentage of the
total enrolled in 1980 (92.8 % or 81,996 in 1947 to 59 %
or 296, 608 in 1980). The most dramatic increases
were registered by the secondary grades, from a mere 7 %
(6,329) of the total enrolled in 1947 to 33 % (170,3316)
of the total enrolled in 1980. This means that there
were significantly more students enrolled in the second
ary grades in 1980 than there were in 1947. More
over, in terms of percentage of the population, the
secondary grades consisted of .6 % in 1947 and 7 % of
the total population in 1980. And assuming that there
were no significant percentages of dropouts, it can be
said that the population's level of education had been
upgraded in the last 23 years. The figures for the pri
mary and secondary grades also indicate in an indirect
way the impact of the population policies of the govern
ment. The primary grades enrollment as percentage of
the total enrolled declined continuously up to 1980
(although in creased in absolute terms). This implies
126
T a b l e 1 0 . E n r o l l e e s o f t h e f o r m a l s c h o o l s y s t e m o f S i n g a p o r e ( 1 9 4 7 - 1 9 8 0 )
L a b e l s L e v e l s 1 9 4 7 1 9 5 7 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
X = T o t a l N o . o f E n r o l l e e s f o r X = 8 8 , 3 2 5 X = 2 6 1 , 7 7 2 X = 5 2 7 , 6 6 8 X = 5 0 1 , 9 7 7
t h a t y e a r f o r a l l l e v e l s .
Y = C o u n t r y P o p u l a t i o n f o r t h a t Y = 9 3 8 , 1 0 0 Y = 1 , 4 4 5 , 9 0 0 Y = 2 , 0 7 4 , 5 0 0 Y = 2 , 4 1 3 , 9 0 0
c e n s u s y e a r .
A = T o t a l N o . o f e n r o l l e e s f o r % = 9 . 4 % = 1 8 . 0 % % = 2 5 . 4 % % = 2 0 . 0 %
s p e c i f i c l e v e l .
B = % o f e n r o l l e e s f o r t h a t P r i m a r y 8 1 , 9 6 6 A = 2 2 2 , 6 1 2 A = 3 6 3 , 5 1 8 A = 2 % , 6 0 8
l e v e l o v e r t o t a l n o . o f
e n r o l l e e s f o r c e n s u s y e a r . B = 9 2 . 8 % f i = 8 5 . 0 % & = 6 8 . 0 % B = 5 9 . 0 %
C = % o f e n r o l l e e s f o r t h a t l e v e l
o v e r c o u n t r y p o p u l a t i o n f o r G = 0 0
a
C = 1 5 . 0 % G = 1 7 . 0 % G = 1 2 . ®
t h a t y e a r .
S e c o n d a r y A = 6 , 3 2 9 A = 3 7 , 3 8 5 A = 1 4 5 , 7 4 0 A = 1 7 0 , 3 1 6
B = 7 . 0 % B = 1 4 . 0 % B = 2 7 . 0 % B = 3 3 . ®
0 = . 6 % C= 2 . 0 % 0 = 7 . 0 % 0 = 7 . ®
T e c h n i c a l & n o d a t a A = n o d a t a A = 4 , 7 2 7 A = 1 2 , 5 4 2
V o c a t i o n a l
B = n o d a t a B = n o d a t a & = . 9 % B = 2 . 4 %
0 = n o d a t a 0 = n o d a t a 0 = . 2 % c = . 5 %
8TT
Table 10 con’ t.
L a b e l s L e v e l s 1 9 4 7 1 9 5 7 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
C o l l e g e s & A = n o d a t a A = 1 , 7 7 5 A = 1 3 , 6 8 3 A = 2 2 , 5 1 1
U n i v e r s i t i e s
B = n o d a t a B = . 6 % B = 2 . 5 % B = 4 . 4 %
G = n o d a t a G = . 1 2 % C = . 6 % G = . 9 %
* 1 ) D i f f e r e n c e s o f t o t a l e n r o l l e d i n 1 9 5 7 f r o m 1 9 4 7 : 1 7 3 , 4 4 7 o r 1 9 6 % i n c r e a s e .
2 ) D i f f e r e n c e s o f t o t a l e n r o l l e d i n 1 9 7 0 f r o m 1 9 5 7 : 2 6 5 , 8 9 6 o r 1 0 1 % i n c r e a s e .
3 ) D i f f e r e n c e s o f t o t a l e n r o l l e d i n 1 9 8 0 f r o m 1 9 7 0 : - 2 5 , 6 9 1 o r 4 . 8 % d e c r e a s e .
S o u r c e s : C o m p u t a t i o n s b a s e d o n d a t a f r o m S i n g a p o r e C e n s u s : 1 9 4 7 , 1 9 5 7 , 1 9 7 0 , 1 9 8 0 .
that the school system had taken in a smaller number of
students in the primary grades, percentage-wise in
1980. On the other hand, the number of enrollees in
the secondary grades increased significantly, in abso
lute terms and in proportion to the total enrolled.
Comparing the primary and secondary grades from 1947 to
1980, what is apparent are the twin trends of declining
enrollment in the primary and increasing enrollment in the
secondary grades. In terms of impact on the labor force,
this implies that the "stock" of manpower has conside
rably been upgraded, but it is also growing older. The
technical and vocational enrollees constituted a very
small percentage of the total enrolled (.9 % or 4,727
in 1970 and 2.4 % or 12,542 in 1980). But increase was
quite substantial within that decade, reflecting the
government's effort to give part of the labor force tech
nical education. The proportion of those in colleges and
the university is also quite small, but the increase in
absolute terms and percentage-wise from 1957 to 1980, had
been quite big (1,775 to 22,511 in 23 years). How
ever, compared with the total enrolled and the popu
lation at large, the number of students in post-secondary
education was still quite small. This reflects, in
part, the government's policy of reserving the post
secondary opportunities for the "best and the brightest"
through strict admission standards and the much-criti
129
cized ’’early streaming” procedures at the primary grades.
This process is offset by many work-related training
programs sponsored by the government as well as the
private sector. Still, putting a "ceiling on one's educa
tional aspirations” creates potential "excessive demand"
for higher education as well as frustrations in a society
that is increasingly becoming wealthy.
Summary of the Supply Factors
This section of the chapter discussed the important
social factors that influence the supply of labor, and
consequently the labor force and occupational structures
of Singapore in the last 25 years. The key factors iden
tified were the demographic patterns and the educational
system and policies. For both social factors of the
"supply-side" of labor, the Singaporean government has
pursued a vigorous interventionist approach, regula
ting through direct and indirect means, the population
levels as as well as the outputs of the educational sys
tem. The overriding perspective was to achieve the
economic goals of the country at all cost, thus inte
grating all aspects of social life into one economic
framework molded by the Singaporean leadership.
Demand Factors
Occupational patterns are determined by complex,
interacting factors. Some of the major determinants
include the political and economic structures, tradition
130
\L £l
Primary
1973 Age Group
| "| Secondary
1983
1 1
1 9 8 Over
188 Under 19
178 Under 1 8
1 6 8 Under 1 7
1 5 8 Under 1 6
I4ailnd(ff 1 5
13 8 Under 14
128 Under 1 3
II 8 Under 12
IOa Under II
9 a Under 10
8 8 Under 9
7 8 Under 8
Under 7
40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40
Thousand
Persons
M ALE FEMALE
40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40
Thousand
Persons
M ALE FEMALE
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS,
1973 & 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 8
^6141^69^6637988
132
29
Students Per
Teacher
' T 30
22
20
Total
1973
Primary
Schools
B83
Secondary
Schools
/ I 9 7 3 /
— - - « 2 j 9 8 3 ^ /
Institutions of
Higher Learning
Technical 8
Vocational
Institutes
STUDENTS PEft TEACHER, 1973 8 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 9
13 3 1
PerCent
Primary Schools
Institutions of Higher Learning
□
Secondary &
Technical Schools
0
1
100 200 300
ooq
Persons
Student Enrollment Ratio
Percentage of pupils aged 6* 1 7 years
to population of same age group
1 ----1----1----r---1 ----1 i l r
1973 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83
-100
-7 5
50
25
ENROLLMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, 1973 - 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 10
1 3 4
Thousand Persons L— i ^°*8 ' Female Thousand Persons
Universities Polytechnics Institute of Education
III
-5 *
73 75 77 79 81 83 73 75 77 79 81 83 83
ENROLLMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, 1973 - 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 11
135
Thousand Persons T housand Persons
Institute of
Education
Polytechnics
Universities
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
GRADUATES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, 1973 - 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , ’ 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 12
136
P e r s o n s
Persons
-800
8 0 0 -
700-
-600
500 -
-400
400 -
1
Arts 8 Sociol
Science
Accountancy
8 Business
Administration
Science Engineering, Medicine 8
Architecture, Dentistry
Budding Q Estate
M anagement
Law
200
FIELDS OF STUDY OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATES, 1973, 1978 8 1983
s *
Source: Singapore Statistical Charts. 1983/84.
FIGURE 13
and the personal interests of people. In the case of Sin
gapore, the government does not tell its people what occu
pations to take, but it certainly has set the parameters
for the choices through its economic policies.
Occupational choices depend largely on the opportu
nities available for employment or the demand for labor.
Jakubauskas and Palomba (1973: 66-67) state the relation
ship between economic activities and the level of employ
ment :
Fluctuations in the utilization of an
economy's resources generate changes in
the level of production of goods and
services, which in turn, determines the
level of employment. Consequently, the
demand for manpower is said to be a
derived demand. It is derived from the
final consumer demand for the products
produced.
For Singapore, the "final consumer demand for
products" depend on the external markets of the multi
national corporations based in the country. Early in its
development process, Singaporean leadership decided to
tie itself to the international markets because as an
island economy, Singapore has no natural resources
except its manpower. These decisions are discussed exten
sively in the chapter on the economic history of Sin
gapore. For purposes of review, some statements of Prof.
Lim Chong Yah, one of the architects of Singaporean
economy, are hereby quoted:
137
In Singapore, the initial top economic
priority following self-government was
job creation and slum clearance. The
serious Communist challenge then added
to the urgency and importance of these
twin tasks ahead.
Industrialization was the strategy
adopted for job creation. Not only did
the traditional entrepot trade not offer
much scope for job creation, there was
also the fear that entrepot trade would
suffer a serious decline, with under-
standbly, the increasing desire to have
direct trading between neighboring coun
tries and countries outside the region.
To have a successful industrialization
programme, various supportive and related
programmes had to be adjusted according
ly. For one thing, the economic environ
ment conducive to industrial investment,
both foreign and domestic, had to be
created. Implied in this was a programme
to build up the economic infrastructure
of the country, including industrial
estates, road networks, water and elec
tricity supply, communication and port
services and other facilities to permit
the speedier flow of inputs of industrial
raw materials and outputs of manufac
tured and semi-manufactured goods. Sta
tistical facts show beyond doubt that the
Government has succeeded in creating this
environment conducive to not only rapid
growth in the manufacturing sector but
also rapid growth in the other sectors.
Investments
To make the industrialization plan successful, a key
factor in the demand for labor, investment, had to be
secured. Since a top priority in the mid-sixties and early
seventies for Singapore was job creation, the decision
was made to embark on labor-intensive industrial schemes,
138
using the capital provided by the multinational corpo
rations.
Table 11 shows the cumulative foreign investment
in manufacturing by industry group, 1973-mid-1983. The
biggest group was petroleum and petroleum products with
$1. 267 billion in 1973 and ten years later (1983), this
ballooned to $4,053 billion. Investment in petroleum was
followed by electrical/electronic machinery, apparatus,
appliances and supplies with $249 million in 1973
and increased to $1,936 billion in 1983. The third
largest investment was in wood and cork products in 1973
($137 million) but this decreased to $122 million in 1983.
But the biggest increases over the ten-year period were
registered by the following industrial groups: industrial
chemicals ($64 million in 1973 and $649 million in
1983); other chemical products ($ 62 million in 1973 and
$415 million in 1983); plastic products ($32 million in
1973 and $159 million in 1983); and machinery ($176 mil
lion in 1973 and $980 million in 1983). In terms of
sources of investments, Table 12 shows the cumulative
foreign investment in manufacturing by country of origin,
1973-mid-1983. The largest single investor was the United
States ($992 million in 1973 and $3,479 billion in 1983)
followed by Japan ($237 million in 1973 and $2,099 bil
lion in 1983). Europe, as a group, invested $954 million
in 1973 and this increased to $3.9 billion in 1983.
139
0 * 7 X
Table 11. Cumulative foreign investment in manufacturing by industry group, 1973 to raid 1983,*
(Gross Fixed Assets) $ million
1973 1974 1975
Food, Beverages, Tobacco 93 113 123
Textile 132 159 154
Wearing apparel, Lfede-up Textiles,
Footwear
43 61 81
Leather, Rubber, Processing of Natural
Gums (except Rubber processing)
34 27 30
Wood & Cork products 137 162 160
F&per & paper products 35 44 41
Industrial Chemicals 64 73 90
Other Chemical products (except plastics 62 68 81
Petroleum & petroleum products 1,267 1,336 1,426
Plastic products 32 43 41
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982* Mid 198:
130 143 176 211 241 301 363 394
141 152 150 205 215 194 101 97
89 103 106 137 151 147 72 72
35 38 46 53 62 47 37 37
153 162 163 220 249 254 135 122
42 47 59 89 102 131 132 125
100 63 73 96 122 176 187 649
102 113 115 154 173 267 400 415
1,520 1,617 2,304 2,627 3,160 3,490 3,903 4,053
46 64 75 98 98 180 157 159
I * 7 T
Table 11 con't.
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982* Mid 1983
Won-Metallic Mineral products 43 52 57 71 83 82 93 125 131 129 152
Basic Metal industries 27 28 39 42 54 75 49 60 74 88 78
Fabricated Metal products
(except machinery & equipment)
Machinery (except electrical)
176 258
77
250
99
336
124
385
130
487
213
448
261
562
310
702
355
923
385
980
Electrical/Electronic machinery,
Apparatus, Appliances & Supplies
249 316 354 412 505 620 938 1,212 1,452 1,822 1,936
Transport equipment 125 168 209 247 287 326 387 339 421 492 531
Precision equipment,
Photographic & Optical goods
109 116 142 150 172 212 272 314 240 239 259
Other manufacturing industries 31 30 25 24 33 43 59 74 76 72 70
ur n 2,659 3,054 3,380 3,739 4,145 5,242 6,349 7,520 8,593 9,607 10,514
Data for 1974 to 1978 are not comparable with that of previews years on account of reclassification of companies
according to the Singapore Industrial Classification, 1960.
Data for 1979-mLd-1983 are not comparable with that of previous years on account of reclassification of companies
according to the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (Revised 1978),
^Sources of foreign investment were reclassified as from 1982.
Source: Economic Development Board. Survey of Actual Investment by Foreign Manufacturing Companies,
EDB Annual Report 1983-84
Table 12. Cumulative foreign investment in manufacturing by country of origin 1973 to mid 1983*
(Gross fixed assets)
$ million
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982* mid 1983
USA 992 1,082 1,118 1,233 1,366 1,601 1,817 2,215 2,599 3,236 3,479
JAPAN 237 354 454 525 633 801 1,049 1,185 1,372 1,584 2,099
EUROPE, of which 954 1,034 1,170 1,306 1,407 2,005 2,434 2,952 3,356 3,781 3,941
*EE 912 996 1,110 1,238 1,324 1,907 2,290 2,763 3,044 3,449 3,574
Sweden 6 3 22 26 30 30 35 40 105 124 128
Switzerland 31 27 29 30 38 54 94 120 176 177 203
Other European countries 5 8 9 12 15 14 15 29 31 31 36
OIHERS 476 584 638 675 739 835 1,049 1,168 1,266 1,006 995
IDEAL 2,659 3,054 3,380 3,739 4,145 5,242 6,349 7,520 8,593 9,607 10,514
t >
m
Table 12 can't.
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982* r a i d 1982
*EC, of which 912 996 1,110 1,238 1,324 1,907 2,290 2,763 3,044 3,449 3,574
UK 390 424 481 555 566 791 1,030 1,227 1,412 1,581 1,652
Netherlands 381 420 473 525 571 904 1,011 1,216 1,310 1,423 1,454
Germany 102 106 105 112 130 144 166 223 181 221 236
France 17 21 22 18 21 23 36 41 74 91 90
Italy 15 15 15 16 21 28 28 29 41 100 103
Other EC countries 7 10 14 12 15 17 19 27 26 33 39
^Sources of foreign investment were reclassified as from 1982.
Source: fronondc Development Board. Survey of Actual Investment by Foreign Manufacturing Companies.
The total foreign investment in Singapore in 1973 was
$2,659 billion and $10,514 billion in 1983. In terms of
local investments, Table 13 shows the growth of local
commitments from 1978 to mid-1983. These had grown
dramatically from 5.7 % ($46,626 million) of the total
investments in 1978 to 29.3 % ($519,124 million) in
1983. In spite of this spectacular growth of local invest
ments within a five-year period, the fact of life in
Singapore is that its economy is extremely dependent on
foreign investments.
Supply and Demand for Skilled and Semi-Skilled Labor
Since foreign investments were perceived as the key
factor in the industrialization efforts of Singapore,
policies were implemented to regulate the supply and
demand for skilled and semi-skilled labor for the indus
tries set up by the multinational corporations.
In addition to reorienting the educational system
towards the economic goals of the country, the government
had also built and encouraged an integrated system of
work-related institutes, largely under the supervision
of the Vocational and Industrial Training Board
(VITB) and the Economic Development Board (EDB). The
VITB was established to coordinate on a national scale the
training of industrial, commercial, and service skills.
The VITB not only trains "school leavers" (secondary
graduates) in the required commercial and industrial
__________________________________________________________________ 144
Table 13. Growth of local investment camdtnents, 1978-1983*
Year Total Investment
(Foreign & Local)
($’ 000)
Local Investment
($'000)
Local Investment
as
% of Total
1978 812,359 46,626 5.7
1979 943,591 120,187 12.7
1980* 1,421,586 222,576 15.7
1981 1,882,766 648,196 34.4
1982 1,726,206 600,924 34.8
1983* 1,774,205 519,124 29.3
^Figures for these years exclude investments committed in the petrochemical complex.
Source: Singapore Economic Development Board Annual Report, 1983-84.
145
Billion Dollars Billion Dollars
Par Capita GNP
Per Capita IndigenousGNP
Indigenous GNP
Thousand Dollars
Thousand Dollars
GROSS N A TIO N A L PRODUCT (GNP) A N D PER C A PITA GNP, 1973 -1983
(At Current Market Prices)
S ource: S ingapore Statistical Charts, 1983/84.
F IG U R E
. £ •
££ l
Par C ent FterCent
Financial 8 i
Business Services
,N..
20-
Transport 8
Communication
15-
• 10
1 0 -
Trade
Manufacturing
1983 1 9 8 1 I960 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1973
REAL ANNUAL GROWTH RATES OF MAJOR SECTORS, 1973" 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 15
Million Dollars
Million Dollars
4 ,8 0 0 '-
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
2 ,4 0 0 -
GENERATORS
4 ,0 0 0 -
r
2 ,0 0 0 -
3 ,2 0 0 -
1,600 -
2 ,4 0 0 -
i
1,200 -
1,600 - . J
8 0 0 -
8 0 0 -
4 0 0 -
0
— 1 1 1 1 T " T ....1... T I “
0 .
""I1 ...1 I 1 1 " 1 I 1 1...1
73 75 77 7 9 81 83 73 75 77 79 81 83
IM PORTS OF SELECTED COM M ODITIES, 1973 -1983
Million Dollars Million Dollars
15,000*
PETROLEUM
1 ,8 0 0 -
GENERATORS
12 £ 0 0 -
PRODUCTS / >
1,500 -
/
1 0 ,000- /
1 ,2 0 0 -
/
7 ,5 0 0 -' J
9 0 0 -
/
5 ,0 0 0 -
6 0 0 -
/
2 ,5 0 0 -
A
3 0 0 -
0 _
U —
r*T — r - r ■ i i T” i i r ■
73 75 77 79 81 8 3 73 75 7 7 79 81 83
EXPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973“ 1983
Source: Sinqapore Statistical Charts, 1983/84.
i- *
F I G U R E 1 6
00
149
M illion D ollars M illion D o llars
1 ,8 0 0
INDUSTRIAL
MACHINERY
1,500
200
9 0 0
6 0 0
3 0 0
73 7 5 7 7 7 9 81 83
2 ,4 0 0 -
CRUDE RUBBER
2, 000*
1,600
1,200
8 0 0
4 0 0 -
7 3 75 7 7 79 81 83
IMPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 - 1983
Million Dollars Million Dollars
3 ,6 0 0
CRUDE RUBBER
3 ,0 0 0
2 ,4 0 0 *
1,8 0 0 -
,200
6 0 0 “
73 75 77 79 81 83
I poo -
IN D U S T R IA L
MACHINERY
8 0 0 _
6 0 0 -
4 0 0 -
200 -
7 3 75 77 7 9 81 8 3
EXPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 - 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 1 7
Million D ollars
,500 ■
TEXTILE FABRICS
1,250 -
1,000 -
750
500 •
' 250 -
73 75 77 79 8 1 83
Million D ollars
1,500 -
TEL E C O M M U N I
C A T IO N
A PPA R A T U S
1,250 -
IjO O O -
750 -
500-
- | — i— i— i— i— i— i— i— r
73 75 77 79 81 83
IMPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 - 1983
Million Dollars
600
TEXTILE FA B R IC S
500
400
300
200
100
73 75 77 79 81 83
Million Dollars
3,000
T E L E C O M M U N I
C A T IO N
A PPA R A T U S
2,500
2,000 -
1,500
1,000 -
500 -
1— I — i — i — i — i — i — I — r
73 75 77 79 81 83
u i
_ Q _
EXPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 - 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 18
151
Million Dollars
Million Dollars
1,500
SHIPS a BOATS
1,250 -
1 ,000-
7 5 0 -
5 0 0 -
250
83
1,000 •
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT
8 0 0
6 0 0 •
4 0 0 -
200
73 75 77 79 81 83
IMPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 * 1983
Million Dollars Million Ddlars
5 0 0
SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENT
4 0 0 -
3 0 0 -
200 '
100
73 75 77 79 81 83
1,5 0 0 -
1,250 -
SHIPS 8 BOATS
1,000 -
7 5 0 -
5 0 0 *
2 5 0 -
73 75 77 79 81 83
EXPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973-1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 19
Million Dollars
Million Dollars
CRUDE
PETROLEUM
15,000
9.000
6.000
3,000
73 75 77 79 81 83
1,500
MOTOR VEHICLES
1,250
1,000 -
750 -
500
250
73 75 7 7 79 81 83
Million Dollars
1,500 -
STEEL PLATES,
1,250 -
BARS, ETC. / ^ - - s
1,000 -
750 *
500 -
2 5 0 ■
0 -|
— i— i— r—r~r~i i i "»
Million Dollars
73 75 77 79 81 83
1,000
PLASTIC MATERIALS
800
6 0 0 -
400
200
IMPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973 “ 1983
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s , 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 20
Million Dollars Million Dollars
1,000* 1,000*
CLOTHING S ' ----- '
VEGETABLE OIL
8 0 0 -
/
8 0 0
6 0 0 -
/
6 0 0 -
4 0 0 - 4 0 0 -
2 0 0 - 2 0 0 i
0
r - f - r ..r 'i " 'i 1 1 i " 1 i —f ....r H
0 .
, r i r - i -i r I "
73 75 7 7 79 81 8 5 73 75 77 79 81 83
Million Dollars
Million Dollars
6 0 0 •
6 0 0 *
SAWN / \ WOOD SIMPLY
5 0 0 -
TIMBER / \
5 0 0 *
SHAPED
4 0 0 -
4 0 0 •
/
3 0 0 -
3 0 0 ‘ J
2 0 0 -
2 0 0 ■
100 -
100 -
0 .
1 i 1 i i i i i 1 i i i—
0 .
I I I I 1 1 1 1 1
73 7 5 77 79 81 83 7 3 75 7 7 79 81 83
EXPORTS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, 1973-1983
Source: Singapore Statistical C harts, 1983/84.
t-*
C /1
FIGURE 21
skills, but also trains, retrains and upgrades the
skills of the existing workforce to meet the techno
logical changes and needs of industry" (EDB Report,
1983-84: 6-7).
The EDB, on the other hand, concentrates on the
training of skilled manpower. As stated in the EDB Report,
To fulfill the objective of training
a sufficiently large pool of skilled
manpower for our manufacturing indus
tries, the Joint Industrial Training
Scheme (JITS) was established by the EDB
in 1972 with the first of the joint
training centres, Tata-Government Train
ing Center - (TGTC). Administered by the
EDB, the scheme seeks to combine the
expertise of our industrial partners,
both foreign governments and multina
tional and the financial and organiza
tional resources of the government to
develop a pool of skilled craftsmen to
service the industrial sector.
As demand for the JITS apprentices
increased, more training centers were
established. Examples are: the Rollei
Government Training Centre (1973)- from
1981, the Browm Boveri Government Train
ing Centre; the Philips Government Train
ing Centre, 1975; and the Japan-Singa-
pore Training Centre, 1979.
It takes about four years of training
for an appren tice to qualify for a
National Certificate (NTC) Class 2
or national acceptance as a qualified
craftsman.
Table 14 shows the apprentices who completed the
2-year in-centre portion of their training. The numbers
are admittedly small in relation to the labor force, but
these are skilled craftsmen working in relatively capital-
154
1551
Table 14. JUS - Apprentice output by years and trades (actual), 1974-1983*
Actual Rrojected
Total
TRADE 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
Fine Sheet Metalwork 10 10
Precision Machining/Produc
tion Machining
61 116 151 150 155 209 326 243 1,411
Machining (Grinding) 6 14 20
ffechining (Milling) 6 14 20
Machining (Turning)
Fitting
6
1
9 15
1
Pattern, Model & Mould
F ’ feking
6 6
MaintenanceAfechine Tool
Building
16 16 18 18 68
Tool & Die Making 11 86 63 91 82 53 59 106 101 58 710
Precision Mechanics 32 25 25 38 34 44 50 30 25 303
Precisions Optics 20 22 24 22 22 26 50 41 6 233
Autolathe Setting 4 9 12 12 23 15 75
156
Table 14 con't.
TRADE
Actual Projected
Total
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
Plastic Mauldmaking 23 30 69 47 35 204
Tool Roan Machining 44 33 77
Instrumentation 15 16 27 58
Electrical 20 13 21 54
Consumer Electronics 10 12 24 46
Industrial Electronics 15 14 27 56
Total 30 175 193 270 302 294 326 583 677 517 3,367
Cumulative Total 30 205 398 668 970 1,264 1,590 2,173 2,850 3,367
Source: Economic Development Board, 1984
intensive industries, and consequently their skills are
highly valued by industry. Some of the skill-intensive
or high technology companies that have heavily on EDB1s
training centres for the supply of skilled manpower
for their start-up or expansion programs are: aerospace
companies (e.g., Aerospace Industries, Garett, Sundstrand
Pacific); oil tool manufacturing companies (e.g., Baker
Far East, FMC Petroleum, Reed Rockbit); machine tool
building companies (e.g., Bridgeport, JSW, Nestal Machi
nery, and Okamomoto); and tool, and die precision and
machining companies (e.g. , Asian Machine, Bon Mold, and
others).
Updates on the Educational and Training Policies
By the 1980s, Singapore has started its "second
restructuring" of the Singapore economy or the shift
towards the "brain industries" or the capital-intensive,
high productivity economic activities in the 1980s. As
far as the Singaporean leadership is concerned, such a
shift requires computerization. The global computer revo
lution is perceived to be as important, if not more,
than the industrial revolution, therefore to be on the
cutting edge of this future is one of the priorities for
the 1980s and beyond. Professor Lim Chong Yah, former head
of the National Wage Council and professor of economics at
the National University of Singapore, stated that there
were at least three prerequisites before a "successsful
___________________________ 15 7
158
Table 15. Qitput of tertiary institutions, 1982 - 1990*
Institutions 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
I MB 2,162 2,377 2,705 3,109 3,498 3,740 3,746 3,771 3,876
n Nil 645 750 870 870 870 900
m SP FT
PT
Total
1,867
479
2,346
1,744
749
2,493
1,980
735
2,715
2,574
948
3,522
2,610
1,032
3,642
2,610
1,201
3,811
2,610
1,201
3,811
2,610
1,201
3,811
2,610
1,201
3,811
IV NP 938 1,207 1,624 2,131 2,894 2,894 2,894 2,894 2,894
v v h b 9,390 10,310 12,330 13,350 13,930 13,930 13,930 13,930 13,930
VI JTIS&
Institutes
TO
Inst
Total
675
25
700
550
150
700
724
350
1,074
824
450
1,274
824
450
1,274
824
450
1,274
824
450
1,274
824
450
1,274
824
450
1,274
TOTAL 15,536 17,087 20,448 24,031 25,988 26,519 26,525 26,550 26,685
159
Table 15 can’ t.
Notations : FT : Fkrt-tiine
FT : Full-time
1C : Training Centres
Inst : Training Institutes
Source: Econanic Development Board Report, 1984
Legends:
NUS National University of Singpore
NIT Nanyang Technological Institute
SP Singapore Polytechnic
NP Ngee Ann Polytechnic
VHB Vocational and Industrial Training Board
JITS Joint Industrial Training Scheme
Computer Revolution" can take place in Singapore (1984:
92-94):
One is the supply of capital to
manufacture or import the computers.
Another is the existence of a social
environment conducive to the growth and
multiplication of a computer population.
The third is the adequate supply of
trained manpower to manufacture or uti
lize the computers.
(In terms of manpower needs) The
third prerequisite is the availability of
trained personnel. For computer utiliza
tion, such manpower includes EDP mana
gers, systems analysts, programmers and
computer operators, all of whom are in
short supply in Singapore. The spread of
computerization in Singapore would be
constrained, unless existing porgammes of
training skilled manpower are stepped up
quickly in quantity and quality. The
Skills Development Funds has supported
and will continue to support employers
who send their employees for training in
all these areas up to 70 % of the allow
able costs, which include course fees,
absentee payroll, and return airfare
costs. The SDF will also give top prior
ity to the training of workers for the
development of the computer and computer
component manufacturing industry.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, the
Singaporean government created a National Computer Board
that oversees the supply and demand dynamics in the area
of computerization, both in terms of industrial needs and
the supply of manpower. According to the EDB Report (1983:
58-59), to meet the estimated demand of 5,800 to 7,800
computer professionals by 1990, a comprehensive plan for
computer education has been laid out that involves both
the formal school system (starting at the elementary
1 6 0
levels) and the work-related training programs. Some
of the steps that had been taken to implement the national
computerization policy in terms of answering the manpower
demands are the following: the revision of the computer
science curriculum at the National University of Singa
pore (NUS); the creation of the Institute of Systems
Science (a joint effort between the National University
of Singapore and IBM of the USA); establishing a Center
for Computer Studies (a joint effort between the Ngee
Ann Polytechnic and the International Computers Limited
(ICL) of the United Kingdom); establishing the Japan-
Singapore Institute of Software Technology. There are
also industrial automation training units set up to spe
cialize in three key areas of industrial automation,
namely, CAD/CAM and CNC technology. In addition, the
Singapore Science Park is being developed to accommodate
wholly R&D organizations as well as operations whose acti
vity and/manufacture of high technology products include
a sustantial amount of R&D. The Park is intended to serve
as a focal point for industrial R&D facilities and related
"brain services" (EDB Report, 1983-84:47).
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter has presented some of the key social
factors that have influenced the supply and demand of
labor, and consequently the labor force and occupational
structures of Singapore. The focus was not on the quanti-
161
tative measurement of these social factors, but rather on
their linkages to the process of social transformation in
Singapore, and their impact on the supply and demand of
labor. Discussed in this chapter were demographic pat
terns and educational policies on the "supply side" and
investments in industries on the "demand side." The gene
ral conclusion of this section is that the government of
Singapore has pursued a vigorous interventionist policy in
regulating through direct and indirect means the inter
actions between supply and demand for manpower in Singa
pore. The overriding priority, especially during the
early years of independence, was economic growth at all
costs through a labor-intensive industrialization pro
cess. Policies and economic orientations during that
phase are still continued today, now that Singapore has
"officially" embarked on a second restructuring of its
economy by shifting to capital-intensive, high techno
logy and high productivity industries. Such policies that
have affected the supply and demand of labor during the
first restructuring and which are still in operation
today include: using a "manpower approach " to education
and regulating the formal and nonformal learning sys
tems so as to meet the specific needs of industries;
creating a conducive atmosphere for investment through va
rious means such as providing a skilled workforce and
the necessary infrastructures for industries.
162
Chapter 8
OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES OF SINGAPORE
The purpose of this chapter is to examine in greater
detail the labor force and occupational structures of
Singapore. The first part presents the labor force defi
nitions and the industrial and occupational classifica
tions used in this study. The second part provides an
overview of the general trends and patterns in the labor
force which serve as background for the more detailed
discussion of the occupational structures. This is impor
tant because the characteristics of the labor force deter
mine many of the patterns in occupational structures.
The third part discusses the occupational structures,
the aggregate characteristics of workers in these various
occupations, the trends across the years and their social
implications. The relationship between the occupational
patterns and the economic structures will also be
discussed. The last part presents new trends that emerge
when the job categories are reclassified. Sources that
were used in this chapter include the Singapore Census,
various years, the Statistical Charts of Singapore, 1983-
84, Yearbook of Statistics, various years and The
Labor Force of Singapore (Saw Swee Hock, 1984).
163
Part I
Definitions
This section presents definitions of labor force
concepts as well as the occupational and industrial clas
sifications used in this chapter. It is an important
reference for discussions on the labor force and occupa
tional structures of Singapore.
Labor Force Concepts
Census respondents— This is a subset of
the population who at the time of the
census were aged 10 years or over. This
definition was used in the Singaporean
census of 1957, 1970 and 1980 (Saw Swee
Hock, 1984: 1). This contrasts with the
U.S. census respondents of ”all non
institutionalized persons 16 years of
age and over who in the reference week
were either employed or unemployed.”
(Parnes, 1984: 58)
Labor force approach— As used in the
Singaporean census, the census respond
ents were divided into two subsets:
a) the economically active composed of
those who are working (employed) and
those who are actively looking for work
(unemployed); and (b) the economically
inactive composed household workers
without pay, full-time students, retired
persons, inmates of penal, mental and
aged institutions, the permanently dis
abled, and males waiting for national
service. (Saw Swee Hock, 1984: 2)
Labor force participation rate- percent
age of the economically active popula
tion to the total population. (Yearbook
of Statistics, 1983-84)
164
Age-sex specific participation rate-
percentage of economically active popu
lation to the total population in the
specific age groups. (Yearbook of Sta
tistics , 1983-84)
Occupational Classifications
The Singapore Standard Occupational Classification
(SSOC) which was revised in 1978 was used as basis for
the Census of Population of 1980. The previous revision
of the SSOC was carried out in 1973 by the National
Statistical Commission. The Committee on Occupational
Classification referred to the latest classification of
occupations in the United States and the International
Standard Occupational Classification (1968) of the Inter
national Labour Office. Changes in the economic structure
and the labor force as well as the views of the user
departments were taken into consideration in the prepara
tion of the SSOC of 1978 (SSOC Manual. 1980). The
basic arrangement of the SSOC 1978 is as follows:
Major groups (one-digit codes) are the
highest level of aggregation and represent
the very broad fields of work rather than
specific types of work performed. There
are 7 major groups in the classification
with one residual and three supplementary
major categories denoted by X, Y, Z1 and
Z2 which cover respectively the unclassi-
fiable, the Singapore Armed Forces,
foreign armed forces based in Singapore
and foreign diplomatic personnel. The
major groups are: professional, technical
and related workers (0/1); administra
tive, managerial and executive workers
(2); clerical and related workers (3);
sales workers (4); service workers (5);
agricultural, animal husbandry and
1651
forestry workers, fishermen and hunters
(6). Each major group is divided into
minor groups.
Minor groups (two-digit codes) repre
sent the second level of aggregation in
the SSOC,e.g., (01) 'Physical scientists
and related Technicians’ within the first
Major Group 'Professional, Technical and
Related Technicians'. Each minor group
covers a specific range of occupations
within the major group linked together by
some general characteristics of work.
There are 87 minor groups which are sub
divisions of major groups.
Unit Groups (three-digit codes) are the
third level of aggregation, e.g., (Oil)
'Chemists’ within Minor Group 01 'Physical
Scietists and Related Technicians’. A unit
group refers to a group of occupations
related to each other by similarity of the
characteristics of the work they entail.
There are 284 unit groups which are sub
divisions of minor groups.
Occupations (five-digit codes) are sub
divisions of unit groups. They are the
fourth level of classification in the SSOC
1978.Occupations are the finest categories
identified in the classification and they
number 1,200.
Industrial Classification
For industrial classification, the statistical unit
used is the establishment, defined as a manufacturing unit
in one industrial activity and generally at one location.
Establishments are classified according to the Singapore
Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activi
ties based on the International Standard Industrial Clas
sification of All Economic Activities of the United
Nations. The current classification used is the Singapore
166
Table 16. Examples of one-, two-, and three-digit clas
sification of occupations
1 Professional, Technical, Administrative, and Managerial
Workers
01 Physical Scientists and Related Technicians
Oil Chemists
012/3 Other Physical Scientists
014 Physical Science Technicians
02/03 Architects, Engineers and Related Technicians
021
Architects and Town Planners
022 Civil Engineers
023
Electrical and Electronics Engineers
024 Mechanical Engineers
025 Chemical Engineers
026 Metallurgists
027 Mining Engineers
028/9 Engineers, n.e.c.
031 Surveyors
032 Draughtsmen
033 Civil Engineering Technicians
034 Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Technicians
035
Mechanical and Engineering Technicians
036
Chemical Engineering Technicians
037 Metallurgical Technicians
038 Mining Technicians
036 Engineering Technicians, n.e.c.
04 Aircraft and Ships’ Officers
041 Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers
042 Ships' Deck Officers
Ships’ Engineers 043
05 Life Scientists and Related Technicians
051/3 Life Scientists
054 Life Sciences Technicians
061 Medical Doctors
064 Pharmacists
065 Dietitians and Public Health Nutritionists
167
Standard of Industrial Classification (SSIC) 1978 which
was updated from the SSIC of 1973. This classification has
been designed to present information on industry in dif
ferent levels of aggregation, e.g., one-digit, three-
digit, and five-digit level.
For the one-digit code, the classifica
tions fications are: (1) agriculture and
fishing; (2) quarrying; (3) manufactu
ring; (4) utilities; (5) construction;
(6) trade; (7) transport and communi
cations; (8) financial and business
services; (9) other services.
Part II
Labor Force Trends
As shown in the definition section, the labor force
concepts present a schema by which the economically active
are differentiated from those who are inactive. Since
this scheme is critical to the economy of any nation, its
determinants as well as its impacts on the social and eco
nomic life will be discussed briefly. This provides an
overall context for the occupational structures of Singa
pore.
Jakubauskas and Palomba (1973: 44-45) gave the
following factors as determinants of people's participa
tion in the labor force:
1.. Decisions of households to
seek work, change jobs in response to
monetary and nonmonetary cues in the
labor market, or to withdraw from the
labor force.
168
2. Decisions of firms to hire, pro
mote, or lay off workers.
*
3. Decisions of Government which
regulate the activities of household and
firms in the employment process through
labor standards legislation, and other
legal and economic security programs.
For Singapore, the major determinant of labor force
participation, particularly the employment trends, was
the government's decision in the early sixties to go into
a massive labor-intensive industrialization program to
restructure the economy. In 1966, the unemployment rate
was 8.9 % and this was brought down to 4.5 % in 1976, and
maintained up to the 1980s. Table 17 shows that the
labor force participation rate (LFPR) was 56.5 % for a
"working population" in 1970. This increased to 63.2 %
in 1980, and 63.8 % in 1983.
An important characteristic of Singapore's labor
force is that historically males had greater participa
tion. Their LFPR are as follows: 82.3 % in 1970, 81.5 %
in 1980, 81.1 % in 1981, 81.5 % in 1982 and 81.6 % in 1983
(Table 17). Women, on the other hand, had very low
participation rates, but this trend is fast changing in
the 1980s. The LFPR for females are: 29.5 % in 1970,
44.3 % in 1980, 44.8 % in 1981, 45.2 % in 1982, and
45.7 % in 1983. This contrast between male and female
participation rate in the labor force is also reflected
in the occupational structures of Singapore.
169
Table 17. Age-sex specific labour force participating rates, 1970, 1980-1983*
1970 : 1980 : 1981
Age Group : Persons I 'f e l e s Females : Persons Males Females : Persons Males Females :
(Years) : — -------------------------------------------------------------
: Per Hundred Population
Total 56.5 82.3 29.5 63.2 81.5 44.3 63.0 81.1 44.8
15 - 19 49.5 55.7 43.0 49.1 47.5 50.7 45.1 44.1 46.2
20-24 73.5 92.9 53.6 86.1 93.4 78.4 86.0 92.6 79.1
25-29 64.5 98.0 30.8 78.3 97.2 58.7 79.5 97.8 60.4
30-34 60.6 98.3 22.7 71.5 97.9 44.2 73.0 98.4 46.7
35-39 60.2 98.4 19.3 68.0 98.0 37.1 68.6 98.9 39.1
40-44 60.8 98.1 17.8 65.8 97.6 33.2 66.5 98.1 37.1
45-49 60.0 96.2 17.5 61.8 95.7 26.5 62.5 96.0 28.8
50-54 55.0 88.1 17.5 56.3 89.6 20.4 55.7 89.9 22.1
55-59 46.2 73.9 16.2 43.6 70.7 14.5 44.2 71.3 15.8
60-64 35.0 55.6 13.4 31.9 52.5 11.3 33.8 54.5 12.8
65-69 25.3 41.2 9.8 23.5 38.6 9.5 22.3 37.0 8.3
70 - 74 14.5 25.8 5.7 15.0 25.1 6.2 14.6 24.2 6.2
75 & Over 6.3 14.4 2.1 6.6 13.3 2.5 8.2 14.9 3.7
*Source: Singapore Statistical Yearbook, 1983.
170
Table 17 con’t.
1982 1983
•
•
Age Group
(Years)
Persons Males Females .Persons ffeles Females :
:
Total 63.4 81.5 45.2 63.8 81.6 45.7 i
15- 19 43.1 42.2 43.9 41.4 41.9 40.8 :
20-24 86.0 92.2 79.4 85.5 91.9 78.7 :
25-29 80.3 97.8 62.6 80.8 97.5 63.8 :
30-34 72.7 98.5 46.7 73.8 98.4 48.5 :
35-39 69.8 98.3 41.4 71.5 98.4 44.7 !
40-44 67.8 98.0 38.5 68.6 98.3 39.7 :
45 - 49 64.2 96.6 33.2 64.0 96.6 32.1 :
50-54 57.2 90.4 23.1 58.2 89.4 25.4 !
55 - 59 47.8 75.4 18.6 46.9 73.7 18.2 :
60-64 31.4 53.9 10.0 33.7 54.1 12.4 !
65 - 69 23.5 39.1 9.6 24.3 40.0 9.0 !
70-74 16.3 27.7 6.7 15.3 26.7 5.7 !
75 & Over 6.9 13.0 3.0 7.4 14.8 2.5 !
171
T housand P e rso n s T h o u s a n d P e r s o n s
1,200
Unem pbym ert Rates
1,100 1,100
ipoo ■ 1,000
B3
Labor Force
900- 900
800 800
700 700
100 100
Unemployed
1975 1976 1982 1973 1974 1977 1983 1978 1979 1980 1 9 8 1
■vj
LABOR FORCE, 1973 - 1983 (Aged 1 5 -6 4 Years)
S o u r c e : S i n g a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s . 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGIJRK 22
Age G roup
60-64
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
2024
15-19
M A L E
100 50 0 0
Thousand Persons 1970
Economically A ctive
Economically Inactive
FEM ALE
50 100
M A LE FE M A L E
Age G roup
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35 39
30-34
25-29
20-24
150 100 50 100 150
Thousand Persons
ACTIVITY STATUS OF POPULATION AGED 15“ 64 YEARS BY AGE GROUP AND SEX,
1970 a 1983
Source: Singapore Statistical Charts. 1983/84.
FIGURE 23
i - 1
c o
TTT
Per Cent
-— plOO
Per Cent
100 —
M oles Females
1983
9 0
9 0
1970
1957.—
8 0
8 0
7 0
70
6 0
6 0 -
5 0 -
4 0
4 0
- 3 0
3 0
-20
20-
-10
6 5 8 Over
Age Group
AGE SPECIFIC LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES, 1957, 1970 ft 1983
S o u r c e : S i n q a p o r e S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r t s . 1 9 8 3 / 8 4 .
FIGURE 2k
Employed Persons By Industry
The employed workforce is also distributed in dif
ferent industries. The next table shows a more detailed
breakdown of employed persons by industry from 1957, 1970,
1975, 1980, and 1982. The biggest increase of course was
in manufacturing, from 14.2 % of the workforce in
1957 to 29.5 % in 1982. The trade workforce remained
fairly stable from 24.2 % in 1957 to around 22.3 %
in 1982, and the same is true for transport and communi
cations, from 10.7 % in 1957 to 11.4 % in 1982.
"Other services" which includes government workers,
employed 30.7 % of the workforce in 1957 but declined to
24.5 % in 1975, and then to 20.6 % in 1982. But in
terms of percentage change, financial and business servi
ces registered a big jump from 4.6 % of the workforce in
1957 to 6.1 % in 1975, and then to 7.9 % in 1982.
Taken together as a group, trade, financial and busi
ness, and other services declined further from 59.5 %
in 1957 to 50.8 % in 1983.
However, it was indeed the manufacturing (including
construction) sector which registered the largest increase
from 14.2 % in 1957 to 29.5 % in 1982. Of course, the
most dramatic change was the decline of employment
in agriculture and quarrying, from 8.5 % of the work
force in 1957 to 1 % in 1983.
In summary, Table 18 shows the distribution of
________________________________________ : ________________________________ Ili
176
Table 18. Employed persons by industry (one digit) 1957,1970, 1975, 1980 and 1982*
(thousands)
INDUSTRY 1957 1970 1975 1980 1982
IDEAL 471.9 % 650.4 % 833.5 % 1077.1 % 1142.4 %
Agriculture and
Fishing
40.2 8.5 22.5 3.4 17.4 2.1 17.0 1.6 11.5 1.0
Quarrying 1.6 0.34 2.2 0.34 3.1 0.37 1.1 0.10 2.6 0.23
Manufacturing 66.8 14.2 143.1 22.0 218,1 26.2 324.1 30.1 336.7 29.5
Utilities 5.6 1.2 7.6 1.2 8.9 1.1 8.5 0.79 7.9 0.69
Construction 24.6 5.2 43.1 6.6 39.2 4.7 72.3 6.7 72.0 6.3
Trade 114.3 24.2 152.6 23.4 191.7 23.0 229.8 21.3 254.3 22.3
Transport and
Cofnmmication
50.3 10.7 79.0 12.1 97.9 11.7 119.9 11.1 129.8 11.4
Financi al and
Business Services
21.7 4.6 25.8 4.0 50.7 6.1 79.4 7.4 89.9 7.9
Other Services 144.7 30.7 174.6 26.8 204.0 24.5 224.6 20.9 235.6 20.6
Activities not
Adequately Defined
2.1 0.44 0.4 0.06 2.5 0.30 0.4 0.04 2.0 0.18
^Sources: Singapore Statistical Yearbooks.
working persons according to the three broad economic
categories of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. It
is clear from these figures that the greatest increases
were in the secondary sector and the greatest decreases
were in the primary sector. On the other hand, in spite
of some decreases, the tertiary sector had remained fairly
stable in the last 40 years.
Overview of the Singaporean Occupational Structure (One
digit classification)
The same distribution of employed persons per
industry is reflected in the distribution of occupations.
Table 19 shows the distribution of one-digit occupational
groups. This table shows that the production and related
workers ranked first in 1980, with 40.39 % of the work
force, almost an 8 % change since 1947 (32.87 %). This was
followed by clerks with 15.5 % of the employed in 1980,
an increase of almost 6 % since 1947 with 10.54 % of
the workforce in this category for that year. Sales
people ranked third in 1980 with 12.25 %, but this was
a decline in its share of employment since 1947 with
17.41 %. The number of those employed in services
also declined, from 14.64 % in 1947 to 10.42 % in
1980. An almost 6 % increase was observed among profess
ional workers with 3.14 % in 1947 to 8.83 % of the
workforce in 1980.
177
Table 19. Distribution of occupations (one-digit), 1947-1900
1947 1957 1970 1980
IDEAL NO. OF PERSONS
EMPLOYED IN AIL OOOUPATIONS
357,535 471,918 650,900 1,077,100
Workforce
1. Professional Technical A. Total no. of employed 11,233 24,485 56,080 95,145
& Related Workers persons in this occupation
B. % of "A” over total no. 3.14% 5.19% 8.62% 8,83%
of persons enployed in all
occupations
C. Total Mbles 7,740 16,118 34,238 57,958
D. Total Females 3,493 8,367 21,842 37,187
(by Occupation)
2. Administrative ffenagerial A. Total no. of employed 5,127 8,560 15,476 52,175
and Executive Workers persons in this occupation
B. % of "A" over total no. 1.43% 1.81% 2.38% 4.84%
of persons employed in all
occupations
C. Total Males 5,002 8,277 14,493 44,049
D, Total Females 125 233 983 8,126
(by Occupation)
3. Clerical
A. Total no. of employed 37,696 53,591 82,491 167,473
persons in this occupation
B. % of "A” over total no. 10.54% 11.36% 12.67% 15.55%
of persons employed in all
occupations
C. Total Males 35,483 48,038 56,939 65,931
D. Total Females 2,213 5,553 26,002 101,542
0 0 (bv-OccuDatiool---------
179
Table 19 con't.
TOTAL NO. OF PERSONS
EMPLOYED IN ALL OOOPATIONS
4. Sales Workers
5. Service Workers
6. Agricultural Workers,
Animal Husbandry, Forestry
Workers, Fishermen a r i d
Hunters
A. Total no. of employed
persons in this occupation
B. % of "A" over total no.
of persons employed in all
occupations
C. Total Males
D. Total Females
(by Occupation)
A. Total no. of employed
persons in this occupation
B. % of ' ’ A” over total no.
of persons employed in all
occupations
C. Total Efeles
D. Total Females
(by Occupation)
A. Total no. of employed
persons in this occupation
B. % of "A" over total no.
of persons employed in all
occupations
C. Total Efeles
D. Total Females
(by Occupation)
1947 1957 1970 1980
357,535
62,263
17.41%
56,867
5,3%
52,354
14.64%
32,824
19,530
30,433
8.51%
27,158
3,275
471,918
86,320
18.29%
77,690
8,630
71,135
15.07%
41,023
30.112
37.113
7.86%
27.056
10.057
650,900
102,628
15.77%
86,2%
16,332
88,744
13.63%
53,092
35,652
26,943
4.14%
21,993
4,950
1,077,100
131,977
12.25%
94,166
37,811
112,1%
10.42%
62,353
49,843
20,954
1.95%
17,241
3,713
Table 19 con't. 1947 1957 1970 1980
TOTAL NO. CF PERSONS
EMPLOYED IN AIL OOGUPATTONS
7/ Production and Related A.
8/ Workers
9 B.
G.
D.
Not Classifiable A.
B.
C.
D.
357,535
Total no. of employed 117,538
persons in this occupation
% of "A" over total no. 32.87%
of persons employed in all
occupations
Total Males 105,199
Total Females 12,339
(by Occupation)
Total no. of employed 552
persons in this occupation
% of “ A" over total no. .15%
of persons employed in all
occupations
Total Males 218
Total Females 334
(by Occupation)
471,918 650,900 1,077,100
181,545 254,949 434,996
38.47% 39.17% 40.39%
160,447 207,539 306,486
21,098 47,410 128,510
9,169 23,131 62,174
1.94% 3.55% 5.77%
9,059 22,690 58,333
110 441 3,841
Source: Adapted from 1947 Census and The Labor Force of Singapore, 1970-1980 (Rage 44)
00
J D .
Observed Trends and Their Implications
The above overview of the Singaporean workforce
shows some important trends. First, agriculture declined
as a sector in terms of employment. Second, there was
a dramatic rise in employment in the manufacturing sec
tor. Third, there was a slight decline in the "ser
vices" sector, but otherwise, it has remained fairly
stable across the years. In short, what we can con
clude is that Singapore is definitely not an agricul
tural country anymore, and that at present, it is both
a manufacturing and a "service" economy in terms of
employment. Furthermore, it has always been a "service"
economy but we do see differences in the distribution
and types of occupations within the "service sector."
The economic history of Singapore explains many of
these trends. The entrepot trade of the island under the
British colonial rule encouraged the growth of some
types of economic services and occupations. The island
served the Malayas and the rest of the Southeast Asian
region during this period and many people were engaged in
commerce and trade. This continued until the late 1950s
when the new city-state decided to restructure the
economy. With the growth of the manufacturing sector
through the labor-intensive industrialization policies of
the government, manufacturing-related activities grew
steadily and this was reflected in the industrial and
181
occupational structures of Singapore from the early six
ties to the 1980s. "Services" as a group declined slight
ly, particular those which were related to commerce and
trade. However, those related to the industrial trans
formation of the city-state, e.g. banking and finance,
grew modestly in terms of percentage increases. Tourism,
an important part of services, was also encouraged and
thus, accounted for the stability of the service
sector across the years. On the other hand, agricul
ture and quarrying declined dramatically as the Singapo
rean government transformed literally the city-state’s
skyline into high rise buildings in order to respond to
the housing needs of its population, and its land space
into industrial estates to accommodate the corporations
investing in Singapore. Farming declined' both as an
industry and source of occupation and this continues to
the present. Singapore now gets its agricultural pro
ducts from its neighbors like Malaysia, Indonesia and
the Philippines.
Part III
Occupational Structures
Occupations (2-digit) Ranked as Percentage of Total
Employed
1947
Table 20 shows the top 10 occupations in terms of
number of people employed per occupation in 1947. The
_______________________________________________________________________L&2.
Table 20. Top ten occupations (as percentage
of total employed), 1947*
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
O v e r s e e r s , F o r e m e n a n d
l a b o u r e r s n . e . c .
1 5 0 , 0 0 9 1 3 . 9 9
W o r k e r s i n D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e ,
H o s p i t a l s , H o t e l s , G u b s &
R e s t a u r a n t s
2 3 8 , 6 2 3 1 0 . 8 0
W o r k e r s i n R o a d & R a i l T r a n s p o r t 3 3 2 , 0 5 7 8 . 9 7
H a w k e r s , S t r e e t V e n d o r s &
S t a l l H o l d e r s
4 2 9 , 7 6 4 8 . 3 2
G e r k s , S t e n o g r a p h e r s , T y p i s t s
& R e l a t e d G e r i c a l W o r k e r s
5 2 8 , 8 7 2 8 . 0 8
W o r k e r s o n S m a l l h o l d i n g s
& M a r k e t G a r d e n s
6 2 2 , 5 1 9 6 . 3 0
S a l e s m e n , I n s u r a n c e A g e n t s &
O t h e r S a l e s W o r k e r s
7 1 7 , 4 7 5 4 . 8 9
T o o l m a k e r s , M a c h i n i s t s , P l u m b e r s ,
W e l d e r s & P l a t e r s
8 1 7 , 1 6 7 4 . 8 0
S h i p s ' O f f i c e r s , C r e w &
O t h e r B o a t m e n
9 1 5 , 5 0 0 4 . 3 4
W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s & f - f e n a g e r s
( W h o l e s a l e & R e t a i l T r a d e )
1 0 1 5 , 0 2 4 4 . 2 0
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e 1 5 5 2 0 . 1 5
P h y s i c i a n s , S u r g e o n s , D e n t i s t s
& M e d i c a l S p e c i a l i s t s
2 6 1 5 0 . 1 7
T e l e p h o n e & T e l e g r a p h O p e r a t o r s 3 6 8 8 0 . 1 9
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n s
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ X 1 0 0 = %
3 5 7 , 5 3 5
______183
trends show the differences in the economic structures of
the country, but as we shall see later on, the differences
within this ten-year period are not as pronounced as those
between a twenty-year or thirty-year period when the full
impact of the industrialization policies of Singapore can
clearly be seen in its occupational structures.
In 1947, manual laborers such as overseers, foremen
and laborers, constituted 14 % (50,009) of the total
employed which in 1947 was 357,535. This category was
followed by workers in domestic service like hospi
tals, hotels, clubs and restaurants (10 %). The next
were workers in road and rail transport (8.97 %); hawkers,
street vendors and stall holders (8.3 %); clerks, steno
graphers, typists and related clerical workers (8.32 %);
workers in small holdings and market gardens (6.30 %);
salesmen, insurance agents and other sales workers (5 %),
toolmakers, machinists, plumbers, welders and platers
(4.80 %); ships' officers, crew and other boatmen
(4.34 %); working proprietors and managers (wholesale
and retail trade, 4.20 %).
The lowest percentages in terms of people employed in
the Singaporean workforce in 1947 were "not classifiable"
(552 or .15 %); physicians, surgeons, dentists and medical
specialists (615 or .17 %), and telephone and tele
graph operators (688 or .19 %).
184
1957
The comparison between the different census years in
terms of occupational categories is hampered by the fact
that different census methods were used. Thus strict
comparability of the categories may be difficult. For
instance, the absence of laborers as a category in 1957
when it was number one in 1947 may be attributed to
changing the census system. However, within limits, some
trends emerge, and some of the occupational titles had
remained fairly stable across the years.
For 1957, workers in domestic service, hospitals,
clubs, and restaurants constituted 9.90 % of the total
employed (471, 918, an increase of 114,383 or 32 % com
pared to 1947). The number of workers in the domestic
service declined slighly compared to 1947 (10 % vs. 11 %
in 1947). Salesmen and shop assistants increased slightly
(6.40 %) while hawkers and street vendors, decreased
slightly (6.12 %). Clerical workers also decreased from
8.3 % to 6 % and so did the category of owners and
workers in small holdings (5 %). The categories which
also decreased in 1957 were drivers and road transport
workers (9 % to 4.89 % in 1957); toolmakers, machinist,
plumbers, welders, platers and related workers (4.45 %) ;
production process workers, n.e.c. (3.67 %: this was not
in the top 10 of 1947); working proprietors and mana
gers, wholesale and retail trade (3 %); and carpenters,
1851
Table 21. Top ten occupations (as percentage
of total employed), 1957*
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
9 1 W o r k e r s i n D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e ,
H o s p i t a l s , H o t e l s , C l u b s &
R e s t a u r a n t s
1 4 6 , 7 3 2 9 . 9 0
3 3 S a l e s m e n & S h o p A s s i t a n t s 2 3 0 , 2 1 0 6 . 4 0
3 4 H a w k e r s & S t r e e t V e n d o r s 3 2 8 , 8 7 3 6 . 1 2
2 0 C l e r i c a l W o r k e r s 4 2 8 , 8 0 7 6 . 1 0
4 5 O w n e r s & W o r k e r s o n S m a l l
h o l d i n g s & M a r k e t G a r d e n s
5 2 4 , 2 8 9 5 . 1 5
6 4 D r i v e r s , R o a d T r a n s p o r t 6 2 2 , 9 1 2 4 . 8 6
7 5 T o o l m a k e r s , k f a c h i n i s t s , P l u m b e r s ,
W e l d e r s , P l a t e r s & R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
7 2 1 , 0 2 2 4 . 4 5
8 5 P r o d u c t i o n P r o c e s s W o r k e r s n . e . c . 8 1 7 , 3 0 7 3 . 6 7
3 0 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s & M a n a g e r s ,
W h o l e s a l e & R e t a i l T r a d e
9 1 4 , 4 7 1 3 . 0 7
7 7 C a r p e n t e r s , C a b i n e t M a k e r s &
R e l a t e d W o o d & C o r k W o r k e r s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 1 2 , 9 4 8 2 . 7 4
5 2 D u l a n g W a s h e r s 1 1 . 0 0
4 8 H u n t e r s T r a p p e r s & G a m e W a r d e n s 2 8 . 0 0
5 4 S p e c i a l i z e d M i n e & Q u a r r y
W o r k e r s n . e . c .
3 2 5 0 . 0 1
f o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
471,918
186
cabinet makers and related wood and cork workers
(2.74 %).
In terms of the lowest percentages, the following
categories were listed: dulang washers, hunters, trappers
and game wardens (actual number was 8) and specialized
mine and quarry workers (not elsewhere classified or
n.e.c.) (25).
In comparing the 1947 and 1957 data, in spite of
problems with the census systems, we can still see the
changes that were starting to be felt within the Singapo
rean society. The "service orientation" of the economy
was still visible with the domestic service, hospi
tals, and hotel workers still constituting the largest
single occupational category in 1957 (10 %) and the
second one in 1947 (11 %). The labor-intensive char
acter of the economy, specifically the use of unskilled
labor which was predominant in the 1947, diminished
slightly in 1957. However, in 1947, there were as many
clerks and stenographers (8.0 %) as there were hawkers
and street vendors (8.3 %). And this proportion for
the two categories did not change in 1957 when the
figures were 6 % for street vendors and hawkers,
and 6 % also for clerks and stenographers. This probably
implies that the retail trade orientation of the Singapo
rean economy remained stable within a 10-year period,
given the number of hawkers and street vendors, while
187
the employment of clerks and stenographers by government
or big financing organizations was not increasing also.
This can either mean that there was not much demand for
these job categories, or the labor force had not been
upgraded sufficiently, or both. In 1957, the number
of salesmen, remained the same as in 1947, but this
time it ranked number 3 in terms of number people
employed. This probably means that the other job catego
ries had been diminishing, so that even if salesmen and
shop assistants did not increase in number, they ranked
higher in 1957. Another reason is that the occupa
tional categories are becoming more spread out, and less
concentrated in just two or three categories. This
reflects the start of the economy's diversification.
1970
In 1970, the total employed was 650,892, an increase
of about 38 % over the 1957 figures. Clearly, there were
changes in the occupational structures, just five years
after independence. Salesmen, shop assistants and related
workers were now the biggest category with 12.2 %, an
increase of almost 50 % from the 1957 figure of 6 %, and
in terms of absolute numbers, an increase of 32,694. Cle
rical and related workers ranked number 2 in 1970, with
an absolute number of 48, 745 or 7.49 % of the total
workforce. With an increase of 1.49 %, this job category
has remained quite stable across the years. On the other
188
Table 22. Top ten occupations (as percentage
of total employed), 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 4 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
7 9 , 4 2 6 1 2 . 2 0
3 9 C l e r i c a l & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 4 8 , 7 4 5 7 . 4 9
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s & O t h e r
T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s 4 7 , 4 5 6 7 . 2 9
9 7 D o c t o r s & F r e i g h t H a n d l e r s &
M a t e r i a l H a n d l i n g & R e l a t e d
E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
2 5 , 5 4 0 3 . 9 2
1 3 T e a c h e r s & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 2 3 , 1 6 7 3 . 5 6
N o t C l a s s i f i a b l e 2 3 , 1 3 1 3 . 5 5
5 4 D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 2 2 , 9 6 8 3 . 5 3
8 4 P f a c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , P f e c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s & P r e c i s i o n
I n s t r u m e n t P f e k e r s
2 0 , 3 1 3 3 . 1 2
4 0 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s , W h o l e s a l e
& R e t a i l
1 9 , 9 5 2 3 . 0 7
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c F i t t e r s ,
A s s e m b l e r s & W L r e m e n
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 8 , 2 9 1 2 . 8 1
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 1 3 8 0 . 0 1
0 9 E c o n o m i s t s 2 7 4 0 . 0 1
6 3 F o r e s t r y W o r k e r s 3 8 7 0 . 0 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n s
650,892
100 = %
1 8 9
hand, motor vehicle, ships, and other transport equip
ment operators, a category that was not among the top 10
in 1957, was number 3 in 1970 with 47,456 workers, or
7.30 % of the workforce. This was followed by the category
of dockers, freight handlers and material handling and
related equipment operators (3.92 %). These changes in
the top ten categories indicated the start of industrial
ization process and the government's policy to construct
new high buildings for residential and business purposes.
There were other proofs that dramatic economic
changes were making visible impact on the occupational
structures. For one, the job category of domestic ser
vice workers, although still in the top ten in 1970,
declined considerably within a 13-year period, from 10 %
in 1957 to 3.5 % in 1970. This shows less unskilled
workers for that period. Another change among the occu
pations was the appearance in the top ten of "new" catego
ries, or the inclusion of occupations that were not among
the top ten in the previous census years. Examples
of these are: machinery fitters, machine assemblers and
precision instrument makers (3.12 %) and the category
of electrical and electronics fitters, assemblers and
wiremen (2.81 %). Taken together, these categories cons
tituted only 5.93 % of the workforce. This is admit
tedly small compared even to clerical and related workers
which in absolute number totaled 48,745 or 7.49 %. How
190
ever, in the 1980s, these "newcomers" in the top ten
became important as industrialization plans were fully
implemented.
In spite of these occupational changes in the 70s,
the trade orientation of the economy was still very
strong, with salesmen and related workers at 12.2 %
and with proprietors, wholesale and retail at 3.06 %
of the workforce. Salesmen, on the other hand, increased
from 5 % in 1947, to 6 % in 1957, and then to 12.2 % in
1970 and were even more numerous than clerical workers.
However, as mentioned previously, the category of clerical
workers had remained fairly stable (8 % in 1947, 6 % in
1957 and 7.49 % in 1970), more than the clerical
workers. These trends seem to indicate that at least
during its initial stages, industrialization encouraged
trade occupations and did not affect the clerical cate
gories. The manufacturing jobs, though still quite small
when taken individually, did not displace the other top
ten occupations in the seventies, except for the low-
skilled, domestic service job categories.
1980
The total workforce in this census year increased,
that is, from 650, 892 in 1970 to 1,077,090 in 1980,
an increase of 426,198 or 65 % more employed persons
in the last 10 years. In 1980, the top occupations in
terms of number of people employed was still the cate-
191
Table 23. Top ten occupations (as percentage
of total employed), 1980*
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 9 0 , 4 3 1 8 . 4 0
3 9 C l i n i c a l & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s n . e . c . 2 8 2 , 9 2 2 7 . 7 0
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s F i t t e r s 3 7 0 , 3 9 9 6 . 5 4
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s & O t h e r
T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
& R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
4 6 7 , 3 1 0 6 . 2 5
N o t C l a s s i f i a b l e 5 6 2 , 1 7 4 5 . 7 7
8 4 M a c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , M a c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s & P r e c i s i o n I n s t r u
m e n t M a k e r s
6 4 1 , 1 5 2 3 . 8 2
9 5 B r i c k l a y e r s , C a r p e n t e r s & O t h e r
C o n s t r u c t i o n W o r k e r s
7 3 9 , 4 3 3 3 . 6 6
2 1 L f e n a g e r s 8 3 8 , 5 6 9 3 . 5 8
3 3 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s & R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
9 3 6 , 6 1 6 3 . 4 0
0 2 / 0 3 A r c h i t e c t s , E n g i n e e r s , S u r v e y o r s
& R e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 3 2 , 8 3 4 3 . 0 5
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 1 2 9 . 0 0
6 3 F o r e s t r y W o r k e r s 2 6 0 0 . 0 1
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e l l m o n g e r s &
P e l t d r e s s e r s
3 7 6 0 . 0 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - — X 1 0 0 = %
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
192
gory of salesmen, shop assistants and related workers
(90, 431 or 8.40 %). This category declined 4.5 %
although the absolute number increased because of the
increase in the number of people employed. Clerical and
related workers remained in the second place with
7.70 %, a very slight increase from the 7.49 % in 1970.
Again, as an occupational category, clerical workers
remained fairly stable. But the interesting development in
1980 was the increase in electrical and electronics fit
ters, assemblers and wireraen, from 2.81 % in 1970 to
6.50 % in 1980, a difference of 3.4 %. The electro
nics fitters' category was followed by motor vehicles,
ships and other transport equipment operators and related
workers (6.25 %); not classifiable (5.77 %) ; machinery
fitters, machine assemblers and precision instrument
makers (3.82 %, a slight increase from 3.12 % in 1970);
bricklayers, carpenters, and other construction workers
(3.66 %); managers (3.58 %) ; bookkeepers, cashiers, arid
related workers (3.40%); and architects, engineers, sur
veyors, and related technicians (3.05 %).
The "new" categories that were included in the top
ten occupations for 1980 were the managers, bookkeepers,
and architects and engineers. Those which "disappeared"
from the top ten in 1980 were domestic service workers,
working proprietors, wholesale and retail, and teachers
and related workers. These changes seem to signal the
193
194
Table 24. Sumnary Table: Top ten occupations as percentage of total employed, (1947-1980)
O c c u p a t i o n s / J o b C a t e g o r i e s 1 9 4 7
3 5 7 , 5 3 5
1 9 5 7
4 7 1 , 9 1 8
1 9 7 0
6 5 0 , 8 9 2
O v e r s e e r s , f o r e m e n a n d A % o f t o t a l 1 4 %
l a b o r e r s , n . e . c . B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 1
W o r k e r s i n d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e , A % o f t o t a l 1 1 % 1 0 % 4 %
h o s p i t a l s , h o t e l s , c l u b s B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 2 2 7
a n d r e s t a u r a n t s
D r i v e r s , w o r k e r s i n r o a d A % o f t o t a l 1 4 % 5 %
a n d r a i l t r a n s p o r t B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 3 6
H a w k e r s , s t r e e t v e n d o r s A % o f t o t a l 8 . 3 % 6 %
a n d s t a l l h o l d e r s B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 4 3
C l e r k s , s t e n o g r a p h e r s , A % o f t o t a l 8 % 6 % 7 %
t y p i s t s a n d r e l a t e d B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 5 4 2
c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s
O w n e r s a n d w o r k e r s o n s m a l l A % o f t o t a l 6 % 5 %
h o l d i n g s a n d m a r k e t B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 6 5
g a r d e n s
1 9 8 0
1 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
1 9 5 1
Table 24 con't
O c c u p a t i o n s / J o b C a t e g o r i e s : 1 9 4 7
: 3 5 7 , 5 3 5
1 9 5 7
4 7 1 , 9 1 8
1 9 7 0
6 5 0 , 8 9 2
1 9 8 0
1 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
S a l e s m e n , i n s u r a n c e a g e n t s A % o f t o t a l 5 % 6 % 1 2 % 8 %
a n d o t h e r s a l e s w o r k e r s B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 7 2 1 1
T o o l m a k e r s , m a c h i n i s t s , A % o f t o t a l 5 % 4 %
p l u m b e r s , w e l d e r s a n d B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 8 7
p l a t e r s
S h i p s ’ o f f i c e r s c r e w a n d A % o f t o t a l 4 %
o t h e r b o a t m a n B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 9
W o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s a n d A % o f t o t a l 4 % 3 % 3 %
m a n a g e r s ( w h o l e s a l e B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 1 0 8 9
a n d r e t a i l t r a d e )
P r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s w o r k e r s , A % o f t o t a l 3 %
n . e . c . B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 9
C a r p e n t e r s , s e w e r s , c a b i n e t A % o f t o t a l 3 %
m a k e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o o d B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 1 0
a n d c o r k w o r k e r s
Table 24 con’ t.
O c c u p a t i o n s / J o b C a t e g o r i e s 1 9 4 7
3 5 7 , 5 3 5
: 1 9 5 7
: 4 7 1 , 9 1 8
: 1 9 7 0
: 6 5 0 , 8 9 2
: 1 9 8 0
: 1 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
M o t o r v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d A % o f t o t a l 7 % 6 %
o t h e r t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 3 4
o p e r a t o r s
D o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s , A % o f t o t a l 4 %
a n d m a t e r i a l h a n d l i n g a n d B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 4
r e l a t e d e q u i p m e n t
T e a c h e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s A % o f t o t a l 4 %
B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 5
N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e A % o f t o t a l . 4 % 6 %
B R a n k a m o n g 1 0
I k c h i n e r y f i t t e r s , m a c h i n e A % o f t o t a l 3 % 4 %
a s s e m b l e r s , a n d p r e c i s i o n B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 8 6
i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s
VO
o%
197
Table 24 con't.
O c c u p a t i o n s / J o b C a t e g o r i e s 1 9 4 7
3 5 7 , 5 3 5
: 1 9 5 7
: 4 7 1 , 9 1 8
: 1 9 7 0
: 6 5 0 , 8 9 2
: 1 9 8 0
: 1 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
E l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c A % o f t o t a l 3 % 7 %
f i t t e r s , a s s e m b l e r s a n d B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 1 0 3
w i r e m e n
B r i c k l a y e r s , c a r p e n t e r s a n d A % o f t o t a l 4 %
o t h e r c o n s t r u c t i o n w o r k e r s B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 7
M a n a g e r s A % o f t o t a l 4 %
B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 8
B o o k k e e p e r s , c a s h i e r s a n d A % o f t o t a l 3 %
r e l a t e d w o r k e r s B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 9
A r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s , s u r v e y o r s A % o f t o t a l 3 %
a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n o l o g y B R a n k a m o n g 1 0 1 0
growth of certain types of services (e.g., financing and
real estate) which created demand for professional and
technical-oriented occupations, and the decline of other
low-skilled services (e.g., domestic services).
The lowest percentages were the farm supervisors
(actual number - 29), forestry workers (60), and the tan
ners, feltmakers and peltdressers (76). These figures
show once more the continued decline of agricultural and
forestry-based occupations in Singapore.
Stratification of Occupational Structures
It is common knowledge that occupations are strati
fied in many different ways. In the case of Singapore,
sex, age, and ethnicity are probably the most important
dimensions of stratification and these shall be discussed
in this section. These socio-demographic data are not
complete for all the different characteristics for 1947
and 1957, but the data for 1970 and 1980 are comparable.
Sex
The labor force participation rates of women in
Singapore has historically been extremely low. It was only
in recent years that their labor force participation
rates (LFPR) have improved. This trend is clearly re
flected in the occupational structures, even in some jobs
that traditionally in some Western and Asian cultures
have been held by women.
198
199
Table 25 . All occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1947*
Census Occupations
Code
Rank Male
Total No.
% Rank Female
Total No.
I
Highest Percentages
Overseers, Foremen
and Labourers n.e.c.
1 43706 12.2 6303 1.8
Workers in Roads
and Rai1 Transport
2 31907 8.9 70 0.02
Clerks,
Stenographers,
Typists and
Related Clerical
Workers
3 26788 7.4 2084 0.58
Hawkers, Street
Vendors and Stall
Holders
4 25307 7.07 4457 1.2
Workers in Domestic
Service Hospitals,
Hotels Club and
Restaurant
5 20777 5.8 17046 4.9
"Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons by Sex
357,535 x 100 = I
200
Table 25 con't.
Census Occupat i ons
Code
Rank Male
Total No.
I Rank Female
Total No.
%
Workers on Smal1
Holdings and Market
Gardens
6 19931 5.6 2588 0.72
Tool Makers,
Machinists Plumbers,
Welders and Platers
7 17018 4.7 1490 0.04
Salesmen, Insurance
Agents and Other
Sales Workers
8 16966 4.7 509 0.14
Ships' Officers, Crew
and Other Boatmen
9 15461 4.3 39 0.01
Working Proprietors
and Managers
Who1esa1e and Reta i1
Trade
10 14594 4.08 430 0.12
Lowest Percentaaes
Architects, Engineers
and Surveyors
762 0.21 1 1 0.0003
Fi remen, Po1i cemen
and Security Officers
4613 1.3 2 2 0.0006
Storekeepers, Store
Clerks and Checkers
1813 0.5 3 14 0.004
V
P ercen t
Ranks by Highest Percentage
MALE
FEMALE
Ranks by
Lowest Percentage
ALL OCCUPATIONS ( 2-DIGIT) CLASSIFIED BY SEX AND RANKED AS PERCENTAGE
OF TOTAL EMPLOYED , 1947
FIGURE 25
N)
O _________________ ___________ _
202
Figure 25 con't.
All occupations (2-digit) classified by sex
and ranked as percentage of total enjoyed, 1947
Legend:
A. Overseers, Foremen and Labourers n.e.c.
8. Workers in Roads and Rail Transport
C. Clerks, Stenographers, Typists and Related Clerical Workers
0. Hawkers, Street Vendors and Stall Holders
E. Workers in Domestic Service Hospitals, Hotels Club and Restaurant
F. Workers on Small Holdings and Harket Gardens
G. Tool Makers, Machinists Plumbers, Welders and Platers
H. Salesmen, Insurance Agents and Other Sales Workers
1. Ships' Officers, Crew and Other Boatmen
J. Working Proprietors and Managers, Wholesale and Retail
K. Architects, Engineers and Surveyors
L. Firemen, Policemen and Security Officers
M. Storekeepers, Store Clerks and Checkers
1947
In all the top ten occupations in 1947, women showed
very low participation rates. Even among the category
of clerks, stenographers, typists, and related clerical
workers, men constituted 7.4 % of the employed, while
women clerks were only 2,084 or .58 %. Women, however,
were as numerous as men in the category of workers in
domestic service, hospitals, hotels, clubs and restaurants
(5.8 % - males, 4.9 % - females). In addition to those
mentioned earlier, some of the lowest percentages in
terms of number of people employed per occupation were
architects, engineers and surveyors (762 or .21 % - males,
1 or .0003 % - females); firemen, policemen and security
officers (4,613 or 1.3 % - males, 2 or .0006% - females);
storekeepers, store clerks and checkers (1,813 or .5 % -
males, 14 or .004 % - females).
1957
In 1957, the same trends could be observed in
general, but with some differences. When stratified
according to sex, laborers became the number one cate
gory in 1957 with male workers in the clear majority
(9.1 %), and this was followed by salesmen and shop
assistants (5.8 % - males, .62 % - females), clerical
workers (5.7 % - males, .41 % - females). The one job
category where women exceeded men was the category of
workers in domestic service, the same category in 1947
203
where women were not very far behind than men. There was
a slight increase among women in the job category of
owners and other workers on small holdings (.72 % -
females, 1947 and 1.8 % - females, 1957). However, men
still dominated all the occupational categories in 1957,
with the exception of workers in domestic service.
The lowest percentages were: hunters, trappers,
and game wardens (8 males and no females); railway guards
(32 males and no females); dulang washers (1 male and no
females).
1970
In 1970, the same trends in terms of the partici
pation of women were evident. The women domestic workers
still exceeded the men just like in 1957 (1.7 % - males,
3.4 % - females). However, the number of women in the
domestic service declined from 5.4 % in 1957 to 3.4 % in
1970. Salesmen, shop assistants and related workers were
still predominantly males (9.9 %), and the same was true
for operators of motor vehicles, ships and other trans
port equipment (7.2 % males, .08 % females). It is sur
prising that as late as 1970, males still outnumbered
females in clerical and related jobs (5.8 % males, 1.7 %
females), a job category traditionally held by women
in some countries.
1980
When classified according to sex, the number one
_______________ 204
Table 26 . All occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1957*
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Hale
Total No.
X Rank Female
Total No.
I
Highest Percentages
89 Labourers n.e.c. 1 43014 9.1 4678 0.99
13 Salesmen and Shop
Assistants
2 27257 5.8 2953 0.62
20 Clerical Workers 3 26848 5.7 1959 0.41
91 Workers in Domestic
Service, Hospitals,
Hotels Club,
Restaurants, etc.
4 21187 4.5 25545 5.4
14 Hawkers and Street
Vendors
5 24833 5.3 4040 0.86
64 Drivers, Road
Transport
6 22912 4.8 0 0
•Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons per Sex
471918
n
o
o
X
%
206
Table 26 con't.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Hale
Total No.
% Rank Female
Total No.
I
75 Toolmakers,
Machinists, Plumbers,
Welders, Platers and
Related Workers
7 20915 4.4 107 0.02
45 Owners and Other
Workers on Small
Holdings and Harket
Gardens
8 15705 3.3 8584 1.8
30 Working Proprietors
and Managers
Wholesale and Retail
Trade
9 13812 2.9 659 0.14
77 Carpenters, Joiners,
Cabinet Makers and
Related Wood and Cork
Workers
Lowest Percentages
10 12703 2.7 245 0.05
]8 Hunters, Trappers,
and Game Wardens
2 8 0.002 0 0
52 Oulang Washers 1 1 0.0002 0 0
65 Ra i1 way Guards 3 32 0.007 0 0
Percent
9
8-
O)
Ranks by Highest Percentage
H
MALE
FEMALE
cr 55
CD r-
in 1 n
55 5?
I O
m * < n
a*
K)
55
o>
5?
t-
C M
ej
*
C D
o5
H 1 J
Ronks by
Lowest Percentage
A 5? S?
a*
5s (U
C M
N
s
8
0
^ O
8 0
r 1
K L M
ALL OCCUPATIONS ( 2-DIGIT) CLASSIFIED BY SEX AND RANKED AS PERCENTAGE
OF TOTAL EMPLOYED, 1957
FIGURE Z6
N>
O
"vl
208
Figuew 26 con't.
All occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and
ranked as percentage of total employed, 1957
Legend:
A. Labourers n.e.c.
B. Salesmen and Shop Assistants
C. Clerical Workers
D. Workers in Domestic Service Hospitals, Hotels Club and Restaurant
E. Hawkers and Street Vendors
F. Drivers, Road Transport
G. Toolmakers, Machinists, Plumbers, Welders, Platers
and Related Workers
H. Owners and Other Workers on Small Holdings and Market Gardens
I. Working Proprietors and Managers, Wholesale and Retail
J. Carpenters, Joiners, Cabinet Makers and Related Wood
and Cork Workers
K. Hunters, Trappers and Game Wardens
L. Dulang Washers
M. Railway Guards
Table 2 7 • Occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1970
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
t Rank Female
Total No.
I
Highest Percentages
44 Salesmen, Shop
Assistants and
Related Workers
1 64589 9.9 9 14837 2.3
98 Hotor Vehicles,
Ships and Other
Transport Equipment
Operators and
Related Workes
2 46899
7.2 557 0.08
39 Clerical and Related
Workers n.e.c.
3 37462 5.8 11283 1.7
99 Labourers n.e.c. 4 23555 3.6 2871 0.44
- Not Classifiable 5 22690 3.5 441 0.07
97 Dockers and Freight
Handlers and Material
Handling and Related
Equipment; Operators
6 21890 3.4 3650 0.56
"formula used to obtain percentage: No. of Persons by Sex
650,892 (Total employed for 1970)
210
Table 27 con't.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
I Rank Female
Total No.
1
54 Domestic Service
Workers
1142 1.7 6 21826 3.4
64 Machinery Fitters,
Machine Assemblers
and Precision
Instrument Makers
7 19809 3.0 504 0.08
40 Working Proprietors
Wholesale and Retail
8 18752 2.9 1200 0.18
58 Protective Service
Workers
Lowest Percentaaes
10 17159 2.6 370 0.06
63 Forestry Workers 87 0.01 1 0 0
04 Aircraft and Ships'
Officers
1086 0.17 2 1 0.0001
60 Farm Supervisors 36 0.005 3 2 0.0003
18 Athletes, Sportsmen
and Related Workers
136 0.02 4 7 0.001
Percent
Q
M A L E
FE M A L E
Ranks by Highest Percentage
Ranks by Lowest Percentage
8 0 0 8
ALL OCCUPATIONS ( 2 - DIGIT) CLASSIFIED B Y SEX AND RANKED AS PERCENTAGE
OF TOTAL EMPLOYED, 1970
FIGURE 27
2121
Figure 27 coxi't. Occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and
ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970
Legend:
A. Salesmen, Shop Assistants and Related Workers
B. Motor Vehicles, Ships and Other Transport Equipment Operators
and Related Workers
C. Clerical and Related Workers n.e.c. :
0. Labourers n.e.c.
E. Not Classifiable
F. Dockers and Freight Handlers and Material Handling
and Related Equipment Operators
G. Domestic Service Workers
H. Machinery Fitters, Machine Assemblers and Precision
Instrument Makers
1. Working Proprietors, Wholesale and Retail
J. Protective Service Workers
K. Forestry Workers
L. Aircraft and Ships' Officers'
M. Farm Supervisors
N. Athletes, Sportsmen and Related Workers
category for 1980 was the job of motor vehicles ships, and
other transport equipment, with males still predomina
ting (6.2 % males, .09 % females). This was followed
by salesmen, shop assistants and related workers,
showing a considerable decline for males from the 1970
figure of 9.9 % to 5.4 % in 1980. Female salespersons
increased slightly from 2.3 % in 1970 to 3 % in 1980.
An interesting change was job category number 3,
i.e., electrical, electronic fitters, and assemblers,
which in 1970 constituted only 2.81 % the total employed.
In 1980, this job category included 48,291 women (4.5 %)
and 22,108 men (2.0 %). Again, in 1980, for the first time
there were more women clerical workers than men (4.2 %
women, and 3.4 %). There were also more women than men in
categories such as tailors, dressmakers, sewers, upholste
rers and related workers (2,4 % females, .40 % males),
and in the category of bookkeepers, cashiers, and related
workers (1.0 % males, 2.4 % females).
The important trends in terms of sex classifi
cation in the occupational structures of Singapore for
the last 30 years can be summarized as follows. Histo
rically, the labor force participation rates of women
have usually been very low. When women started being
employed in larger numbers, they were in low-skilled
labor-intensive jobs such as domestic workers. Later on
they were employed as electronic assemblers and also
_________________________________________________________________213
Table 2 8 , Occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1980“
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
t Rank Female
Total No.
%
Highest Percentages
98 Motor Vehicles,
Ships and Other
Transport Equipment
and Related Workers
1 66355 6.2 955 0.09
45 Salesmen, Shop
Assistants and
Related Workers
2 58355 5.4 32076 3
85 Electrical and
Electronics Fitters,
Assemblers and Winemen
3 22108 2.0 48291 4.5
39 Clerical and Related
Workers n.e.c.
4 37147 3.4 45775 4.2
95 Bricklayers,
Carpenters and Other
Construction Workers
5 37670 3.5 1763 0.16
“Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons per Sex
1,077,090 (Total Employed for 1970)
215
Table 28 con't.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
X Rank Female
Total No.
X
21 Managers 6 34527 3.2 4042 0.37
84 Machinery Fitters,
Machine Assemblers
and Precision
Instrument Makers
7 33542 3.1 7610 0.71
02/03 Architects, Engineers,
Surveyors and Related
Technicians
8 28790 2.7 4044 0.37
79 Tailors, Dressmakers,
Sewers, Upholsterers
and Related Workers
9 5236 0.49 25631 2.4
33 Bookkeepers, Cashiers
and Related Workers
Lowest Percentages
10 10759 1.0 25857 2.4
63 Forestry Workers 60 0.005 1 0 0
60 Farm Supervisors 28 0.002 2 1 0.0000
04 Aircraft and Ships'
Officers
1406 0.13 3 5 0.0004
P e r c e n t
4 -
3 ~
Ranks by Highest Percentage B
M A LE
FEM ALE
R anks by
Low est Percentage
-0
o'
in
O
M
ALL OCCUPATIONS ( 2 -DIGIT) CLASSIFIED BY SEX AND RANKED AS PERCENTAGE
OF TOTAL EMPLOYED, 1980
FIGURE 28
nj
i-1
o\
.0004 %
2171
Figure 28 con’t.
Occupations (2-digit) classified by sex and
ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980
Legend:
A. Motor Vehicles, Ships and Other Transport Equipment
Operators and Related Workers
B. Salesmen, Shop Assistants and Related Workers
C. Electrical and Electronic Fitters, Assemblers and Winemen
0. Clerical and Related Workers
E. Bricklayers, Carpenters and Other Construction Workers
F. Managers
G. Machinery Fitters, Machine Assemblers and Precision instrument Makers
H. Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Related Technicians
1. Tailors, Dressmakers, Sewers, Upholsterers and Related Workers
J. Bookkeepers, Cashiers and Related Workers
K. Forestry Workers
L. Farm Superv i sors
M. Aircraft and Ships' Officers
\
as clerical workers. It has also been noted that laborers
as a group declined in the last 30 years, implying
an upgrading of the workforce. The salesmen category
fluctuated during this period (4.7 % males and .14 %
females in 1947; 5.8 % males and .62 % females in 1957;
9.9 % males and 2.3 % females in 1970; 5.4 % males
and 3 % females in 1980). But it is clear that very few
women participated in this occupational category. Sur
prisingly, the clerical and related workers' group has
remained fairly stable through this period, with men
being predominantly employed in this occupation from 1947
to 1970. Women increased their participation only in
1980 (7.4 % males and .59 % females in 1947; 5.7 % males
and .41 % females in 1957; 5.8 % males and 1.7 % females
in 1970; 3.4 % males and 4.2 % females in 1980).
Women showed low participation rates even in jobs
or occupations with low percentages in terms of total
employment. These low percentages can be used as indica
tors of the changing economic structures of Singapore
because some of these jobs have virtually disappeared,
but others increased over the years. In 1947, the lowest
percentages were: architects, engineers and surveyors (762
males or .21 % and 1 female); firemen, policemen and secu
rity officers (4,613 males or 1.3 % and 2 females); and
storekeepers, store clerks and chec kers (1,813 males or
218
or .5 % and 14 females). In 1957, the lowest percentages
were these job categories: hunters, trappers, and game
wardens (8 males and no females); dulang washers (1 male
and no females); and railway guards, 32 males and no
females). In 1970, the lowest percentages in terms of
number of people employed were: forestry workers (87
or males or .01 % and no females); aircraft and ships'
officers (1,086 males or .17 % and 1 female); farm super
visors (36 males or .005 % and 2 females); athletes,
sportsmen and related workers (136 or .02 % males and 7
females). In 1980, the lowest percentages in terms of
occupations were: forestry workers (60 or .005 % males
and no females, a decline from 1970); farm supervisors
(28 males or .002 % and 1 female); and aircraft and
ships' officers (1,406 males or .13 % and 5 females). As
expected, women showed low participation rates even in
jobs which are the lowest percentages in the workforce
for all the census years. It will be interesting to note
in what types of jobs women will participate more actively
in the coming decades.
A&e
The data for this section are only for 1970 and 1980.
The researcher could not find at the time of data gather
ing comparable information for the census years of
1947 and 1957.
219
1970
For 1970, the largest group was the category of
salesmen in the 20-39 age bracket (37,957 or 5.83 %
of the total employed), and this followed by clerical and
related workers in the same age bracket (31, 661 or
4.86 %). Salesmen again, in the age bracket of 40-59,
ranked number 3 (29,501 or 4.5 %), followed by operators
of motor vehicles, ships, and other transport in the age
bracket of 20-39 ranked number 4 (23,929 or 3.68 % of the
total employed). Most of the teachers of Singapore in
1970 were in the 20-39 age bracket, (18,565 or 2.85 %)
and the same is true for laborers, n.e.c. (14,834 or
2.28 %), dockers and freight handlers and related equip
ment operators (13,463 or 2.07 %).
Among the lowest percentages in terras of age brackets
were: jurists, 248 in the the 20-39 age bracket and 144
in the 40-59 bracket; economists, 53 in the 20-39 and
20 in the 40-59 bracket; farm supervisors, 106 in the
20—39 bracket and 49 in the 40—59 bracket; clerical
supervisors, 685 in the 20-39 age bracket and 553
in the 40-59 bracket; and finally, legislative offi
cials and government administrators, 960 in the 20-39
bracket and 521 in the 40-59 bracket.
What seems to emerge in the 1970 age profile of
occupations in Singapore is the concentration of majority
22C
T a b l e 29< ■ A l l o c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i g i t ) c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e a p l o y e d . 1 9 7 0 *
C ensus
C o d e
Occupations R a n k Belov 20
Total H o .
; R a n k 20-39
Total H o .
I R a n k 40-59
Total H o .
t
Highest Percentages
4 4 Saiesaen, S h op
Assistants an d
Related H orkers
119(8
1
1.84 1 37957 5.83 3 29501 4.5
3 9 Clerical an d Related
H orkers n.e.c.
(6(5 1.02 2 316(1 4.8( 1 0 10419 1.6
98 K otor Vehicles. Ships
an d O ther Transport
Operators an d Related
Horkers"
14 7 4 0.23 4 23929 3.68 5 22053 3.39
1 3 Teachers an d
Related H orkers
912 0.14 6 185(5 2.85 3(90 0.57
99 Labourers n.e.c." 4036 0.62 7 14834 2.28 7556 1.16
1 - 0
•Foraula used for percentage: M o . of Persons per A g e G ro u p "non-KIOs
(50.892 x 1 0 0 = 1
TZZ
Figure 29 con't.
C ensus
C o d e
Occupations R a n k Belov 2 0
Total M o .
I R a n k 20-39
Total M o .
1 R a n k 40-59
Total N o.
1
9 7 D ockers an d freight
Handlers and Haterial
H andling and Related
Equipaent Operators1 1
3160 0.40 8 13463 2.07 8917 1.37
H ot Classifiable" I002S 1.5 9 12379 1.9 727 0.11
Louest Percentaoes
1 2 Jurists 1 0 0 248 0.04 1 4 4 0.02
09 Econoaists 2 1 0.0001 5 3 0.008 20 0.003
60 far* Supervisors 2 1 0.0001 1 0 6 0.02 4 9 0.007
3 1 Clerical Supervisors 3 7 8.001 68S 0.10 553 0.08
20 Legislative Officials
an d G overnaent
Adainistrators
4 9 0.001 960 0.14 5 2 1 0.08
'non-K IO s
of workers in the 20-39 age bracket, including jurists
and legislative and government administrators who are
usually found in the older age brackets such as 40-59,
particularly in Asia. It is also interesting that the
total number of economists in Singapore in 1970 was 7
or .011 % of the total employed, an unusually small number
considering the economic transformation that was occuring
at this stage of Singaporean history. To a certain degree,
this figure indicates the small number of "technocrats’'
and the "elitist" orientation of higher education in
Singapore.
1980
-* -n 1980, the biggest group in terms of the age
brackets was the group of clerical and related workers
in the 20-39 age bracket, 61,559 or 5.71 % of the
total employed in 1980 (1,077,090). This was followed
by electrical and electronic fitters and assemblers
in the age bracket of 20-39 (4.8 % or 48,218); salesmen,
shop assistants and related workers (46,474 or 4.31 %);
operators of motor vehicles, ships, and other transport
equipment (34,661 or 3.2 %).
The "lowest percentages" among the job categories
for 1980 were the following: statisticians, mathemati
cians, systems analysts and technicians in the 40-59 age
bracket (59 or .005 %) while those in the 20-39 bracket
totaled 1,342 (.12 %); accountants in the 40-59 bracket
223
bzz
T a b l e 3 0 . A l l o c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d l a i t l c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e a p l o y e d , 1 3 8 1 '
C en su s O ccupations H a n k B elou 28 1 R a n k 20-33 f R a n k 41-53 f R a n k 61 I A b o v e 1
C o d e Total Total Total Total H o .
H o . H o . H o .
H tahest Percentages
33 Clerical an d Related IM 33 l.ll 61553 5.71 3468 1.88 336 0.03
H ork ers
85 Electrical a n d 1 7 6 6 7 1.6 48218 4.48 4300 0.40 214 0.02
Electronics Fitters
Assetblers a n d
H in eaen
45 Salesaen, S h o p 1 0 3 3 2 1.02 46474 4.31 25744 2.33 7 2 2 1 0.67
Assistants a n d
Related H ork ers
38 H otor Vehicles, 1 2 7 5 0.12 34661 3.2 28033 2.6 3 3 4 1 0.31
Ships a n d O th er
T ransport E quipaent
O perators a n d
Related Horkers"
'Foraula used for percentage: H o of Persons per A q e G r o u p "non-K IO s
1 x 100 = | 77
225
Table 30 eon't.
C en su s
C o d e
O ccupations R a n k B elou 2 B
T otal
N o .
I R a n k 28-39
Total
N o .
I R a n k 48-59
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 68 1 A b o v e
T otal N o.
I
N ot Classifiable" 2 9 B 5 2 2.78 3 1 6 7 1 2.94 1 4 2 5 8.13 2 6 6.882
84 N achinery Fitters,
N achlne A ssem blers
an d Precision
Instnnent N ak ers
(126 0.57 27908 2.6 6 6 6 1 8.62 465 8.84
12/83 Architects,
Engineers,
Surveyors a n d
Related Technicians
m 0.87 20169 2.6 3 7 55 0.35 0.61
3 3 Bookkeepers,
Cashiers a n d
Related H ork ers
4 2 63 8.48 2 6971 2.5 4626 0.43 7 5 6 0.67
8 5 Bricklayers,
C arpenters a n d
O th er Construction
Horkers"
4768 8.44 24614 2.28 B 8 2 4 •.82 1 2 2 7 8.11
"non-K IO s
BZZ
Table 30 con't.
C en su s O ccupations
C o d e
R a n k lelou 21 t R a n k 21-39 1 R a n k 48-59 I R a n k 611 A b o v e 1
Total Total T otal Total M o .
N o. N o. N o .
2 1 M a n a g ers 7I2 1.17 17317 1.61 837S 1.78 9 3 0.88)
85 Life Scientists an d I 8 0
Related Technicians
1 6 3 8.81 38 8.883 3 3 0.8883
1 2 Jurists 758 8.87 236 8.82 3 8 8.883
88 Statisticians,
Katheaaticians,
Systeas Analysts
an d Technicians
25 8.882 13 4 2 8.12 59 8.885 I 8
11 A ccountants 2 I .08889 3873 8.28 486 8.84 49 8.884
28 Legislative
Officials a n d
(ioverneent
Adalnistrators
2 I .88889 594 8.85 238 8.82 1 0 8.8889
63 forestry N orkers II 0.881 29 8.083 1 7 8.881 3 3 8.8803
(486 or .04 %) , and those in the 20-39 bracket was
3,073 (.28 %); legislative officials and government
administrators in the 20-39 bracket, (594 or .05 %) and
those in the 40-59 age bracket (238 or .02 %); forestry
workers (29 or.003 %) in the 20-39 age bracket and
only 17 or .001 % for the 40-59 age bracket.
Comparing the 1970 and 1980 age profile data, we see
that most of the top ten occupations (e.g., the largest
job categories in terms of employment) had workers con
centrated in the 20-39 age bracket, a trend that is also
applicable for the "lowest percentages" job categories.
However, with occupations, the distribution seems to be
be more evenly spread out. A typical salesperson in 1970
was likely to be in the 20-39 age bracket, and also in the
40-59 bracket. But these categories declined from 5.83 %
in 1970 to 4.31 % in 1980 in the 20-39 age bracket, and
from 4.5 % in 1970 to 2.39 % in 1980 in the 40-59 bracket.
This decline can be attributed to the overall lowering of
the category of salespersons in 1980. On the other hand,
clerical workers in the 20-39 age bracket constituted
4.86 % of the workforce in 1970 and this increased to
5.71 % in the same age bracket in 1980, but those in
the 40-49 bracket declined in 1980. In other words,
many of the young entrants in the labor force became
clerical workers. Electrical and electronics fitters and
assemblers, the number 3 job category for 1980, were also
227
concentrated in the 20-39 age bracket. They were also
slightly more numerous than salespersons and transport
operators in the same age bracket. For 1970 and 1980,
the workforce of Singapore had become quite young, inclu
ding their government workers and administrators.
Ethnicity
In terms of ethnicity, Singapore has been predomi
nantly Chinese (approximately 70 %) and this is clear
in its occupational structures. This social characteris
tic is even more pronounced when the workforce is stra
tified in terms of ethnicity. When ranked in terms of
total employed in 1970, the Chinese group was predominant
for the workforce, with the Malays, Indians and other
racial groups trailing behind. The following occupations
were largely Chinese: salesmen, shop assistants and
related workers (10.53 %); clerical and related workers
(5.43 %); teachers and related workers (5.43 %); motor
vehicles, ships and other sound equipment operators
5.01 %); laborers (3.30 %); domestic service workers
2.97 %); dockers and freight handlers and material hand
ling and related equipment operators (2.87 %); not clas
sifiable (2.72 %); machinery fitters, machine assemblers
and precision instrument makers (2.69 %); and working
proprietors, wholesale and retail (2.53 %).
For the other ethnic groups, the Malays were rela
tively concentrated in the categories of clerical workers
228
2 2 9
Table 31. All occupations (2-digit) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 4 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 6 8 , 5 6 7 1 0 . 5 3 2 , 4 6 5 0 . 3 8 8 , 1 6 2 1 . 2 5 2 3 2 0 . 0 4
3 9 C l e r i c a l a n d R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
2 3 5 , 3 3 4 5 . 4 3 7 , 6 2 6 1 . 1 7 4 , 6 8 7 0 . 7 2 1 , 0 9 8 0 . 1 7
1 3 T e a c h e r s a n d R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
3 3 5 , 3 3 4 5 . 4 3 7 , 6 2 6 1 . 1 7 4 , 6 8 7 0 . 7 2 1 , 0 9 8 0 . 1 7
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s a n d
O t h e r S o u n d E q u i p m e n t
O p e r a t o r s
4 3 2 , 5 8 6 5 . 0 1 1 1 , 3 0 9 1 . 7 4 3 , 2 9 4 0 . 5 1 2 6 7 0 . 0 4
9 9 L a b o r e r s 5 2 1 , 4 8 1 3 . 3 0 3 , 4 3 2 0 . 5 3 1 , 4 7 9 0 . 2 3 3 4 0 . 0 1
5 4 D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 6 1 9 , 3 4 4 2 . 9 7 2 , 8 8 1 0 . 4 4 6 2 1 0 . 1 0 1 2 2 0 . 0 2
9 7 D o c k e r s a n d F r e i g h t
H a n d l e r s a n d M i t e r i a l
H a n d l i n g a n d R e l a t e d
E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
7 1 8 , 6 9 4 2 . 8 7 3 , 3 7 1 0 . 5 2 3 , 3 7 9 0 . 5 2 9 6 0 . 0 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s p e r e t h n i c g r o u p
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
6 5 0 , 8 9 2
23fl
Table 31 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o . %
N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e 8 1 7 , 6 9 7 2 . 7 2 3 , 0 7 3 . 4 7 1 , 3 3 5 . 2 0 1 , 0 2 6 . 1 6
8 4 I f e c h i n e r y f i t t e r s , M a c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s & p r e c i s i o n
i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s
9 1 7 , 5 4 4 2 . 6 9 1 , 7 3 0 . 2 6 8 8 2 . 1 3 1 5 7 . 0 2
4 0 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s ,
W h o l e s a l e a n d R e t a i l
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 1 6 , 4 8 9 2 . 5 3 4 4 8 . 0 7 2 , 7 0 6 . 4 1 3 0 9 . 0 5
0 9 E c o n o m i s t s 4 9 . 0 0 7 1 0 2 1 . 0 0 0 5 2 4 . 0 0 4
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 3 0 . 0 0 5 3 2 1 . 0 0 0 1 4 . 0 0 0 6
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e l l m o n g e r s
& P e l t d r e s s e r s
1 0 0 . 0 1 6 3 3 . 0 0 0 5 1 . 0 0 0 1
Table 32. All occupations (2-digit ) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980^
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 7 9 , 6 8 9 7 . 4 0 4 , 2 0 7 0 . 3 9 6 , 2 3 4 0 . 5 8 3 0 1 0 . 0 3
3 9 C l e r i c a l a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 2 6 4 , 7 6 7 6 . 0 1 1 1 , 8 5 2 1 . 1 0 5 , 2 9 3 0 . 4 9 1 , 0 1 0 0 . 0 9
N o t C l a s s i f i a b l e 3 5 1 , 4 5 9 4 . 7 8 3 , 9 4 1 0 . 3 7 5 , 7 0 9 0 . 5 3 1 , 0 6 5 0 . 1 0
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s a n d
O t h e r T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t
O p e r a t o r s a n d R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
4 4 9 , 6 6 8 4 . 6 1 1 3 , 8 8 4 1 . 2 9 3 , 4 8 1 0 . 3 2 2 7 7 0 . 0 3
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e c t r o n i c s
F i t t e r s , A s s e m b l e r s a n d
W i r e m e n
5 4 1 , 7 1 9 3 . 8 7 2 1 , 2 0 9 1 . 9 7 6 , 1 4 3 0 . 5 7 1 , 3 2 8 0 . 1 2
3 3 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
6 3 3 , 2 7 9 3 . 0 9 1 , 5 5 9 0 . 1 4 1 , 4 8 8 0 . 1 4 2 9 0 0 . 0 3
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s p e r e t h i c g r o u p
100 = %
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
232
Table 32 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o . %
2 1 M a n a g e r s 7 3 0 , 9 3 1 2 . 8 7 5 8 5 0 . 0 5 2 , 1 5 2 0 . 2 0 4 , 9 0 1 0 . 4 6
8 4 M i d i i n e r y F i t t e r s , F h c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s a n d P r e c i s i o n
I n s t r u m e n t M a k e r s
8 3 0 , 9 0 4 2 . 8 7 7 , 4 9 2 0 . 7 0 2 , 3 8 3 0 . 2 2 3 7 3 0 . 0 3
7 9 T a i l o r s , D r e s s m a k e r s ,
S e w e r s , U p h o l s t e r e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
9 2 9 , 0 6 1 2 . 7 0 9 0 1 0 . 0 8 5 5 3 0 . 0 5 3 5 2 0 . 0 3
9 5 B r i c k l a y e r s , C a r p e n t e r s
a n d O t h e r C o n s t r u c t i o n
W o r k e r s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 2 8 , 2 3 1 2 . 6 2 9 , 6 3 3 0 . 8 9 1 , 4 4 8 0 . 1 3 1 2 1 0 . 0 1
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 2 5 . 0 0 2 1 . 0 0 3 . 0 0 1 0 0 . 0 0
6 3 F o r e s t r y W o r k e r s 3 3 . 0 0 2 5 . 0 0 3 2 . 0 0 1 0 0 . 0 0
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e l l m o n g e r s
a n d P e l t d r e s s e r s
6 7 0 . 0 1 4 3 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 1 0 0 . 0 0
as well as teachers and related workers (both 7,626 or
1.17 %). These job categories would rank number 11 among
the jobs for 1970 when stratified in terms of ethnicity.
For the Indians, most of them were in the category of
salesmen, shop assistants and related workers (8,162 or
1.25 %). These minority groups were also among the lowest
percentages for the entire workforce. Thus, an Indian or
Malay economist was among the "rarest” in the workforce,
followed by Indian farm supervisors and tanners.
Summary of the Overview of Occupational Structures
In 1947, the most ’’typical” occupations or job
categories were predominantly held by Chinese males.
These "typical” jobs (or those included in the top ten
categories in terms of total employed were the following:
laborers; a worker in domestic service; a road and rail
transport worker; and fourth a street vendor or stall
holder. Among these "typical" jobs, women were also em
ployed in the domestic service. In terms of the "rarest”
occupations in 1947, the following were included: "not
classifiable," physicians, surgeons, dentists, and
medical specialists as well as telephone and telegraph
operators. These data show that the economic structure
in 1947 and thereby reflected in the occupational trends,
was primarily oriented towards labor-intensive and low-
skilled economic activities.
In 1957, the most "typical jobs" were the following:
233
first, workers in domestic service, hospitals, hotels,
clubs and restaurants who in 1957 were mostly women,
although men still constituted 4.5 % of this job cate
gory; and second, the salesmen, shop assistants and
related workers who were still predominantly Chinese
males. This category was followed by hawkers and street
vendors, and then by the clerical workers. The job cate
gories of sales and clerical workers were predictably
held by Chinese males just like in 1947. However, an
interesting trend in the 1957 data was that the job cate
gories of salesmen, hawkers and street vendors, and cle
rical workers had approximately the same number of people
(6 % of the total employed). This trend seems to indi
cate that the economic activities were starting to be
diversified, so that job categories "tended to even up."
However, this process did not to be fast enough to
absorb the unskilled workers as evidenced by the rela
tively large number of people employed as street vendors
and hawkers, a job category that was important in 1947.
Also, in 1957, the decline of forestry jobs was starting
to be felt, and thus the "rare jobs" included hunters,
trappers, and game wardens, dulang washers, and railway
guards .
ln 1970, the most typical job categories included
salespersons as the top category with 12.2 % of the total
employed, followed by clerical workers, and operators of
23C
motor vehicles, ships, and other transport equipment
operators. The salespersons were predominantly men in the
20-39 age bracket and of Chinese descent. The clerical
workers and operators of equipment and motor vehicles,
the fourth "most typical" job category in 1970, were also
largely young Chinese males, in the 20-39 age bracket.
In 1980, the "most typical" job categories were
the following: salesmen, shop assistants and related
workers; clerical and related workers; electrical and
electronics assemblers; and operators of motor vehicles,
ships and other transport. The salespersons and related
workers were still predominantly Chinese males, although
the number of women increased for this census year.
These salesmen were also likely to be in the 20-39 age
bracket. A change in the 1980 data was that the cleri
cal workers were likely to be Chinese females within
the 20-39 age bracket, although a small percentage of the
Malays were employed in this occupation. The third
most typical job for 1980 was that of electrical and
electronic fitter, a job category occupied predominantly
by Chinese women (4.5 % females vs. 2.0 % males). They
were primarily within the 20-39 age bracket, although
some workers were below 20 years old. The fourth most
typical job was that of operators and workers of motor
vehicles and other trasport equipment. This constituted
about 6.15 % (approximately 67,310 persons) of the total
235
employed in 1980, and they were predominantly Chinese
males, within the age brackets of 20-39 and 40-59. The
number of motor vehicle operators dropped from 7.30 % in
1970 to 6.15 % in 1980. The "rare jobs” for 1980, or those
with the lowest percentages in terms of number of people
employed in those job categories were farm supervisors,
forestry workers, tanners and peltdressers.
The analysis of the occupational structures of Singa
pore showed some significant trends. First, the occu
pational structures reflect the more important character
istics of the labor force. And these include: (a) the
low participation rates of women across the years and
therefore the predominance of a male workforce; (b) the
relatively "young workforce" reflected in the 1970-1980
data; (c) an overwhelmingly Chinese workforce although
the 1980s showed a slightly growing participation of
other ethnic groups in the workforce. Second, there were
fluctuations in the rankings and kinds of occupations
that were in the top ten across the census years. This is
partly due to the changing of the census systems, but
largely because of the transformation of the Singaporean
economic structure. However, in spite of these changes,
the occupational structure showed some interesting trends.
For example, although some job categories "appeared and
disappeared" in the top ten (which is to be expected),
others remained in the top ten across the years. Some of
______________________________________________________________________236
these job categories which remained were: clerks and
related workers, salesmen and shop assistants, working
proprietors and managers of wholesale and retail, and
workers in road and rail transport (its later "equiva
lent" : motor vehicles, ships and other transport equipment
operators and workers). Apparently, the skill requirements
as well as the demand for these job categories have been
constant from 1947 to 1980. These will probably be
"mainstays" in the occupational structures of Singapore
for some time to come.
Part IV
Reclassifying the Top Ten Occupations
To show some of the changes in the occupational
structures as exemplified in the top ten categories,
the jobs or occupations were reclassified (Table 33) into
"low-skilled " jobs (Type A), "manufacturing-related" jobs
(Type B), and those which involve the manipulation of
words or symbols such as numbers, which in this instance
we shall call "symbol / word-oriented" jobs (Type C).
Table 33 shows the percentages for these different
types of occupations among the "top ten" categories for
the 4 census years over a period of 33 years. A quick
glance at the table shows that low-skilled jobs (Type
A) were predominant in 1947, but declined rapidly starting
1957 (24 %), and then decreased dramatically in 1970
237
Table 33. Top ten occupations (2-digit) reclassified according
to skills, 1947-1980.
Job Categories/Occupations 1947 1957
Total Employed
1970 1980
357,535 471,918 650,892 1,077,090
Type A - Low-skilled, Labor-
intensive jobs
42.3%
(151,237)
24.0%
(113,260)
7.4%
(48,166)
3.7%
(38,775)
Type B - Manufacturing-related
jobs
11.OK
(39,328)
12.0%
(56,630)
10.1%
(65,740)
16.5%
(177,720)
Type C - Symbol/vord-oriented
jobs
21.0%
(75,082)
15.0%
(70,788)
26.3%
(171,184)
26.1%
(281,120)
238
(7.45 %) and in 1980 (3.66% ). Manufacturing-related jobs
(Type B) were more or less stable across the years,
but these increased in 1980 (16.57 %). Of the three
categories, it is Type B which experienced many changes in
terms of kinds of jobs. For example, machinery fitters,
machine assemblers and precision instrument makers as well
as electrical or electronic assemblers were "not present"
in the 1947 and 1957 data, but they "appeared" in the
1970 and 1980 data. The census coding system, had been
changed as previously mentioned, but it is also reason
able to expect that these jobs apparently were not in
"existence" (at least in massive numbers) in the pre
vious census years and that investments in the manufac
turing sector and of course technological change in pro
duction had helped create these job categories. As for
Type C or the "symbol/word-oriented" jobs, they had
been fairly stable across the years, except in 1957 when
they constituted only 15 % of the top ten occupations.
Otherwise, for the other three census years, Type C
constituted approximately 20-25 % of the total employed.
This reclassification of the top ten job categories
(in terms of number of people employed) shows some trends.
These are : (a) the low skilled jobs (Type A) declined
steadily and dramatically; (b) there were modest increases
and decreases among the manufacturing-related jobs (Type
B), thus making this category fairly stable; (c) and the
239
"symbol / word-oriented jobs" (Type C) which have also
remained fairly stable across the years, but obviously
more than Type B in terms of percentages of the total
employed . Two of the "mainstays" in the top ten cate
gories were in fact symbol/word-oriented jobs, e.g.,
salesmen and related workers, and clerical workers.
Considering the deliberate economic restructuring that
Singapore has undergone, one possible "conclusion"
that these trends suggest is that Type C jobs have
always existed in all kinds of economic structures, and
that it is possible that their percentages relative to the
total employed remains quite stable across time. We would
expect that if a country's economic structure had not been
changed, then these "Types A, B and C" jobs would
also remain the same in terms of percentages. However,
there had been some profound changes in Singapore's eco
nomic structures, and so it is normally to be expected
that some changes would occur also for Types A, B and C.
There has been a dramatic decline for Type A, but what
could explain the "relative stability" of the Types
B and C jobs among the top ten occupations across
the years? Some answers may be found in the analysis
of social forces that helped shape Singapore's socio
economic structure.
240
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter was divided into four parts: (a) defi
nitions of labor force concepts used in this study;
(b) labor force trends and industrial distribution of
employment; (c) overview of occupational structures using
both one-digit and two-digit classifications; and (d)
reclassifying the top ten occupations (also the typical
jobs in terms of people employed) into low-skilled, manu
facturing-related, and symbol / word-oriented jobs. The
results of the above analysis reflect the economic trans
formation of Singapore as a city-state. More in depth
analysis of the occupational structures are presented in
the next chapter.
241
C h a p t e r 9
K N O W L E D G E A N D I N F O R M A T I O N O C C U P A T I O N S O F S I N G A P O R E
T h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s c h a p t e r i s t o e x a m i n e i n d e p t h
t h e s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a
t i o n s o r K I O s o f S i n g a p o r e . T h i s c h a p t e r s h a l l b e d i v i d e d
i n t o f i v e p a r t s . T h e f i r s t p r o v i d e s a r e v i e w o f t h e d i f
f e r e n t d e f i n i t i o n s t h a t w i l l b e e n c o u n t e r e d i n t h e p r e s e n t
c h a p t e r . T h e s e d e f i n i t i o n s w e r e a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d p r e
v i o u s l y , b u t f o r q u i c k r e f e r e n c e , t h e y a r e r e p e a t e d h e r e .
T h e s e c o n d d i s c u s s e s K I O s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e t o t a l e m p l o y
m e n t f o r t h e v a r i o u s c e n s u s y e a r s , t r e a t i n g t h e K I O s a s a
s u b s e t o f t h e e m p l o y e d s e c t o r o f t h e l a b o r f o r c e . T h e
t h i r d p r e s e n t s t h e s u b s e t o f n o n - K I O s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e
t o t a l e m p l o y m e n t i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e . T h e f o u r t h f o c u s e s
o n s p e c i f i c K I O s a s t h e s e a r e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o
d i f f e r e n t o r i e n t a t i o n s , e . g . b u s i n e s s o r s c i e n c e . A n d t h e
f i f t h a n a l y z e s t h e K I O s a s t h e s e a r e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d
i n g t o v a r i o u s i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k t y p o l o g i e s .
P a r t I
R e v i e w o f D e f i n i t i o n s
O c c u p a t i o n a l C l a s s i f i c a t i o n s
I n t h i s c h a p t e r , t w o - a n d t h r e e - d i g i t c e n s u s c l a s s i
f i c a t i o n s o f o c c u p a t i o n s a s w e l l a s t h o s e o f i n f o r m a t i o n
w o r k t y p o l o g i e s w e r e u s e d e x t e n s i v e l y . T h e s e d e f i n i t i o n s
242
were discussed in the previous chapters, but for pur
p o s e s o f c l a r i t y a n d q u i c k r e f e r e n c e , s o m e k e y d e f i n i t i o n s
w i l l b e r e p e a t e d h e r e . I n . a d d i t i o n , T a b l e 3 4 s h o w s e x a m
p l e s o f o c c u p a t i o n s b r o k e n d o w n f r o m a g g r e g a t e l e v e l s t o
m o r e s p e c i f i c o n e s .
M a j o r g r o u p s ( o n e - d i g i t c o d e s ) a r e t h e
h i g h e s t l e v e l o f a g g r e g a t i o n a n d r e p r e s e n t
t h e v e r y b r o a d f i e l d s o f w o r k r a t h e r t h a n
s p e c i f i c t y p e s o f w o r k p e r f o r m e d . T h e r e
a r e 7 m a j o r g r o u p s i n t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
w i t h o n e r e s i d u a l a n d t h r e e s u p p l e m e n t a r y
m a j o r c a t e g o r i e s d e n o t e d b y X , Y , Z 1 a n d
Z 2 w h i c h c o v e r r s p e c t i v e l y t h e u n c l a s s i -
f i a b l e , t h e S i n g a p o r e A r m e d F o r c e s ,
f o r e i g n a r m e d f o r c e s b a s e d i n S i n g a p o r e
a n d f o r e i g n d i p l o m a t i c p e r s o n n e l . T h e
m a j o r g r o u p s a r e : p r o f e s s i o n a l , t e c h n i c a l
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 0 / 1 ) ; a d m i n i s t r a
t i v e , m a n a g e r i a l a n d e x e c u t i v e w o r k e r s
( 2 ) ; c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 3 ) ;
s a l e s w o r k e r s ( 4 ) ; s e r v i c e w o r k e r s ( 5 ) ;
a g r i c u l t u r a l , a n i m a l h u s b a n d r y a n d
f o r e s t r y w o r k e r s , f i s h e r m e n a n d h u n t e r s
( 6 ) . E a c h m a j o r g r o u p i s d i v i d e d i n t o
m i n o r g r o u p s .
M i n o r g r o u p s ( t w o - d i g i t c o d e s ) r e p r e
s e n t t h e s e c o n d l e v e l o f a g g r e g a t i o n i n
t h e S S 0 C , e . g . , ( 0 1 ) ' P h y s i c a l s c i e n t i s t s
a n d r e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n s ’ w i t h i n t h e f i r s t
M a j o r G r o u p ' P r o f e s s i o n a l , T e c h n i c a l a n d
R e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n s ’ . E a c h m i n o r g r o u p
c o v e r s a s p e c i f i c r a n g e o f o c c u p a t i o n s
w i t h i n t h e m a j o r g r o u p l i n k e d t o g e t h e r b y
s o m e g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f w o r k .
T h e r e a r e 8 7 m i n o r g r o u p s w h i c h a r e s u b
d i v i s i o n s o f m a j o r g r o u p s .
U n i t G r o u p s ( t h r e e - d i g i t c o d e s ) a r e t h e
t h i r d l e v e l o f a g g r e g a t i o n , e . g . , ( O i l )
' C h e m i s t s ’ w i t h i n M i n o r G r o u p 0 1 ' P h y s i
c a l S c i e t i s t s a n d R e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n s ’ . A
u n i t g r o u p r e f e r s t o a g r o u p o f o c c u p a t i o n s
r e l a t e d t o e a c h o t h e r b y s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e w o r k t h e y e n t a i l .
243
Table 34. Examples of 2- and 3-digit classification of
occupations
08 Statisticians, Actuatries, Systems Analysis and
Related Technicians
081/2 Statisticians and Actuaries
083 Systems Analysts
084 Statistical Technicians (Statistical
Assistants and Computer Programmers)
13 Teachers
131 University Teachers
132 Higher Education Teachers, except Univer
sity
133 Primary and Secondary Education Teachers
134 Pre-Primary Education Teachers
135 Special Education Teachers
139 Teachers
19 Professional, Technical and Related Workers,
n. e. c.
191 Librarians, Archivists and Curators
192 Sociologists, Psychologists and Related
Scientists
193 Social Welfare Workers
194/9 Other Professional, Technical and Related
Workers, n.e.c.
37 Accounts and Ledger Clerks, Cashiers and Related
Workers
381 Accounting and Calculating Machine
Operators
382 Data Processing Machine Operators
389 Office Machine Operators, n.e.c.
391 Stock Clerks
392 Industrial Clerks
393 Receptionists and Travel Agency Clerks
394 Legal and Insurance Clerks
395/6 General Office Clerks, n.e.c.
397 Field Survey and Related Field Workers
244
T h e r e a r e 2 8 4 u n i t g r o u p s w h i c h a r e s u b
d i v i s i o n s o f m i n o r g r o u p s .
O c c u p a t i o n s ( f i v e - d i g i t c o d e s ) a r e s u b
d i v i s i o n s o f u n i t g r o u p s . T h e y a r e t h e
f o u r t h l e v e l o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i n t h e S S O C
1 9 7 8 . O c c u p a t i o n s a r e t h e f i n e s t c a t e g o r i e s
i d e n t i f i e d i n t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a n d t h e y
n u m b e r 1 , 2 0 0 .
D e f i n i t i o n s a n d T y p o l o g i e s o f K n o w l e d g e a n d I n f o r m a t i o n
O c c u p a t i o n s A s P r o p o s e d B y V a r i o u s S c h o l a r s
T h i s s e c t i o n r e p e a t s t h e d e f i n i t i o n s a n d t y p o l o g i e s
u s e d f o r i d e n t i f y i n g c a t e g o r i e s o f k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m
a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( K I O s ) . T h i s d i s c u s s i o n i s a l s o f o u n d
i n C h a p t e r 4 ( M e t h o d o l o g y ) .
F r i t z M a c h l u p ( T h e P r o d u c t i o n a n d D i s t r i b u t i o n o f
K n o w l e d g e i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s : 1 9 6 1 )
I n h i s b o o k , M a c h l u p i d e n t i f i e d t w o c a t e g o r i e s o f
k n o w l e d g e w o r k e r s : ( a ) k n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g a n d ( b ) n o t
k n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g . H e a l s o r a i s e d t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e
t h e r a l l w h i t e - c o l l a r w o r k e r s s h o u l d b e r e g a r d e d a s k n o w
l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g w o r k e r s . H e d e c i d e d i t w a s n o t s o .
K n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g , w o r k e r s w e r e d e f i n e d
a s t h o s e w h o s e p r o d u c t i s a m e s s a g e , a
p i e c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n , a n y t h i n g p r i m a r i l y
d e s i g n e d t o c r e a t e a n i m p r e s s i o n o n s o m e
o n e ' s m i n d . T r a n s p o r t e r s , t r a n s f o r m e r s
m e r s , p r o c e s s o r s , i n t e r p r e t e r s , a n a l y
z e r s a n d o r i g i n a l c r e a t o r s o f c o m m u n i c a
t i o n o f a l l s o r t s w i l l b e r e g a r d e d a s
k n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g w o r k e r s .
A l s o i n c l u d e d i n k n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g
c a t e g o r y f r o m t h e b l u e - c o l l a r w o r k e r s
w e r e : m e m b e r s o f t h e p r i n t i n g t r a d e ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y e l e c t r o t y p e r s a n d s t e r o t y -
p e r s , s e t t e r s , p r e s s m e n a n d p l a t e p r i n t e r s .
245
E x c l u d e d a s n o t - k n o w l e d g e - p r o d u c i n g i n
t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l , t e c h n i c a l a n d k i n
d r e d o c c u p a t i o n s w e r e : c h i r o p r a c t o r s ,
d e n t i s t s , f u n e r a l d i r e c t o r s a n d e m b a l m e r s ,
a l l n u r s e s , p h a r m a c i s t s , 5 0 % o f p h y
s i c i a n s a n d s u r g e o n s ( o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n
t h a t o n l y o n e - h a l f o f t h e i r w o r k i s
d i a g n o s t i c a n d t h e r a p e u t i c a d v i c e a n d
p r e s c r i p t i o n ) , a l l t e c h n i c i a n s ( m e d i c a l ,
d e n t a l , e t c . ) , t h e r a p i s t s , h e a l e r s a n d
v e t e r i n a r i a n s . A l s o e x c l u d e d f r o m t h e
g r o u p o f " m a n a g e r s , o f f i c i a l s , a n d p r o
p r i e t o r s " w e r e : r a i l r o a d c o n d u c t o r s a n d
a l l s a l a r i e d o r s e l f - e m p l o y e d m a n a g e r s i n
r e t a i l t r a d e s , a u t o m o b i l e r e p a i r s e r v i c e s
a n d g a r a g e s . F r o m t h e g r o u p o f s a l e s
w o r k e r s , e x c l u d e d b e c a u s e t h e y a r e l e s s
s p e c i a l i z e d i n " s a l e s t a l k " t h a n i n
h a n d l i n g t h e m e r c h a n d i s e w e r e h u c k s t e r s ,
p e d d l e r s , a l l p e r s o n s i n r e t a i l t r a d e .
M a r c U . P o r a t ( T h e I n f o r m a t i o n E c o n o m y o f t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s : 1 9 7 6 )
P o r a t a d d e d a f o u r t h s e c t o r t o t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l t r i
p a r t i t e s e c t o r i n g s c h e m e o f t h e e c o n o m y . H e c a l l e d t h i s
a n " i n f o r m a t i o n s e c t o r " a n d i n c l u d e d a l l w o r k e r s h o l d i n g
a n i n f o r m a t i o n j o b . H e a l s o n o t e d t h a t t h i s c a t e g o r y
i n c l u d e d : t e a c h e r s , s e l e c t e d m a n a g e r s , s e l e c t e d c l e r i c a l
w o r k e r s , s e l e c t e d p r o f e s s i o n a l s a n d p e o p l e w h o w o r k w i t h
i n f o r m a t i o n m a c h i n e s ( e . g . , c o m p u t e r s a n d t e l e p h o n e o p e r
a t o r s ) . T h e c r i t e r i o n f o r i n c l u d i n g a n o c c u p a t i o n i n t h e
t h e i n f o r m a t i o n s e c t o r i s t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n - h a n d l i n g
a s p e c t o f t h e j o b o v e r s h a d o w s i t s n o n - i n f o r m a t i o n a s p e c t s .
T h e t y p o l o g y o f i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k e r s P o r a t p r o p o s e d
w a s a s f o l l o w s :
a ) M a r k e t s f o r i n f o r m a t i o n
246
1 ) K n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s ( s c i e n t i
f i c a n d t e c h n i c a l w o r k e r a n d p r i v a t e
i n f o r m a t i o n s e r v i c e s ) .
2 ) K n o w l e d g e d i s t r i b u t o r s ( e d u c a
t o r s , p u b l i c i n f o r m a t i o n d i s s e m i n a
t o r s , c o m m u n i c a t i o n w o r k e r s ) .
b ) I n f o r m a t i o n i n m a r k e t s
1 ) M a r k e t s e a r c h a n d c o o r d i n a t i o n
s p e c i a l i s t s ( i n f o r m a t i o n g a t h e r e r s ,
s e a r c h a n d c o o r d i n a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t s ,
p l a n n i n g , a n d c o n t r o l w o r k e r s ) .
2 ) I n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r s
( n o n - e l e c t r o n i c b a s e d a n d e l e c t r o n i c
b a s e d ) .
c ) I n f o r m a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e
1 ) I n f o r m a t i o n m a c h i n e w o r k e r s
( n o n - e l e c t r o n i c m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r s , e l
e c t r o n i c m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r s , t e l e
c o m m u n i c a t i o n w o r k e r s ) .
J o r g e S c h e m e n t a n d L e a h L i e v r o u w ( F i v e C a t e g o r i e s
I n f o r m a t i o n W o r k e r s : 1 9 8 3 )
o f
S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w p r o p o s e d a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s y s -
t e m t h a t o r g a n i z e d o c c u p a t i o n s b y i n f o r m a t i o n - r e l a t e d
t a s k s , i n o r d e r t o f o c u s d i r e c t l y o n i n f o r m a t i o n ( o r
i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y ) m a n i p u l a t i o n a s t h e p r i n c i p a l
w o r k i n g b e h a v i o r . O c c u p a t i o n s w h o s e m a i n t a s k i s t h e p r o d -
d u c t i o n , r e c y c l i n g , o r m a i n t e n a n c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o
l o g y a r e t h e r e f o r e b y t h e i r n a t u r e d e f i n e d a s i n f o r m
a t i o n w o r k . T h e s e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k w e r e
b a s e d b a s e d o n t h e t a x o n o m y o f b e h a v i o r a l o u t c o m e s o f
i n s t r u c t i o n o r g a n i z e d b y B l o o m , K r a t h w o h l , H a r r o w , a n d
o t h e r s . T h e s e i n s t r u c t i o n a l o u t c o m e s ( b e h a v i o r s ) a r e
2 4 7
a r e d i v i d e d i n t o c o g n i t i v e , a f f e c t i v e , a n d p s y c h o m o t o r
d o m a i n s . I n t u r n , e a c h o f t h e d o m a i n s i s s u b d i v i d e d i n t o
i n c r e a s i n g l y c o m p l e x l e v e l s o f b e h a v i o r . T h e D i c t i o n a r y o f
O c c u p a t i o n a l T i t l e s w a s a l s o i d e n t i f i e d a s t h e m o s t
c o m p r e h e n s i v e l i s t i n g o f o c c u p a t i o n a l d e s c r i p t i o n s f o r t h e
e n t i r e U . S . w o r k f o r c e .
F o l l o w i n g a r e t h e f i v e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n
w o r k e r s :
a . I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s — L i k e t h e
o t h e r w r i t e r s , t h e b a s i s f o r t h i s c a t e g o
r y i s c r e a t i v i t y . H o w e v e r , t h i s d o e s
n o t r e f e r o n l y t o " n e w k n o w l e d g e , " b u t
a l s o t o t h e s y n t h e s i s a n d r e o r g a n i z a t i o n
o f k n o w l e d g e o r i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e b a s i c
a s s u m p t i o n i s t h a t a l l k n o w l e d g e i s d e r i
v a t i v e , a n d t h e r e f o r e s y n t h e s i s a n d r e o
r g a n i z a t i o n a r e c r e a t i v e e f f o r t s . T h u s ,
t h i s c a t e g o r y i s m u c h b r o a d e r t h a n c o m p a
r a b l e c a t e g o r i e s p r o p o s e d b y o t h e r w r i
t e r s .
T h i s c a t e g o r y i n c l u d e s a n y w o r k e r
w h o s e t a s k i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , c r e a t i o n ,
s y n t h e s i s , c o m p o s i t i o n , m o d i f i c a t i o n ,
c o m b i n a t i o n , o r o t h e r r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s .
T h i s c a t e g o r y t h e n i n c l u d e s s c i e n t i s t s
a n d e n g i n e e r s , b u t i t a l s o i n c l u d e s
a r t i s t s , a r c h i t e c t s , l a w y e r s , m a r k e t
a n a l y s t s , c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m m e r s , t e a c h e r s ,
a n d m o s t p h y s i c i a n s .
b . I n f o r m a t i o n R e c y c l e r s — W o r k e r s
i n t h i s c a t e g o y m o v e i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m
o n e p l a c e t o a n o t h e r , o r t r a n s f o r m i t
f r o m o n e f o r m t o a n o t h e r . T h e p r i n c i p a l
a c t i v i t i e s i n c l u d e t r a n s l a t i o n , t r a n s f o r
m a t i o n , t r a n s f e r , r o u t i n g a n d o t h e r
s i m i l a r a c t i v i t i e s . T y p i c a l j o b s i n t h i s
c a t e g o r y a r e p o s t a l w o r k e r s , s e c r e t a r i e s ,
w o r d p r o c e s s o r o p e r a t o r s , p r i n t e r s ,
t r a n s l a t o r s , a n d t e l e p h o n e o p e r a t o r s .
2 4 8
c . I n f o r m a t i o n m a i n t a i n e r s — T h i s
c a t e g o r y i s r o u g h l y a n a l o g o u s t o o n e
t h a t P o r a t c o n s i d e r s p a r t o f t h e n i n f o r m
a t i o n d i s t r i b u t o r c l a s s . I t i n c l u d e s
l i b r a r i a n s , a r c h i v i s t s , c u r a t o r s , a n d
o t h e r p e o p l e w h o s t o r e a n d m a i n t a i n
i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e d i s t i n c t i v e a c t i v i t y i n
t h i s c a t e g o r y i s j u d g m e n t . W o r k e r s m a k e
j u d g m e n t s o n t h e b a s i s o f w h a t i s w o r t h
k e e p i n g o r n o t . . O c c u p a t i o n a l t a s k s i n
t h i s c a t e g o r y e n c o m p a s s d e s c r i p t i o n , d i s
c r i m i n a t i o n , c o m p a r i s o n , o r g a n i z a t i o n ,
a n a l y s i s , c a t e g o r i z a t i o n , a n d l a b e l l i n g ;
t h e a b i l i t y t o b r e a k d o w n m a t e r i a l i n t o
i t s c o m p o n e n t p a r t s .
d . I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y P r o d u c e r s -
A l l w o r k e r s w h o p r o d u c e t h e f i r s t s t a g e
o f c o m p o n e n t s f o r t h a t t e c h n o l o g y , a r e
i n c l u d e d i n t h i s c a t e g o r y . F o r e x a m p l e ,
w o r k e r s a s s e m b l i n g c a t h o d e r a y t u b e s ,
c o m p u t e r c h i p s , o r t e l e p h o n e p l u g s w o u l d
c o m e u n d e r t h i s c a t e g o r y , b u t n o t w o r k
e r s e x t r a c t i n g o r p r o c e s s i n g r a w m a t e
r i a l s ( s i l i c o n , c o p p e r , p l a s t i c s ) . T h i s
c a t e g o r y i n c l u d e s t h e m o s t t r a d i t i o n a l
i n d u s t r i a l a s s e m b l y s k i l l s , a p p l i e d i n
w h a t w e h a v e b r o a d l y c l a s s i f i e d a s " i n
f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y " i n d u s t r i e s .
e . I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y M a i n
t a i n e r s - T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k c a t e g o r y
i n c l u d e s w o r k e r s w h o m a i n t a i n , m o n i t o r ,
r e p a i r , o p e r a t e , o r o t h e r w i s e c a r e f o r
i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a f t e r i t i s b u i l t .
I n f o r m a t i o n W o r k T y p o l o g i e s
A s s h o w n b y t h e s e v a r i o u s t y p o l o g i e s , t h e s t a t e - o f -
t h e - a r t o f d e f i n i n g " k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k "
a n d a p p l y i n g t h e s e d e f i n i t i o n s t o e x i s t i n g o c c u p a t i o n a l
s t r u c t u r e s i n d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s i s s t i l l v e r y m u c h i n
f l u x . M a c h l u p ' s c a t e g o r i e s ( 1 9 6 1 ) , s o f a r t h e e a r l i e s t
a m o n g t h e t y p o l o g i e s , r e l i e d o n a d i c h o t o m y , t h a t i s ,
k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s a n d n o n - k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s . A d i c h o -
249
t o m y i s u s u a l l y n o t s p e c i f i c e n o u g h t o c a p t u r e t h e r a n g e
o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d k n o w l e d g e w o r k . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
B e l l ' s c a t e g o r i e s ( 1 9 7 3 ) , b a s e d o n t h e p o s t - i n d u s t r i a l
s o c i e t y c o n c e p t s , h a v e b e e n c r i t i c i z e d a s h a v i n g a c l a s s
b i a s b y e m p h a s i z i n g t e c h n o c r a t i c a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l o c c u
p a t i o n s a s t h e p r e d o m i n a n t f o r m s o f w o r k i n t h e f u t u r e .
I t i s t o b e n o t e d h e r e t h a t B e l l d i d n o t r e a l l y p r o p o s e
t y p o l o g i e s f o r k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k . R a t h e r ,
h e p r e d i c t e d t h e r i s e o f t h e t e c h n o c r a t i c e l i t e s i n t h e
p o s t - i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y . T h u s , h i s w o r k w a s n o t i n c l u d e d
i n t h e l i s t o f t y p o l o g i e s f o r t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y . T h e
l a t e s t t w o t y p o l o g i e s , P o r a t ' s ( 1 9 7 6 ) c a t e g o r i e s w h i c h
h a v e b e e n u s e d b y t h e O E C D i n 1 9 8 1 a n d S c h e m e n t a n d
L i e v r o u w ' s t y p o l o g i e s ( 1 9 8 3 ) , e a c h h a v e f o u r a n d f i v e
c a t e g o r i e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . B o t h h a v e i n c l u d e d w o r k e r s w h o
h a n d l e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n m a c h i n e s a n d t e c h n o l o g i e s , a n d t h u s
h a v e g o n e b e y o n d t h e o r i g i n a l d i c h o t o m y o f k n o w l e d g e - p r o d -
u c e r s a n d n o n - k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s . T h e y h a v e a l s o i n
c l u d e d a b i g g e r " s e t " o f b e h a v i o r s i n a d d i t i o n t o " s y m b o l /
w o r d m a n i p u l a t i o n , " t h u s e n l a r g i n g t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l b a s e
o f k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k .
H o w e v e r , a t t h i s t i m e , t h e r e i s s t i l l n o c o n s e n s u s
a m o n g s c h o l a r s r e g a r d i n g t h e m e r i t s o f t h e s e d i f f e r e n t
a p p r o a c h e s i n d e f i n i n g k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k .
P a r t o f t h e r e a s o n i s t h a t t h e t h e o r e t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e o n
k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n s o c i e t y a s w e l l a s " k n o w l e d g e
250
w o r k " i s s t i l l e v o l v i n g . A n o t h e r r e a s o n i s t h a t t h e r e h a s
b e e n v e r y l i t t l e s y s t e m a t i c v a l i d a t i o n o f t h e s e d i f f e r e n t
t y p o l o g i e s . A f t e r a l l , a w r i t e r c a n p r o p o s e h i s o r h e r
t y p o l o g i e s d e p e n d i n g o n c e r t a i n p u r p o s e s a n d o u t c o m e s .
T h u s , v a l i d a t i o n s t u d i e s b e c o m e i m p o r t a n t , a n d p a r t i c u
l a r l y m o r e s o i n c r o s s - c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t s . O n e v a l i d a t i o n
s t u d y o n t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w t y p o l o g i e s ( V a l e n c i a ,
1 9 8 4 ) w a s c o n d u c t e d t o f i n d o u t h o w w e l l t h e f r a m e w o r k
c a n d e s c r i b e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n - r e l a t e d t a s k s i n j o b s f r o m
t h e p o i n t o f v i e w o f j o b e x p e r t s i n a n e w s p a p e r c o m p a n y .
R e s u l t s s h o w e d t h a t t h e e x p e r t s d i d n o t a r r i v e a t a
s t r o n g c o n s e n s u s w h e n t h e f r a m e w o r k w a s a p p l i e d t o t h e 1 0
j o b s a n a l y z e d . H o w e v e r , t h e r e s u l t s w e r e s t a t i s t i c a l l y
s i g n i f i c a n t ( e . g . , t h e r e w a s c o n s e n s u s ) w h e n t h e f r a m e w o r k
w a s a p p l i e d f o r s p e c i f i c j o b s : s e c r e t a r y - r e c e p t i o n i s t ,
r e p o r t e r , a n d c o m p u t e r m a i n t e n a n c e . T o d a t e , t h e p r e s e n t
w r i t e r h a s n o t e n c o u n t e r e d s i m i l a r v a l i d a t i o n s t u d i e s ,
b u t t h e r e a r e s t u d i e s w h i c h u s e d t h e o t h e r t y p o l o g i e s
a s f r a m e w o r k f o r a n a l y s i s . F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e P o r a t t y p o
l o g i e s w e r e u s e d i n t h e O E C D s t u d y o f i n d u s t r i a l i z e d
c o u n t r i e s ( 1 9 8 1 ) a n d i n a s t u d y o f S i n g a p o r e ’ s : o c c u p a t i o n s
( K u o , 1 9 8 4 ) .
A g g r e g a t e D e f i n i t i o n A p p r o a c h
G i v e n t h i s s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n s a n d
t y p o l o g i e s o f k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k , t h e p r e s e n t
w r i t e r d e c i d e d t o u s e t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p o l o g i e s a s w e l l a n
2 5 1
" a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n " a p p r o a c h a s p a r t o f d a t a a n a l y s i s .
T h e l a t t e r m e a n s t h a t n o s p e c i f i c t y p o l o g y w a s u s e d .
R a t h e r , t h i s " a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n " w a s b a s e d o n t h e
s y n t h e s i s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t c r i t e r i a u s e d b y v a r i o u s
a u t h o r s , r e l y i n g m o r e o n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f " i n c l u s i v e n e s s "
r a t h e r t h a n " e x c l u s i v e n e s s . " T h e p r e f e r e n c e t h e r e f o r e
w a s t o i n c l u d e a s m a n y o c c u p a t i o n s a s p o s s i b l e t h a t
c a n b e c l a s s i f i e d a s k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s
o r K I O s . T h u s , t h i s d e f i n i t i o n , a l t h o u g h a d i c h o t o m y ,
i n c l u d e d t h e r a n g e o f i n f o r m a t i o n - r e l a t e d b e h a v i o r s d e s
c r i b e d b y M a c l u p ( 1 9 6 1 ) , B e l l ( 1 9 7 3 ) , P o r a t ( 1 9 7 6 ) a n d
S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w ( 1 9 8 3 ) . T h e r a t i o n a l e f o r t h i s
" i n c l u s i v e " a p p r o a c h a s p a r t o f d a t a a n a l y s i s i n t h e
p r e s e n t s t u d y w a s t o c r e a t e a s u b s e t o f k n o w l e d g e a n d i n
f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( K I O s ) a n d n o n - K I O s a s w e l l w i t h i n
t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s . T h i s a p p r o a c h t h e r e f o r e
a l l o w s f o r " a g g r e g a t e s o c i o l o g i c a l p r o f i l e s " o f t h e K I O s
t o e m e r g e a n d t o b e c o n t r a s t e d w i t h t h e t h e s o c i o - d e m o
g r a p h i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e t y p i c a l o c c u p a t i o n s w i t h i n
t h e l a r g e r s e t o f a l l o c c u p a t i o n s .
T h e r e s u l t s o f t h e a n a l y s i s a r e d i s c u s s e d i n P a r t I I
o f t h i s c h a p t e r . S i m i l a r l y , t h e o t h e r t y p o l o g i e s p r o p o s e d
b y v a r i o u s s c h o l a r s w e r e a l s o a p p l i e d t o t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l
d a t a o f S i n g a p o r e a n d t h e r e s u l t s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n P a r t
I V . T h u s , s o c i o l o g i c a l p r o f i l e s o f K I O s b a s e d o n t h e
a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n a p p r o a c h a s w e l l a s t h o s e b a s e d
252
o n i n d i v i d u a l t y p o l o g i e s a r e d i s c u s s e d a n d c o m p a r e d i n
t h i s c h a p t e r .
P a r t I I
O c c u p a t i o n s R e c l a s s i f i e d A S K I O s U s i n g t h e A g g r e g a t e
D e f i n i t i o n A p p r o a c h
I n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r , w e d i s c u s s e d t h e o v e r a l l
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f S i n g a p o r e ’ s l a b o r f o r c e a n d o c c u p a
t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s . I t i s r e a s o n a b l e t o e x p e c t t h a t s o m e
o f t h e m o r e s i g n i f i c a n t t r e n d s i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e a n d
o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s s h a l l b e o b s e r v e d a l s o i n t h e K I O s
a n d n o n - K I O s . H o w e v e r , f r o m t h i s a n a l y s i s , s o m e t r e n d s
s p e c i f i c o n l y t o t h e K I O s a n d n o t f o u n d i n a n y o t h e r
s u b s e t o f t h e l a b o r f o r c e m a y l i k e w i s e e m e r g e . T h e d a t a
a n a l y s i s s h o u l d s h o w t h e s e c o n t i n u i t i e s a n d d i s c o n t i n u i
t i e s i n t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s o f S i n g a p o r e a n d t h e i r
r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o t h e s o c i a l f o r c e s t h a t h a v e s h a p e d i t s
l a b o r f o r c e .
I n t h i s s e c t i o n , a s u b s e t o f K I O s w a s c r e a t e d u s i n g
t h e a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n a p p r o a c h . T h e s o c i o - d e m o g r a p h i c
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e K I O s w e r e d i s c u s s e d f o r t h e
v a r i o u s c e n s u s y e a r s a n d t h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e s o c i o l o
g i c a l p r o f i l e s a n d g e n e r a l p a t t e r n s s h o w n b y t h e t y p i c a l
o c c u p a t i o n s . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e a n a l y s i s u s e d b o t h t w o -
d i g i t a n d t h r e e - d i g i t o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s , t h u s
a l l o w i n g f o r m o r e s p e c i f i c p r o f i l e s t o e m e r g e .
________ 253
Comparison of Total Employment and (2-digit) KIOs
I n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r , t h e t o p t e n o c c u p a t i o n s ( i n
t e r m s o f n u m b e r p e o p l e ) a n d t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w e r e
d i s c u s s e d s o t h a t s o c i o l o g i c a l p r o f i l e s o f t y p i c a l o c c u p a
t i o n s o r j o b s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e c o u l d
b e d r a w n . S i m i l a r l y , t h e e m p h a s i s h e r e i s o n t h e K I O
s u b s e t a m o n g t h e t o p t e n o c c u p a t i o n s o r j o b c a t e g o r i e s
c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e r e s t o f t h e e m p l o y e d l a b o r f o r c e .
1 9 7 0
I n 1 9 7 0 , t h e l i s t o f t h e t o p t e n K I O s ( a s p e r c e n t
a g e o f t h e t o t a l e m p l o y e d ) i n c l u d e d m o r e o r l e s s t h e
s a m e o c c u p a t i o n s o r j o b c a t e g o r i e s t h a t w e r e a l s o a m o n g
t h e t o p t e n o c c u p a t i o n s f o r t h e e n t i r e w o r k f o r c e i n
1 9 7 0 ( a t o t a l o f 6 5 0 , 8 9 2 ) . T h e s e K I O s i n c l u d e d t h e f o l
l o w i n g : s a l e s m e n , s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s
( 1 2 . 2 % ) ; c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 7 . 5 % ) ; t e a c h e r s
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 3 . 6 % ) ; m a c h i n e r y f i t t e r s , m a c h i n e
a s s e m b l e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s ( 3 . 1 2 % ) ;
w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s , w h o l e s a l e a n d r e t a i l ( 3 . 1 2 % ) ; b o o k
k e e p e r s , c a s h i e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 2 . 3 7 % ) ; m a n a g e r s ,
w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s e x c e p t i n a g r i c u l t u r a l c o m m e r c e a n d
c a t e r i n g ( 1 . 6 7 % ) ; s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s ( 1 . 5 3 Z) ;
a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s , s u r v e y o r s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s
( 1 . 5 3 % ) ; a n d m e d i c a l , d e n t a l a n d v e t e r i n a r y w o r k e r s
( 1 . 4 8 % ) . T h e " r a r e " K I O s o r t h o s e K I O s w i t h t h e l o w e s t
p e r c e n t a g e s i n t h e w o r k f o r c e w e r e : e c o n o m i s t s ( . 0 1 % ) a n d
______________________________________________________________________2 54
Table 35. Occupations (2-digit KIOs) ranked as percentage of total
employed , 1970 and 1980*
1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n R a n k
T o t a l
N o . %
C e n s u s
C o d e R a n k
T o t a l
N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 4 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 7 9 , 4 2 6 1 2 . 2 4 5 1 9 0 , 4 3 1 8 . 4
3 9 C l e r i c a l a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 2 4 8 , 7 4 5 7 . 5 3 9 2 8 2 , 9 2 2 7 . 7
1 3 T e a c h e r s a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 3 2 3 , 1 6 7 3 . 6 1 3 8 2 6 , 4 9 7 2 . 5
8 4 I ^ c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , M a c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s a n d P r e c i s i o n
I n s t r u m e n t k f e k e r s
4 2 0 , 3 1 3 3 . 1 8 4 4 4 1 , 1 5 2 3 . 8
4 0 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s ,
W h o l e s a l e a n d R e t a i l
5 1 9 , 9 5 2 3 . 1 4 1 9 2 4 , 9 9 0 2 . 3
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . p e r o c c u p a t i o n T o t a l n o . o f o c c u p a t i o n
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = % X 1 0 0 = %
6 5 0 , 8 9 2 1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
M
U1
tn
T a b l e 3 5 c o n ' t .
1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n R a n k
T o t a l
N o . %
C e n s u s
C o d e R a n k
T o t a l
N o . %
3 7 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
6 1 5 , 4 7 3 2 . 4 3 3 6 3 6 , 6 1 6 3 . 4
2 1 M a n a g e r s a n d W o r k i n g
P r o p r i e t o r s e x c e p t i n
A g r i c u l t u r a l C c r a n e r c e a n d
C a t e r i n g
7 1 0 , 8 2 2 1 . 7
3 6 S t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d T u p i s t s 8 1 0 , 0 0 9 1 . 5 3 2 1 0 2 0 , 3 2 9 1 . 9
0 2 / 0 3 A r c h i t e c t s , E n g i n e e r s ,
S u r v e y o r s a n d R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
9 9 , 9 9 4 1 . 5 0 2 / 0 3 7 3 2 , 8 3 4 3 . 0
0 6 / 0 7 M e d i c a l , D e n t a l , V e t e r i n a r y
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 0 9 , 6 4 1 1 . 5
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e c t r o n i c s
F i t t e r s , A s s e m b l e r s a n d W L r e m e n
3 7 0 , 3 9 9 6 . 5
2 1 M a n a g e r s 5 3 8 , 5 6 9 3 . 6
2 5 6
s t a t i s t i c i a n s , m a t h e m a t i c i a n s , s y s t e m s a n a l y s t s a n d
t e c h n i c i a n s ( . 0 4 % ) .
1 9 8 0
1 9 8 0 , t h e t o p t e n K I O s a m o n g t h e e m p l o y e d l a b o r
f o r c e ( t o t a l o f 1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0 ) w e r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : s a l e s m e n ,
s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 8 . 4 % ) ; c l e r i c a l
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 7 . 7 0 % ) ; e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s
f i t t e r s a n d a s s e m b l e r s ( 6 . 5 0 % ) ; m a c h i n e r y f i t t e r s ,
m a c h i n e a s s e m b l e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s
( 3 . 8 2 % ) ; m a n a g e r s ( 3 . 8 2 % ) ; b o o k k e e p e r s , c a s h i e r s , a n d
r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 3 . 4 0 % ) ; a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s , s u r v e y o r s
a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s ( 3 . 0 5 % ) ; t e a c h e r s a n d r e l a t e d
w o r k e r s ( 2 . 4 6 % ) ; w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s , w h o l e s a l e a n d
r e t a i l ( 2 . 3 2 % ) ; a n d s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s ( 1 . 8 9 % ) .
T h e r a r e s t K I O s o r t h o s e w i t h t h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s
a m o n g t h e t o t a l e m p l o y e d w e r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : l i f e
s c i e n t i s t s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s ( . 0 2 % ) a n d c i n e
m a p r o j e c t i o n i s t s , b r o a d c a s t i n g a n d o t h e r s o u n d e q u i p
m e n t o p e r a t o r s ( . 0 5 % ) .
C o m p a r i n g t h e 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 ( 2 - d i g i t ) d a t a , w e
f i n d t h a t t h e j o b c a t e g o r y o f s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t
a n t s , i n s p i t e o f a _ p e r c e n t a g e d e c l i n e i n 1 9 8 0 ( 1 2 . 2 % _ i n
1 9 7 0 v s . 8 . 3 9 % i _ n 1 9 8 0 ) , w a s t h e n u m b e r o n e K I O . S i m i
l a r l y , t h i s o c c u p a t i o n w a s a l s o r a n k e d n u m b e r o n e f o r
t h e o v e r a l l o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e ( s e e C h a p t e r 8 ) f o r
1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 . T h e s a m e i s a l s o t r u e f o r c l e r i c a l a n d
257
r e l a t e d w o r k e r s , w h i c h r a n k e d a s n u m b e r t w o K I O , a n d
a l s o a s t h e s e c o n d m o s t t y p i c a l j o b i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0
w i t h i n t h e o v e r a l l o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e . R a n k e d a s n u m
b e r t h r e e K I O a n d a l s o w i t h i n t h e o v e r a l l o c c u p a t i o n a l
s t r u c t u r e f o r 1 9 8 0 w a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f e l e c t r i c a l a n d
e l e c t r o n i c s f i t t e r s a n d a s s e m b l e r s . I n 1 9 7 0 , t h i s j o b c a
t e g o r y w a s n o t a m o n g t h e t o p t e n o c c u p a t i o n s , a n d t h e
c a t e g o r y w h i c h r a n k e d a s n u m b e r t h r e e w a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f
t e a c h e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s , n o t t h e e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m
b l e r s . T h e n u m b e r o f t e a c h e r s d e c l i n e d i n 1 9 8 0 , b u t t h e
n u m b e r o f e l e c t r o n i c s f i t t e r s a n d a s s e m b l e r s i n c r e a s e d
d r a m a t i c a l l y . O t h e r K I O s w h i c h i n c r e a s e d i n 1 9 8 0 t h o u g h
n o t a s d r a m a t i c a l l y a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m
b l e r s w e r e t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f : a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s , s u r
v e y o r s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s ; t h e c a t e g o r y o f m a c h i
n e r y f i t t e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s ; a n d s t e n o
g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s .
T o t a l E m p l o y m e n t a n d 3 - d i g i t K I O S u b s e t
B a s e d o n t h e a n a l y s i s o f 3 - d i g i t o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e
g o r i e s ( T a b l e 3 6 ) , s o m e t r e n d s s h o w n b y t h e 2 - d i g i t a n a
l y s i s w e r e c o n f i r m e d , b u t t h e r e w e r e o t h e r f i n d i n g s a s
w e l l . R e s u l t s f o r 1 9 7 0 s h o w e d t h a t t h e b i g g e s t j o b
c a t e g o r i e s i n t e r m s o f t o t a l p e o p l e e m p l o y e d ( 6 5 0 , 8 9 2 )
w e r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t s ( 3 3 , 0 8 6
o r 5 . 0 8 % ) ; p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r s
( 1 9 , 7 5 4 o r 3 . 0 3 % ) ; m e t a l p r o c e s s o r s ( 2 , 0 2 7 o r . 3 1 % ) ;
258
Table 36. Selected occupations (3-digit KIOs) ranked as
percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k
T o t a l
N u m b e r %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 1 S a l e s m e n a n d S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 1 3 3 , 0 3 6 5 . 0 8
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y a n d S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
2 1 9 , 7 5 4 3 . 0 3
7 2 9 M e t a l P r o c e s s e r s n . e . c . 3 2 , 0 2 7 0 . 3 1
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e t r o n i c
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
4 1 , 8 3 3 0 . 2 8
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 5 1 , 4 2 2 0 . 2 2
0 2 4 M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r s 6 1 , 3 7 1 0 . 2 1
0 6 1 M e d i c a l D o c t o r s 7 1 , 2 2 3 0 . 1 9
1 6 2 C o m m e r c i a l A r t i s t s a n d D e s i g n e r s 8 1 , 0 3 0 0 . 1 6
7 4 9 C h e m i c a l P r o c e s s e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s , n . e . c .
9 1 , 0 2 9 0 . 1 6
1 9 3 S o c i a l W o r k e r s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 1 , 0 1 3 0 . 1 6
0 6 9 D i e t i t i a n s 1 1 1 . 0 0
1 9 2 S o c i a l a n d P o l i t i c a l S c i e n t i s t s 1 1 3 . 0 0
0 2 6 M e t a l l u r g i s t s 1 1 5 . 0 0
0 3 7 M e t a l l u r g i c a l T e c h n i c i a n s 2 2 0 . 0 0
0 2 7 M i n i n g E n g i n e e r s 3 3 1 . 0 0
* F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n
650,892
100 = %
2 5 9
e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s
( 1 , 8 3 3 o r . 2 8 % ) ; m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r s ( 1 , 3 7 1 o r . 2 1 % ) ;
m e d i c a l d o c t o r s ( 1 , 2 2 3 o r . 1 9 % ) ; c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s o r s
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 1 , 0 2 9 o r . 1 6 % ) ; s o c i a l w o r k e r s
( 1 , 0 1 3 o r . 1 5 % ) . S o m e o f t h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s 3 - d i g i t
K I O s w e r e : d i e t i t i a n s ( 1 1 o r . 0 0 2 % ) ; s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l
s c i e n t i s t s ( 1 3 o r . 0 0 2 % ) ; m e t a l l u r g i s t s ( 1 5 o r . 0 0 2 % ) ;
m e t a l l u r g i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s ( 2 0 o r . 0 0 3 % ) a n d m i n i n g e n g i
n e e r s ( 3 1 o r o r . 0 0 5 % ) .
I n 1 9 8 0 , t h e f o l l o w i n g 3 - d i g i t K I O s w e r e a m o n g
t h e h i g h e s t p e r c e n t a g e s i n t h e t o t a l e m p l o y e d : s a l e s m e n
a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t s ( 4 4 , 3 8 3 o r 4 . 1 2 % ) a n a b s o l u t e
i n c r e a s e b u t a p e r c e n t a g e d e c r e a s e o v e r 1 9 7 0 f i g u r e s ) ;
p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r s ( 2 1 , 3 3 9 o r 1 . 9 8 % ,
a n a b s o l u t e i n c r e a s e b u t a p e r c e n t a g e d e c r e a s e o v e r 1 9 7 0
d a t a ) ; e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s
( 8 , 8 6 7 o r . 8 2 % , a b i g a b s o l u t e a n d p e r c e n t a g e i n c r e a s e
o v e r 1 9 7 0 d a t a ) ; c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s
( 4 , 6 5 7 o r . 4 3 % ) ; d r a u g h t s m e n ( 3 , 8 8 1 o r . 3 6 % ) ; s a l e s
s u p e r v i s o r s ( 3 , 6 9 6 o r . 3 4 % ) ; c o m m e r c i a l a r t i s t s a n d d e
s i g n e r s ( 2 , 9 3 2 o r . 2 7 % ) ; i n s u r a n c e r e a l e s t a t e a n d s e c u
r i t i e s s a l e s m e n ( 2 , 7 9 5 o r . 2 6 % ) ; a n d m e c h a n i c a l e n g i
n e e r s ( 2 , 5 0 6 o r . 2 3 % ) . T h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s i n 1 9 8 0
w e r e : m e t a l l u r g i s t s ( 1 1 o r . 0 0 1 % ) ; d i e t i t i a n s ( 2 3 o r
o r . 0 0 2 % ) a n d s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s ( 4 2
o r . 0 0 4 % ) .
______________________________________________________________________ ZAQ
T a b l e 3 7 . S e l e c t e d o c c u p a t i o n s ( 3 - d i g i t K I C t e ) r a n k e d a s
p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e m p l o y e d , 1 9 8 0 *
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k
T o t a l
N u m b e r %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 1 S a l e s m e n a n d S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 1 4 4 , 3 8 3 4 . 1 2
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y a n d S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
2 2 1 , 3 2 9 1 . 9 8
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
3 8 , 8 6 7 0 . 8 2
0 3 5 M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s 4 4 , 7 8 7 0 . 4 4
0 3 3 C o n s t r u c t i o n a n d R e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n 5 4 , 6 5 7 0 . 4 3
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 6 3 , 8 8 1 0 . 3 6
2 1 3 S a l e s S u p e r v i s o r s 7 3 , 6 9 6 0 . 3 4
1 6 2 C o m m e r c i a l A r t i s t s a n d D e s i g n e r s 8 2 , 9 3 2 0 . 2 7
4 4 1 I n s u r a n c e , R e a l E s t a t e a n d
S e c u r i t i e s S a l e s m e n
9 2 , 7 9 5 0 . 2 6
0 2 4 M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 2 , 5 0 6 0 . 2 3
0 2 6 M e t a l l u r g i s t s 1 1 1 . 0 0
0 6 9 D i e t i t i a n s 2 2 3 . 0 0
1 9 2 S o c i a l a n d P o l i t i c a l S c i e n t i s t s 3 4 2 . 0 0
* F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r o c c u p a t i o n
v inn _
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
2 6 1
S o c i o - D e m o g r a p h i c C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e K I O s
S e x C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g 2 - d i g i t K I O s
W e h a v e o b s e r v e d i n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r s t h a t t h e
l a b o r f o r c e o f S i n g a p o r e w a s p r e d o m i n a n t l y m a l e , w i t h v e r y
l o w p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s o f w o m e n . H o w e v e r , t h i s h a s
s t a r t e d t o c h a n g e i n r e c e n t y e a r s , w i t h w o m e n s t a r t i n g
t o b e a c t i v e i n t h e w o r k f o r c e s t a r t i n g i n t h e l a t e
s e v e n t i e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h i s t r e n d i n t h e S i n g a p o r e a n
l a b o r f o r c e i s l i k e w i s e r e f l e c t e d a m o n g t h e t o p t e n
K I O s f o r 1 9 7 0 . T h e b i g g e s t c a t e g o r y w a s t h a t o f m a l e
s a l e s p e r s o n s , s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 9 . 9 %
m a l e s a n d 2 . 3 % f e m a l e s ) a n d f o l l o w e d b y t h e c a t e g o r y
o f c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 5 . 8 % m a l e s a n d 1 . 7 %
f e m a l e s ) . I t i s c l e a r t h a t b o t h c a t e g o r i e s h a d l o w
p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s f r o m w o m e n . T h e n e x t c a t e g o r i e s
w e r e t h o s e o f m a c h i n e r y f i t t e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t
m a k e r s ( 3 % m a l e s a n d . 0 8 % f e m a l e s ) ; w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s
2 . 9 % m a l e s a n d . 1 8 % f e m a l e s ) ; b o o k k e e p e r s , c a s h i e r s a n d
r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 1 . 7 % m a l e s a n d . 7 1 % f e m a l e s ) ; m a n a g e r s
( 1 . 6 % m a l e s a n d . 0 9 % f e m a l e s ) ; a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s ,
s u r v e y o r s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s ( 1 . 5 % m a l e s a n d . 0 4 % ) .
F e m a l e s w e r e m o r e n u m e r o u s t h a n m a l e s i n t h e c a t e g o r i e s
o f t e a c h e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s a n d s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d
t y p i s t s .
I n 1 9 8 0 , t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f w o m e n i n K I O s
i n c r e a s e d . B u t a m o n g t h e t o p t e n K I O s , m a l e s w e r e s t i l l
262
Table 38. All occupations (2-digit KEQs) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1970*
Census
Code Occupations Rank
Male
Total No. % Rank
Female
Total No. %
Highest Percentages
44 Salesmen, Shop Assistants
and Related Workers
1 64,589 9.92 5 14837 2.28
39 Clerical and Related
Workers n.e.c.
2 37,462 5.76 7 11283 1.73
84 Machinery Fitters, Machine
Assemblers, and Precision
Instrument Makers
3 19,809 3.04 504 0.08
40 Working Proprietors
Wholesale and Retail
4 18,752 2.88 1200 0.18
37 Bookkeepers, Cashiers
and Related Workers
7 10,868 1.67 4605 0.71
13 Teachers and Related
Workers
8 10,440 1.60 6 12727 1.96
21 Managers 8 10,244 1.57 578 0.09
02/03 Architects, Engineers,
Surveyors and Related
Technicians
9 9,752 1.50 242 0.04
36 Stenographers and Typists
Lowest Percentages
1,873 0.29 10 8136 1.25
04 Aircraft and Ships’ Officers 1,086 0.17 1 1 .00
86 Cinema Projectionists,
Broadcasting and Other
Sound Equipment Operators
277 0.04 3 18 .00
^Formula used for percentage: No. of persons per sex
------------------ X 100 = %
650,892
263
p r e d o m i n a n t i n t h e f o l l o w i n g c a t e g o r i e s : s a l e s m e n , s h o p
a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s , ( 5 8 , 3 5 5 o r 5 . 4 % - m a l e s
v s . 3 2 , 0 7 6 o r 3 % f e m a l e s ) ; m a n a g e r s ( 3 4 , 5 2 7 o r 3 . 2 %
m a l e s v s . 4 , 0 4 2 o r . 3 7 % f e m a l e s ) ; m a c h i n e r y , f i t t e r s
a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s ( 3 3 , 5 4 2 o r 3 . 1 % m a l e s
v s . 3 4 , 5 2 7 o r . 7 1 % f e m a l e s ) ; a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s ,
s u r v e y o r s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s ( 2 8 , 7 9 0 o r 2 . 7 % m a l e s
a n d 4 , 0 4 4 o r . 3 7 % f e m a l e s ) . W o m e n i n c r e a s e d t h e i r n u m
b e r s i n t h e f o l l o w i n g K I O j o b c a t e g o r i e s : e l e c t r i c a l a n d
e l e c t r o n i c a s s e m b l e r s ( 4 8 , 2 9 1 o r 4 . 5 % f e m a l e s a n d
2 2 , 1 0 8 2 % m a l e s ) ; c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 4 5 , 7 7 5 o r
4 . 2 % f e m a l e s a n d 3 7 , 1 4 7 o r 3 . 4 % m a l e s ) ; b o o k k e e p e r s ,
c a s h i e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 2 5 , 8 7 5 o r 2 . 4 % f e m a l e s
a n d 1 0 , 7 5 9 o r 1 % m a l e s ) ; a n d s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s
( 1 9 , 1 5 6 o r 1 . 7 8 % f e m a l e s a n d 1 . 1 7 3 o r . 1 1 % m a l e s ) .
I n s u m m a r y , t h e f o l l o w i n g t r e n d s h a v e b e e n o b s e r v e d
a m o n g t h e k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( K I O s ) i n
t e r m s o f s e x c o m p o s i t i o n i n t h i s o c c u p a t i o n a l s u b s e t o f
t h e l a b o r f o r c e . T h e t o p t e n K I O s w e r e p r e d o m i n a n t l y
m a l e i n t e r m s o f s e x c o m p o s i t i o n a n d t h i s r e f l e c t s t h e
t r e n d i n t h e S i n g a p o r e a n l a b o r a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c
t u r e s . I n 1 9 7 0 , e v e n j o b c a t e g o r i e s s u c h a s c l e r i c a l
w o r k a n d b o o k k e e p i n g w h i c h i n o t h e r s o c i e t i e s w e r e h e l d b y
w o m e n , w e r e p r e d o m i n a n t l y m a l e i n S i n g a p o r e u p t o 1 9 7 0 .
W o m e n i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n 1 9 8 0 a n d t h e y
w e r e m o r e n u m e r o u s t h a n m e n i n K I O j o b c a t e g o r i e s s u c h
______________________________________________________________________ 264
265
Table 39. All occupations (2-digit KIOs) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1980*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k
M a l e
T o t a l N o . % R a n k
F e m a l e
T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 S a l e s n e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 5 8 , 3 5 5 5 . 4 2 6 3 2 , 0 7 6 2 . 9 8
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l a n d E l e c t r o n i c
F i t t e r s , A s s e m b l e r s
a n d W i r e m e n
2 2 , 1 0 8 2 . 0 5 2 4 8 , 2 9 1 4 . 4 8
3 9 C l e r i c a l a n d R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
3 3 7 , 1 4 7 3 . 4 5 2 4 5 , 7 7 5 4 . 2 5
2 1 M a n a g e r s 4 3 4 , 5 2 7 3 . 2 1 4 , 0 4 2 0 . 3 8
8 4 M a c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , M a c h i n
A s s e m b l e r s a n d P r e c i s i o n
I n s t r u m e n t I n k e r s
5 3 3 , 5 4 2 3 . 1 1 7 , 6 1 0 0 . 7 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s p e r s e x
- - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
266
Table 39 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k
M a l e
T o t a l N o . % R a n k
F e m a l e
T o t a l N o . %
0 2 / 0 3 A r c h i t e c t s , E n g i n e e r s 7
S u r v e y o r s a n d R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
2 8 , 7 9 0 2 . 6 7 h,0hh 0 . 3 8
3 3 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 0 7 5 9 1 . 0 0 8 2 5 8 5 7 2 . 4 0
4 1 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s , 9
W h o l e s a l e a n d R e t a i l
2 2 7 6 8 2 . 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 . 2 1
3 2 S t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d T y p i s t s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e
1 1 7 3 0 . 1 1 1 0 1 9 1 5 6 1 . 7 8
Oh A i r c r a f t a n d S h i p s '
O f f i c e r s
1 4 0 6 0 . 1 3 1 5 . 0 0
0 9 E c o n o m i s t s 1 2 9 0 . 0 1 3 6 7 0 . 0 1
a s c l e r i c a l w o r k , e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c a s s e m b l e r s
( w h e r e t h e i n c r e a s e h a d b e e n d r a m a t i c ) , b o o k k e e p e r s , a n d
s t e n o g r a p h e r s . I n j o b c a t e g o r i e s s u c h a s s a l e s m e n a n d
s h o p a s s i s t a n t s ( r a n k e d a s n u m b e r o n e K I O f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d
1 9 8 0 ) , t h e m a l e s w e r e s t i l l i n t h e m a j o r i t y , b u t w o m e n h a d
s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n c r e a s e d t h e i r n u m b e r , b u t n o t i n j o b s s u c h
a s m a n a g e r s , a r c h i t e c t s a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s , a n d
a l s o a m o n g m a c h i n e r y f i t t e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t
m a k e r s .
S e x C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g 3 - d i g i t K I O s
I n t e r m s o f s e x c o m p o s i t i o n , t h e a n a l y s i s s h o w s t h a t
m a l e s s t i l l o u t n u m b e r t h e f e m a l e s i n m a n y o f t h e o c c u p a
t i o n s b u t i n g e n e r a l , t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f w o m e n i n c r e a s e d
1 9 8 0 a l t h o u g h t h e a b s o l u t e a n d p e r c e n t a g e i n c r e a s e s w e r e
l o w . T a b l e s 4 0 a n d 4 1 s h o w s e l e c t e d 3 - d i g i t K I O s a s
p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e t o t a l K I O s . G i v e n t h i s s u b s e t o f t o t a l
K I O s , t h e s a m e o c c u p a t i o n s m o r e o r l e s s e m e r g e d a s t h e
t o p t e n 3 - d i g i t K I O s f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 , a n d t h e s a m e
p r o p o r t i o n o f m e n a n d w o m e n w e r e e v i d e n t i n m o s t o f
t h e 3 - d i g i t K I O s , b u t w o m e n ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n c r e a s e d
i n s o m e o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n s . I n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 , t h e t o p 3 -
d i g i t K I O w a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t
a n t s ( 2 6 , 3 0 3 o r 9 . 9 % m a l e s i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 2 7 , 0 9 1 o r 4 . 8 %
i n 1 9 8 0 m a l e s ) . B u t w o m e n i n t h i s c a t e g o r y i n c r e a s e d i n
1 9 8 0 i n a b s o l u t e a n d p e r c e n t a g e t e r m s ( 6 , 7 8 3 o r 2 . 4 % i n
1 9 7 0 a n d 1 7 , 2 9 2 o r 3 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) . F o r p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n -
267
268
Table 40 . Selected (3-dlglt KIO) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total KIO, 1970*
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Hale
Total No.
I Rank Female
Total No.
%
Hiohest Percentages
441 Salesmen and Shop
Ass 1stants
1 26303 9.5 4 6783 2.4
133 Primary and Secondary
Education Teachers
3 8623 3.1 2 11131 4.0
034 Electrical and
Electronics
Engineering
Technicians
5 1790 0.64 43 0.01
729 Hetal Processers
n.e.c.
6 1629 0.59 398 0.14
024 Mechanical Engineers 7 1366 0.49 5 0.001
032 Draughtsmen 8 1325 0.48 7 0.002
“Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons per Sex
275527 X 100 = 1
Table 40 con* t.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
I Rank Female
Total No.
%
033 Construction and
Related Technicians
9 1138 0.41 22 0.007
431 Insurance,
Real Estate and
Securities
Salesmen
Lowest Percentaoes
10 993 0.36 62 0.02
026 Metallurgists 15 0.005 1 0 0
037 Metallurgical
Technicians
20 0.007 1 0 0
038 Mining Technicians 89 0.03 1 0 0
042 Ships' Deck Officers
and Pi lot
493 0.18 I 0 0
043 Ships' Engineers 253 0.09 1 0 0
012/
013
Other Physical
Scientists
91 0.03 2 I 0.0003
023 Electrical and
Electronic Engineers
737 0.27 2 1 0.0003
041 Aircraft Officers 340 0.12 2 1 0.0003
c\
270
Table 41. Selected (3-digit KIO) classified by sex
and ranked as percentage of total KIO, I960*
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
I Rank Female
Total No.
I
Highest Percentages
451 Salesmen and Shop
Assistants
1 27091 4.8 2 17292 3.0
132/
133
Primary and Secondary
Education Teachers
4 7853 1.4 3 13476 2.4
034 Electrical and
Electronics
Engineering
Technicians
5 7822 1.40 1045 0.19
035 Meehan i ca1
Engineering
Technicians
6 4639 0.83 148 0.02
033 Construction and
Related Technicians
7 4063 0.72 594 0.11
024 Mechanical Engineers 8 2492 0.44 14 0.002
•Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons per Sex
558348 x 100 = %
2 71
Table 41 con't.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total no.
X Rank Female
Total No.
X
421 Sales Supervisors 9 2297 0.41
•
1399 0.25
441 Insurance, Real
Estate and
Securities Salesmen
Lowest Percentaaes
10 2282 0.41 513 0.09
043 Ships' Engineers 143 0.02 1 0 0
042 Ships' Deck Officers
and Pi lots
457 0.08 1 0 0
026 Metallurgists 10 0.001 2 1 0.0001
027 Mining Engineers 138 0.024 3 2 0.0003
037 Metallurgicai
Technicians
100 0.02 3 2 0.0003
03B Mining Technicians 194 0.03 4 3 0.0005
041 Aircraft Officers 806 0.14 5 5 0.0009
d a r y e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r s , w o m e n w e r e i n t h e m a j o r i t y f o r
b o t h 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 , b u t t h e r e w a s a d e c r e a s e i n m a l e p a r
t i c i p a t i o n i n 1 9 8 0 ( 8 , 6 2 3 o r 3 . 1 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 7 , 8 5 3 o r
1 . 4 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) . F e m a l e p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h i s j o b c a t e g o r y
i n c r e a s e d i n a b s o l u t e t e r m s , b u t d e c r e a s e d p e r c e n t a g e - w i s e
( 1 1 , 1 3 1 o r 4 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 3 , 4 7 6 o r 2 . 4 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
E l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s i n
c r e a s e d q u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l l y w i t h i n a 1 0 - y e a r p e r i o d ,
a l t h o u g h t h e m e n w e r e s t i l l i n t h e m a j o r i t y f o r t h i s j o b
c a t e g o r y ( 8 , 6 2 3 o r 3 . 1 % m a l e s a n d 4 3 o r . 0 1 % f e m a l e s
i n 1 9 7 0 ; 7 , 8 2 2 o r 1 . 4 0 % m a l e s a n d 1 , 0 4 5 o r . 1 9 %
f e m a l e s i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
S o m e o f t h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s a m o n g t h e 3 - d i g i t K I O s
w e r e m e t a l l u r g i s t s ( 1 5 o r . 0 0 5 % m a l e s a n d n o f e m a l e s i n
1 9 7 0 , 1 3 8 o r . 0 2 4 % m a l e s a n d 2 o r . 0 0 0 1 % f e m a l e s i n
1 9 8 0 ) ; m e t a l l u r g i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s ( 2 0 o r . 0 0 7 m a l e s a n d n o
f e m a l e s i n 1 9 7 0 , 1 0 0 o r . 0 2 % m a l e s a n d 2 o r . 0 0 0 3 %
f e m a l e s i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; m i n i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 8 9 o r . 0 3 % m a l e s
a n d n o f e m a l e s i n 1 9 7 0 , a n d 1 9 4 o r . 0 3 % m a l e s a n d 3
o r . 0 0 0 5 % ) ; s h i p s ' e n g i n e e r s ( 2 5 3 o r . 0 9 % a n d n o
f e m a l e s i n 1 9 7 0 , 1 4 3 o r . 0 2 % a n d n o f e m a l e s i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
B y a n d l a r g e , t h e 3 - d i g i t a n a l y s i s s h o w e d t h e s a m e
t r e n d s i n t h e 2 - d i g i t a n a l y s i s i n t e r m s o f t h e s e x
s t r a t i f i c a t i o n o f S i n g a p o r e ' s K I O s . T h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f
w o m e n i n c r e a s e d , b u t o n l y i n c e r t a i n o c c u p a t i o n s s u c h a s
c l e r i c a l j o b s a n d e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m b l y . T h e t o p K I O s ,
272
s u c h a s t h e s a l e s m e n c a t e g o r y , w e r e s t i l l p r e d o m i n a n t l y
m a l e . I n s o m e h i g h l y s k i l l e d j o b s , w h i c h f a l l u n d e r t h e
" r a r e ” c a t e g o r i e s f o r t h e e n t i r e w o r k f o r c e , t h e p a r t i c i p a
t i o n o f w o m e n w a s s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l y v e r y l o w .
A g e C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g t h e 2 - d i g i t K I O s
A m o n g t h e K I O s , t h e l a r g e s t a g e g r o u p i n 1 9 7 0 w a s t h e
g r o u p o f s a l e s m e n , s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s i n
t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t ( 3 7 , 9 5 7 o r 5 . 8 3 % ) , f o l l o w e d b y
c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s i n t h e s a m e a g e b r a c k e t , 2 0 -
3 9 , ( 3 1 , 6 6 1 o r 4 . 8 6 % ) . O l d e r s a l e s m e n i n t h e 4 0 - 5 9 a g e
b r a c k e t w a s t h e t h i r d l a r g e s t g r o u p ( 2 9 , 5 0 1 o r 4 . 5 % ) a n d
t h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y t e a c h e r s i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t
( 1 8 , 5 6 5 o r 2 . 8 5 % ) .
1 9 8 0 , t h e l a r g e s t a g e c a t e g o r y w a s t h e g r o u p o f
c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t
( 6 1 , 5 5 9 o r 5 . 7 1 % ) , a n i n c r e a s e f r o m t h e 1 9 7 0 4 . 8 6 % .
T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c f i t t e r s a n d
a s s e m b l e r s i n t h e s a m e a g e b r a c k e t ( 4 8 , 2 1 8 o r 4 . 4 8 % ) . T h e
t h i r d l a r g e s t a g e g r o u p w a s t h e s a l e s g r o u p i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9
a g e b r a c k e t ( 4 6 , 4 7 4 o r 4 . 3 1 % ) f o l l o w e d b y m a c h i n e r y
f i t t e r s , m a c h i n e a s s e m b l e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t
m a k e r s i n t h e s a m e a g e b r a c k e t ( 2 7 , 9 0 0 o r 2 . 6 % ) .
F o r t h e K I O s , t h e 1 9 8 0 d a t a s h o w e d t h a t t h e w o r k f o r c e
w a s s t i l l c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t . T h e r e
w e r e m o r e c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s a n d e l e c t r o n i c a s s e m b l e r s i n
273
T a b l e 4 2 . O c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i g i t K I O ) c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e a p l o y e d , 1 9 7 0 *
C ensus
C o d e
Occupations R a n k Belov 20
Total N o.
1 R a n k 20-39
Total N o.
I R a n k 40-59
Total N o.
t
Hiqhest Percentages
4 4 Salesten, S h op
Assistants an d
Related N orkers
11960 1.84 1 37957 5.83 3 29501 4.5
3 9 Clerical an d Related
N orkers n.e.c.
6665 1.02 2 31661 4.86 6 10419 1.6
1 3 Teachers an d Related
N orkers
912 0.14 4 18565 2.85 3690 0.57
4 0 N orking Proprietors
Nhoiesale an d Retail
202 0.03 9 7847 1.2 5 1 1903 1.83
‘foraula used for percentage: N o. of Persons per A g e G ro u p
650,892 x 1 0 0 - 1
WZZ
Table 42 con't.
C ensus
C o d e
Occupations R a n k Belov 2 0
Total N o.
1 R a n k 20-39
Total N o.
I R a n k 40-59
Total N o.
I
8 4 M achinery Fitters,
M ach in e Assem blers
an d Precision
Instrum ent M a k ers
3829 0.59 7 11535 1.77 4949 0.76
3 7 Bookkeepers, Cashiers
an d Related W ork ers
11 43 0.18 8 10303 1.58 4027 0.62
36 Stenographers an d
Typists
louest Percentages
1058 0.16 1 0 7570 1.16 1 3 8 1 0.21
1 2 Jurists 1 0 0 248 0.04 1 4 4 0.02
89 economists 2 1 0.0001 53 0.008 20 0.003
3 1 Clerical Supervisors 3 7 0.001 685 0.10 5 5 3 0.08
20 Legislative Officials
an d G o vern m en t
Administrators
4 9 0.001 960 0.14 5 2 1 0.08
JLZ
T a b l e 4 3 . O c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i q i t K I O ) c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e m p l o y e d , 1 9 8 0 *
C ensus Occupations R a n k B elow 20 1 R a n k 20-39 I R a n k 40-59 I R a n k 60 I A b o v e
C o d e Total Total Total Total N o .
N o . N o. N o .
Highest Percentages
39 Clerical an d Related 10899 1.01 I 61559 5.71 9468 0.88 996 0.09
N orkers
85 Electrical an d 8 17667 1.6 2 48218 4.48 4300 0.40 214 0.02
Electronic Fitters
A ssem blers a n d
N ineaen
4 5 Salesm en, S h op 1 0 1 0992 1.02 3 46474 4.31 6 25744 2.39 72 2 1 0.67
Assistants an d
Related N orkers
84 N achinery Titters. 6126 0.57 4 27900 2.6 6661 0.62 465 0.04
N achine A ssem blers
an d Precision
Instrum ent H ak ers
'F orm ula used for percentage: N o of Persons per A g e G r o u p
1077090 x 1 0 0 » %
tLZ
Table 43 con't.
C en su s
C o d e
O ccupations R a n k B elow 2 0
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 20-39
Total
N o.
I R a n k 40-59
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 60 1 A b o v e
Total N o.
1
02/03 Architects,
Engineers,
Surveyors an d
Related Technicians
7(6 0.07 4 28169 2.6 3755 0.35 1 4 4 0.01
3 3 Bookkeepers,
Cashiers a n d
Related N orkers
4263 0.40 5 26971 2.5 4626 0.43 756 0.07
2 1 M a n a g ers 3 5 0.003 7 23837 2.21 12960 1.2 1 7 3 7 0.16
1 3 T eachers a n d
Related N orkers
7 1 2 0.07 8 1 7317 1.61 8375 0.78 93 0.009
3 2 Stenographers a n d
Typists
2IB 9 0.20 9 1(530 1.53 1 5 1 3 0.14 9 7 0.009
4 1 N orking Proprietors,
W holesale a n d Retail
4 5 0.004 10060 0.93 11454 1.06 3 4 3 1 0.32
8 LZ
Table 43 con't.
C ensus
C o d e
O ccupations R a n k B elow 2 0
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 20-39
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 40-59
Total
N o .
t R a n k 60 A A b o v e
Total N o.
1
Louest Percentaoes
0 8 Statisticians,
liatheaaticians,
Systeas Analysts
an d Technicians
2 5 0.002 1 3 42 0.12 59 0.005 I 0 0
05 life Scientists a n d
Related Technicians
1 0 0 1 6 3 0.01 3 0 0.003 4 3 0.0003
tz Jurists 1 0 0 158 0.07 236 0.02 3 8 0.003
1 1 Accountants 2 1 .00009 3073 0.28 486 0.84 49 0.004
20 Legislative
Officials a n d
G overnaent
Adainistrators
2 1 .00009 594 0.05 238 0.02 1 0 0.0009
3 4 C om p u tin g M ach in e
O perators
4 4 2 0.04 2007 0.19 1 1 8 0.01 3 2 0.0002
t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t t h a n t h e r e w e r e s a l e s m e n a n d m a c h i
n e r y f i t t e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s i n t h e s a m e
a g e b r a c k e t . I n g e n e r a l , t h o s e e m p l o y e d a m o n g t h e t o p t e n
K I O s s e e m e d t o h a v e b e c o m e y o u n g e r a n d m o r e n u m e r o u s ,
t h a t i s , m o r e p e o p l e e m p l o y e d i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t ,
a n d a l o t l e s s i n t h e 4 0 - 5 9 a g e b r a c k e t . T h e e x c e p t i o n
w a s t h e g r o u p o f s a l e s p e r s o n s w h i c h d e c l i n e d b o t h a s a
g r o u p a n d a s a n a g e c a t e g o r y ( 2 0 - 3 9 ) , b u t w h i c h r e t a i n e d a
r e l a t i v e l y b i g g r o u p o f w o r k e r s i n t h e 4 0 - 5 9 a g e c a t e g o r y .
A g e C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g t h e 3 - d i g i t K I O s
S o m e i n t e r e s t i n g c o n t i n u i t i e s a n d d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s
e m e r g e w h e n 3 - d i g i t K I O s a r e u s e d f o r a n a l y s i s . I n 1 9 7 0 ,
t h e w o r k f o r c e w a s s t i l l c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e
b r a c k e t , w i t h t h e c a t e g o r y o f p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y e d u c a
t i o n t e a c h e r s a s t h e b i g g e s t g r o u p ( 1 6 , 3 5 7 o r 2 . 5 1 % ) .
T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y : s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t s i n t h e
b e l o w 2 0 c a t e g o r y ( 7 , 0 0 0 o r 1 . 0 8 % ) ; s a l e s m e n i n t h e 4 0 - 5 9
a g e b r a c k e t ( 6 , 6 5 1 o r 1 . 0 2 % ) ; p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y
e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r s i n t h e 4 0 - 5 9 a g e b r a c k e t ( 2 , 4 6 9 o r
o r . 4 1 % ) ; a n d e l e c t r i c a l o r e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h
n i c i a n s i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 c a t e g o r y ( 1 6 , 3 5 7 o r 2 . 5 1 % ) .
F o r 1 9 8 0 , s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9
a g e b r a c k e t s u p e r s e d e d p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n
t e a c h e r s a s t h e l a r g e s t a g e g r o u p i n t h e w o r k f o r c e . T h e r e
w e r e 2 7 , 8 9 6 o r 2 . 5 9 % s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d
1 4 , 0 1 0 o r 1 . 3 0 % t e a c h e r s i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e b r a c k e t . N u m b e r
279
2801
Table 44. Selected (3-digit KIO) classified by age groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s
R a n k B e l o w 2 0
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k 2 0 - 3 9
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k 4 0 - 5 9 % R a n k 6 0 f a b o v e
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y & S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
7 4 8 0 . 1 1 1 1 6 , 3 5 7 2 . 5 1 4 2 6 4 9 0 . 4 1 0 0
4 5 1 S a l e s m e n & S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 2 7 , 0 0 0 1 . 0 8 4 3 5 0 . 0 7 3 6 6 5 1 1 . 0 2 0 0
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
1 3 1 0 . 0 2 5 1 , 4 7 1 0 . 2 3 2 3 1 0 . 0 4 0 0
7 2 9 M e t a l P r o c e s s e r s n . e . c 1 0 6 3 8 0 . 1 0 6 1 , 1 2 5 0 . 1 7 2 6 4 0 . 0 4 0 0
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 2 2 0 0 . 0 3 7 1 , 0 1 1 0 . 1 6 1 9 1 0 . 0 3 0 0
0 2 4 M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r s 3 3 0 . 0 1 8 9 1 9 0 . 1 4 4 1 9 0 . 0 6 0 0
1 9 3 S o c i a l W o r k e r s 1 5 . 0 0 9 7 9 8 0 . 1 2 2 0 0 0 . 0 3 0 0
0 3 3 C o n s t r u c t i o n & R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
8 5 0 . 0 1 9 7 9 4 0 . 1 2 2 8 1 0 . 0 4 0 0
^Formula used for percentage: No. of persons per age group
--------------------- X 100
650,892
28i
Table 45, Selected (3-digit KIO) classified by age group and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980*
C e n s u s
C o d e
R a n k B e l o w 2 0
O c c u p a t i o n s T o t a l N o .
% R a n k 2 0 - 3 9
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k 4 0 - 5 9 % R a n k 6 0 + - a b o v e
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 1 S a l e s m a n & S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 6 7 , 6 5 8 0 . 7 1 1 2 7 , 8 9 6 2 . 5 9 4 7 , 3 3 0 0 . 6 8 1 , 4 9 9 0 . 1 4
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y & S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
4 5 3 0 . 0 4 2 1 4 , 0 1 0 1 . 3 0 5 6 , 8 2 3 0 . 6 3 4 3 . 0 0
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
1 8 7 0 . 0 2 3 7 , 9 5 8 0 . 7 4 7 1 5 0 . 0 7 7 . 0 0
0 3 5 M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g
T e c h n i c i a n s
1 0 6 0 . 0 1 6 4 , 2 2 2 0 . 3 9 4 4 4 0 . 0 4 1 5 . 0 0
0 3 3 C o n s t r u c t i o n & R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
6 7 0 . 0 1 7 4 , 0 2 7 0 . 3 7 5 4 3 0 . 0 5 2 0 . 0 0
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 3 5 9 0 . 0 3 8 3 , 2 2 4 0 . 3 0 2 8 3 0 . 0 3 1 5 . 0 0
1 6 2 C a i m e r c i a l A r t i s t s & D e s i g n e r s 1 9 6 0 . 0 2 9 2 , 3 0 4 0 . 2 1 0 . 0 0
' • f o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e o p l e p e r a g e g r o u p
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
3 w a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i
n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 7 , 9 5 8 o r . 7 4 % ) , f o l l o w e d b y t h e
o l d e r a g e b r a c k e t o f s a l e s m e n , 4 0 - 4 9 ( 7 , 3 3 0 o r . 6 8 % ) .
T h e s e f i g u r e s a p p r o x i m a t e t h e 2 - d i g i t t r e n d s . T h e
s a l e s p e r s o n s i n c r e a s e d n o t o n l y i n t h e p r i m e a g e g r o u p o f
2 0 - 3 9 b r a c k e t , b u t i n a l l t h e o t h e r a g e c a t e g o r i e s a s w e l l
i m p l y i n g a s t e a d y s u p p l y o f s a l e s m e n f o r t h e w o r k f o r c e . O n
t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e n u m b e r o f t e a c h e r s d e c l i n e d a n d t h e
w o r k e r s a l s o b e c a m e o l d e r , s h o w i n g t h a t t h e j o b c a t e g o r y
d i d n o t e x p a n d i n t e r m s o f e m p l o y m e n t . E l e c t r o n i c
t e c h n i c i a n s i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a g e g r o u p i n c r e a s e d m o d e s t l y ,
d u r i n g t h e d e c a d e a n d w e r e c o n c e n t r a t e d p r i m a r i l y i n t h i s
a g e g r o u p . S o w h e r e d i d t h e y o u n g p e o p l e o f S i n g a p o r e g o
w i t h i n t h e 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 8 0 d e c a d e ? M o s t b e c a m e s a l e s m e n , t e a c h
e r s a n d e l e c t r o n i c t e c h n i c i a n s . T h e r e s t w e r e e m p l o y e d a s
o t h e r k i n d s o f t e c h n i c i a n s ( c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d m e c h a n i c a l )
e n g i n e e r i n g a s w e l l a s d r a u g h t s m e n a n d c o m m e r c i a l a r t i s t s .
E t h n i c C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g t h e 2 - d i g i t K I O s
I t w a s s h o w n b y p r e v i o u s a n a l y s i s t h a t m a j o r i t y o f
t h e w o r k e r s i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e w e r e p r i m a r i l y C h i n e s e a n d
t h i s t r e n d a l s o s h o w s i n t h e 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 K I O d a t a . T h e
C h i n e s e g r o u p w e r e i n t h e m a j o r i t y i n t h e f o l l o w i n g j o b
c a t e g o r i e s : s a l e s m e n , s h o p a s s i s t a n t s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s
( 6 8 , 5 6 7 o r 1 0 . 5 3 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 7 9 , 6 8 9 o r 7 . 4 0 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ;
c l e r i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 3 5 , 3 3 4 o r 5 . 4 3 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
282
6 4 , 7 6 7 o r 7 . 4 0 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; t e a c h e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s
( 1 8 , 1 5 3 o r 2 . 7 9 % i n 1 9 7 0 o n l y ) ; e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o
n i c s f i t t e r s , a s s e m b l e r s a n d w i r e m e n ( 4 1 , 7 1 9 o r 3 . 8 7 % ,
r e p l a c i n g t e a c h e r s a s n u m b e r 3 i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; m a c h i n e r y f i t
t e r s , m a c h i n e a s s e m b l e r s a n d p r e c i s i o n i n s t r u m e n t m a k e r s
( 1 7 , 5 4 4 o r 2 . 7 0 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 3 0 , 9 0 4 o r 2 . 8 7 % i n 1 9 8 0 -
a d e c r e a s e p e r c e n t a g e - w i s e ) ; w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s , w h o l e
s a l e a n d r e t a i l ( 1 6 , 4 8 9 o r 2 . 5 3 ' % ) ; b o o k k e e p e r s , c a s h i e r s
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 1 3 , 9 6 9 o r 2 . 1 5 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 3 3 , 2 7 9
o r 3 . 0 9 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; a n d s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s ( 8 , 4 2 1
o r 1 . 2 9 % ) .
A s e x p e c t e d , t h e o t h e r e t h n i c g r o u p s s h o w e d l o w
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e t o p t e n j o b c a t e g o r i e s o f t h e w o r k
f o r c e . H o w e v e r , t h e r e w e r e s o m e d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g t h e s e
g r o u p s . I n 1 9 7 0 , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e r e w e r e m o r e I n d i a n s i n
t h e s a l e s m e n c a t e g o r y ( 8 , 1 6 2 o r 1 . 2 5 % ) t h a n t h e r e w e r e
M a l a y s ( 2 , 4 6 5 o r . 3 8 % ) . B u t M a l a y s w e r e m o r e o r l e s s
c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e j o b c a t e g o r y o f c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s
( 7 , 6 2 6 o r 1 . 1 7 % ) . I n 1 9 8 0 , t h e n u m b e r o f I n d i a n s i n
t h e s a l e s g r o u p d e c l i n e d ( 6 , 2 3 4 o r . 5 8 % ) , w h i l e M a l a y s i n
t h e c l e r i c a l g r o u p r e m a i n e d r e l a t i v e l y t h e s a m e ( 1 1 , 8 5 2 o r
1 . 1 0 % ) . C o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o t h e r m i n o r i t i e s , t h e r e w e r e
a l s o m o r e M a l a y s a s e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m b l e r s ( 2 1 , 2 0 9 o r 1 . 9 7
1 . 9 7 % ) t h a n I n d i a n s , f o r i n s t a n c e ( 6 , 1 4 3 o r . 5 7 % ) .
A m o n g t h e t o p t e n K I O s f o r 1 9 8 0 , t h e j o b c a t e g o r i e s o f
m a n a g e r s a n d w o r k i n g p r o p r i e t o r s h a d t h e l e a s t n u m b e r o f
283
[ t r s r
Table 46. Occupations (2 digit-HO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s
R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 4 S a l e s m e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 6 8 , 5 6 7 1 0 . 5 3 2 , 4 6 5 0 . 3 8 8 , 1 6 2 1 . 2 5 2 3 2 0 . 0 4
3 9 C l e r i c a l & R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s n . e . c .
2 3 5 , 3 3 4 5 . 4 3 1 0 7 , 6 2 6 1 . 1 7 4 , 6 8 7 0 . 7 2 1 , 0 9 8 0 . 1 7
1 3 T e a c h e r s & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 3 1 8 , 1 5 3 2 . 7 9 2 , 1 4 2 0 . 3 3 1 , 7 3 0 0 . 2 7 1 , 1 4 2 0 . 1 8
8 4 M a c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , M a c h i n e
A s s e m b l e r s & P r e c i s i o n
I n s t r u m e n t M a k e r s
4 1 7 , 5 4 4 2 . 7 0 1 , 7 3 0 0 . 2 7 8 8 2 0 . 1 4 1 5 7 0 . 0 2
4 0 W o r k i n g P r o p r i e t o r s ,
W h o l e s a l e & R e t a i l
5 1 6 , 4 8 9 2 . 5 3 4 4 8 0 . 0 7 2 , 7 0 6 0 . 4 2 3 0 9 0 . 0 5
3 7 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
6 1 3 , 9 6 9 2 . 1 5 4 5 2 0 . 0 7 7 7 7 0 . 1 2 2 7 5 0 . 0 4
3 6 S t e n o g r a p h e r s & T y p i s t s 7 8 , 4 2 1 1 . 2 9 4 1 3 0 . 0 6 5 3 8 0 . 0 8 6 3 7 0 . 1 0
^Formula used for percentage: No. of persons per ethnic group
----------------------- X 100 = %
650,892
2 8 5 1
Table 46 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e
R a n k
O c c u p a t i o n s
C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k P f e l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
0 6 / 0 7 M e d i c a l , D e n t a l , V e t e r i n a r y 9
& R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
8 , 1 5 2 1 . 2 5 4 7 1 0 . 0 7 6 7 8 0 . 1 0 3 4 0 0 . 0 5
0 2 / 0 3 A r c h i t e c t s , E n g i n e e r s ,
S u r v e y o r s & R e l a t e d T e c h n i c i a n s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
7 , 2 5 3 1 . 1 1 4 5 6 0 . 0 7 7 0 7 0 . 1 1 1 , 5 7 8 0 . 2 4
0 9 E c o n o m i s t 4 9 0 . 0 1 1 0 0 . 0 0 2 1 . 0 0 2 4 . 0 0
4 9 S a l e s W o r k e r s n . e . c . 3 9 5 0 . 0 6 1 1 . 0 0 2 5 5 0 . 0 4 3 2 . 0 0
8 6 C i n e m a P r o j e c t i m i s t s , B r o a d
c a s t i n g s & O t h e r S o u n d
E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
1 6 6 0 . 0 3 9 4 0 . 0 1 3 2 . 0 0 4 3 . 0 0
286
Table 47. Occupations (2 digit-HO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s
R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I f e l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 S a l e a n e n , S h o p A s s i s t a n t s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 7 9 , 6 8 9 7 . 4 0 4 , 2 0 7 0 . 3 9 6 , 2 3 4 0 . 5 8 3 0 1 0 . 0 3
3 9 C l e r i c a l & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
l i t 6 « 0 *
2 6 4 , 7 6 7 6 . 0 1 1 1 , 8 5 2 1 . 1 0 5 , 2 9 3 0 . 4 9 1 , 0 1 0 0 . 0 9
8 5 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
F i t t e r s , A s s e m b l e r s & W r r e m e n
3 4 1 , 7 1 9 3 . 8 7 2 1 , 2 0 9 1 . 9 7 6 , 1 4 3 0 . 5 7 1 , 3 2 8 0 . 1 2
3 3 B o o k k e e p e r s , C a s h i e r s &
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
4 3 3 , 2 7 9 3 . 0 9 1 , 5 5 9 0 . 1 4 1 , 4 8 8 0 . 1 4 2 9 0 0 . 0 3
2 1 M a n a g e r s 5 3 0 , 9 3 1 2 . 8 7 5 8 5 0 . 0 5 2 , 1 5 2 0 . 2 0 4 , 9 0 1 0 . 4 6
8 4 f f e c h i n e r y F i t t e r s , I % c h i n e
I n s t r u m e n t I f e k e r s
6 3 0 , 9 0 4 2 . 8 7 7 , 4 9 2 0 . 7 0 2 , 3 8 3 0 . 2 2 3 7 3 0 . 0 3
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s p e r e t h n i c g r o u p
- - - - - - X 1 0 0 = 1 0 C K
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
M a l a y s . F o r t h e I n d i a n s , m a n y o f t h e m c o u l d b e f o u n d i n
t h e s t e n o g r a p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s g r o u p , w h i l e t h e l e a s t n u m
b e r w e r e i n t h e j o b c a t e g o r i e s o f b o o k k e e p e r s a n d a r c h i
t e c t s a n d e n g i n e e r s .
E t h n i c C o m p o s i t i o n U s i n g 3 - d i g i t K I O s
I n t e r m s o f t h e 3 - d i g i t a n a l y s i s , t h e e t h n i c c o m p o
s i t i o n f o l l o w s t h e o b s e r v e d t r e n d s f o r t h e 2 - d i g i t K I O s ,
t h a t i s * t h e C h i n e s e w e r e i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e K I O
p o s i t i o n s f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 . H o w e v e r , t h e 3 - d i g i t a n a l y s i s
a l s o s h o w e d s p e c i f i c o c c u p a t i o n s w h e r e t h e d i s c r e p a n c i e s
i n t e r m s o f l a b o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n f o r t h e e t h n i c g r o u p s
w e r e m o r e p r o n o u n c e d . F o r i n s t a n c e , a m o n g e l e c t r i c a l a n d
e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s , a l l t h e e t h n i c g r o u p s
i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n , b u t t h e a b s o l u t e i n c r e a s e
f o r t h e C h i n e s e w a s g r e a t e r w i t h i n a d e c a d e t h a n o t h e r
g r o u p s : 1 , 4 8 3 o r . 5 4 % C h i n e s e i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 7 , 4 5 6 o r
1 . 3 3 % i n 1 9 8 0 ; 1 2 2 o r . 0 4 % M a l a y s i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 8 2 6
o r . 1 5 % i n 1 9 7 0 ; 2 8 o r . 0 5 % I n d i a n s i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 3 9 9
o r . 0 7 % i n 1 9 8 0 . A n o t h e r g r o u p w h e r e d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e
o b v i o u s w a s t h e j o b c a t e g o r y o f i n s u r a n c e , r e a l e s t a t e a n d
s e c u r i t i e s s a l e s m e n . I n 1 9 7 0 , t h e r e 9 0 1 o r . 3 3 % C h i n e s e
i n t h i s c a t e g o r y a n d t h i s i n c r e a s e d t o 2 , 5 2 6 o r . 4 5 % i n
1 9 8 0 . F o r t h e M a l a y s , t h e r e w e r e o n l y a v e r y s m a l l n u m b e r
i n t h i s c a t e g o r y : 3 4 o r . 0 1 2 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 5 0 o r . 0 0 9 % i n
1 9 8 0 . S i m i l a r l y , f o r t h e I n d i a n s , t h e r e w e r e 7 9 o r . 0 3 %
287
288
Table 48. Selected (3-digit HO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e
R a n k
O c c u p a t i o n s
C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
Z R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
Z
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
4 5 1 S a l e s m e n & S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 1 2 8 , 9 1 5 4 . 4 4 9 8 4 0 . 1 5 3 2 , 9 9 3 0 . 4 6 1 9 4 0 . 0 3
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y a n d S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
2 1 5 , 6 7 4 2 . 4 1 4 1 , 8 4 9 0 . 2 8 7 1 , 4 2 8 0 . 2 2 8 0 3 0 . 1 2
7 2 9 M s t a l P r o c e s s o r s n . e . c . 5 1 , 7 9 1 0 . 2 8 1 9 0 0 . 0 3 4 5 0 . 0 1 1 . 0 0
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
6 1 , 4 8 3 0 . 2 3 1 2 2 0 . 0 2 1 2 8 0 . 0 2 1 0 0 0 . 0 2
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 8 1 , 2 1 7 0 . 1 9 6 8 0 . 0 1 9 9 0 . 0 2 3 8 0 . 0 1
0 6 1 M e d i c a l D o c t o r s 9 9 5 0 0 . 1 5 1 2 . 0 0 1 7 0 0 . 0 3 9 1 0 . 0 1
1 6 2 C o n r n e r c i a l A r t i s t s & D e s i g n e r s 1 0 9 4 2 0 . 1 4 3 7 0 . 0 1 2 0 . 0 0 3 1 . 0 0
4 4 1 I n s u r a n c e , R e a l E s t a t e &
S e c u r i t i e s S a l e a n e n
1 0 9 0 1 0 . 1 4 3 4 0 . 0 1 7 9 0 . 0 1 4 1 0 . 0 1
^Formula used for percentage: no. of persons per ethnic group
---------------------- X 100 = %
650,892
2A21
Table 49. Selected (3-digit HO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980*
C e n s u s
C o d e
R a n k
O c c u p a t i o n s
C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
4 5 1 S a l e s m e n & S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 1 3 8 , 7 5 6 3 . 6 0 1 , 9 6 9 0 . 1 8 6 3 , 3 8 8 0 . 3 1 2 7 0 0 . 0 3
1 3 2 / 1 3 3 P r i m a r y & S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
2 1 6 , 5 9 8 1 . 5 4 1 , 9 4 4 0 . 1 8 1 , 9 0 7 0 . 1 8 8 8 0 0 . 0 8
0 3 4 E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
3 7 , 4 5 6 0 . 6 9 8 2 6 0 . 0 8 3 9 9 0 . 0 4 1 8 6 0 . 0 2
0 3 3 C o n s t r u c t i o n & R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
4 3 , 8 4 8 0 . 3 6 3 8 1 0 . 0 4 3 1 0 0 . 0 3 1 1 8 0 . 0 1
0 3 5 M e c h a n i c a l & E n g i n e e r i n g
T e c h n i c i a n s
5 3 , 7 5 3 0 . 3 5 4 3 7 0 . 0 4 3 1 5 0 . 0 3 2 8 2 0 . 0 3
0 3 2 D r a u g h t s m e n 6 3 , 3 1 5 0 . 3 1 4 4 1 0 . 0 4 9 3 0 . 0 1 3 2 . 0 0
2 1 3 S a l e s S u p e r v i s o r s 7 3 , 2 8 9 0 . 3 1 1 5 7 0 . 0 1 1 6 2 0 . 0 2 8 8 0 . 0 1
0 6 1 M e d i c a l D o c t o r s 8 1 , 4 6 3 0 . 1 4 1 3 . 0 0 2 1 0 0 . 0 2 7 4 0 . 0 1
1 6 2 C o n r n e r c i a l A r t i s t s & D e s i g n e r s 9 2 , 6 3 9 0 . 2 5 1 9 6 0 . 0 2 5 0 . 0 0 4 7 . 0 0
4 4 1 I n s u r a n c e , R e a l E s t a t e &
S e c u r i t i e s S a l e s m e n
1 0 2 , 5 2 6 0 . 2 3 5 0 . 0 0 1 3 7 0 . 0 1 8 2 0 . 0 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l n o . o f p e r s o n s p e r e t h n i c g r o u p
------------------------------x 100 = I
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 3 7 o r . 0 2 % i n 1 9 8 0 a s r e a l e s t a t e a n d
i n s u r a n c e s a l e s m e n . A n o t h e r c a t e g o r y w h e r e e m p l o y m e n t w a s
s l o w , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y m o r e s o a m o n g m i n o r i t i e s , w a s t h a t
o f m e d i c a l d o c t o r s : 9 5 0 o r . 3 4 % C h i n e s e d o c t o r s i n
1 9 7 0 a n d 1 , 4 6 3 o r . 2 6 % i n 1 9 8 0 ; 1 2 o r . 0 0 4 % M a l a y s i n
1 9 7 0 a n d 1 3 o r . 0 0 2 % i n 1 9 8 0 ( a n i n c r e a s e o f 1 d o c t o r
w i t h i n a d e c a d e ! ) ; 1 7 0 o r . 0 6 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 2 1 0 o r . 0 4 %
i n 1 9 8 0 f o r t h e I n d i a n s .
S u m m a r y o f 2 - d i g i t K I O s
U s i n g t h e " a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n , " k n o w l e d g e a n d
i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( t w o - d i g i t K I O s ) w e r e a n a l y z e d a s
a s u b s e t o f t h e w o r k f o r c e . F r o m t h e s e r e s u l t s , s o c i o l o
g i c a l p r o f i l e s o f t h e K I O s a s a g r o u p a s w e l l a s t r e n d s
i n t h i s s u b g r o u p w e r e d r a w n . R e s u l t s s h o w t h a t t h e
m o s t t y p i c a l K I 0 , l i k e a t y p i c a l w o r k e r f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d
1 9 8 0 w a s a s a l e s p e r s o n o r a s h o p a s s i s t a n t , m o s t l i k e l y a
a C h i n e s e m a l e i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9 a n d 4 0 - 5 9 a g e b r a c k e t s .
T h e s e c o n d m o s t t y p i c a l K I 0 f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 w a s a
c l e r i c a l w o r k e r , m o s t l i k e l y a f e m a l e , a g e 2 0 - 3 9 . T h e
t h i r d m o s t t y p i c a l K I O w a s a n e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m b l e r , m o s t
l i k e l y a C h i n e s e f e m a l e b e t w e e n t h e a g e s 2 0 - 3 9 . A s f o r t h e
o t h e r e t h n i c g r o u p s , m o s t o f t h e I n d i a n s c o u l d b e f o u n d
i n t h e s a l e s c a t e g o r y i n 1 9 7 0 a n d t h e n i n t h e s t e n o g r a
p h e r s a n d t y p i s t s g r o u p i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e M a l a y s w e r e c o n c e n
t r a t e d i n t h e c l e r i c a l g r o u p i n 1 9 7 0 , a n d t h i s s h i f t e d
290
t o t h e e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m b l e r s g r o u p i n 1 9 8 0 . V e r y f e w
e t h n i c m i n o r i t i e s c o u l d b e f o u n d i n t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f
b o o k k e e p e r s , a r c h i t e c t s , e n g i n e e r s , a n d m a n a g e r s .
T h e " r a r e K I O s " ( s m a l l e s t p e r c e n t a g e s w h e n c o m p a r e d
w i t h t h e r e s t o f t h e e m p l o y e d ) f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 i n c l u d e d
e c o n o m i s t s , s t a t i s t i c i a n s a n d s y s t e m s a n a l y s t s , l i f e
s c i e n t i s t s , c i n e m a p r o j e c t i o n i s t s a n d b r o a d c a s t i n g e q u i p
m e n t o p e r a t o r s .
S u m m a r y o f 3 - d i g i t K I O s
I n r e l a t i o n t o t h e e n t i r e w o r k f o r c e , t h e f o l l o w i n g
t r e n d s w e r e v i s i b l e w h e n t h e 3 - d i g i t o c c u p a t i o n a l j o b
t i t l e s w e r e u s e d . T h e g r o u p o f " t e c h n i c i a n s " i n c r e a s e d
o v e r t h e d e c a d e , a l t h o u g h i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e e n t i r e w o r k
f o r c e , t h e y w e r e s t i l l f e w . E x a m p l e s o f j o b c a t e g o r i e s
w i t h i n t h e t e c h n i c i a n g r o u p w e r e t h e e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r
i n g t e c h n i c i a n s a n d t h e c o n t r u c t i o n t e c h n i c i a n s . A l l
e t h n i c g r o u p s i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e t e c h n i
c i a n j o b c a t e g o r y . A m o n g t h e s a l e s g r o u p , s a l e s m e n w h o
w e r e i n i n s u r a n c e , r e a l e s t a t e a n d s e c u r i t i e s a l s o
i n c r e a s e d i n n u m b e r s . M a l e s w e r e s t i l l t h e d o m i n a n t g r o u p
i n a l l j o b c a t e g o r i e s , b u t w o m e n i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i
c i p a t i o n i n g e n e r a l . T h e y w e r e a l s o m o r e n u m e r o u s i n t h e
j o b c a t e g o r y o f p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l t e a c h e r s , b u t
t h i s j o b c a t e g o r y , p e r c e n t a g e - w i s e i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e
e n t i r e w o r k f o r c e , d e c l i n e d . T h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s u s i n g
291
t h e t h r e e - d i g i t c a t e g o r i e s w e r e t h e p o l i t i c a l s c i e n
t i s t s , m e t a l l u r g i s t s , m i n i n g e n g i n e e r s a n d m e t a l l u r
g i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s .
P a r t I I I
N o n - K I O s A s a _ S u b s e t o f t h e W o r k f o r c e
A s a c o n t r a s t t o t h e K I O s u b s e t , t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l
p r o f i l e s o f " n o n - K I O s ” w e r e a l s o a n a l y z e d . U s i n g a g a i n t h e
a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n a p p r o a c h , t h o s e j o b s w h i c h c a n n o t
b e c l a s s i f i e d a s k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s
u n d e r t h e e x i s t i n g f o r m u l a t i o n s o f i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k w e r e
c o n s i d e r e d u n d e r t h e s u b s e t o f n o n - K I O .
T o p T e n N o n - K I O s
R e s u l t s s h o w e d t h a t t h e j o b c a t e g o r y o f m o t o r
v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d o t h e r t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t o p e r a t o r s
a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s w a s t h e t o p n o n - K I O c a t e g o r y f o r
1 9 7 0 ( 4 7 , 4 5 6 o r 7 . 3 0 % ) a n d f o r 1 9 8 0 ( 6 7 , 3 1 0 o r 6 . 2 5 % ) .
T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y t h e c a t e g o r y o f l a b o r e r s i n 1 9 7 0
( 2 6 , 4 2 6 o r 4 . 0 6 % ) a n d " n o t c l a s s i f i a b l e " i n 1 9 8 0 ( 6 2 , 1 7 4
o r 5 . 7 7 % ) . T h e t h i r d n o n - K I O j o b c a t e g o r y f o r 1 9 7 0 w a s
t h a t o f d o c k e r s , f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s a n d m a t e r i a l h a n d l i n g
o p e r a t o r s ( 2 5 , 5 4 0 o r 3 . 9 2 % ) , a n d f o r 1 9 8 0 i t w a s t h e j o b
c a t e g o r y o f b r i c k l a y e r s , c a r p e n t e r s a n d o t h e r c o n s t r u c t i o n
w o r k e r s ( 3 9 , 4 3 3 o r 3 . 6 6 % ) . F o r 1 9 8 0 , t h e j o b c a t e g o r y o f
d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s w a s t h e f o u r t h r a n k e d n o n -
K I O , s h o w i n g a s l i g h t d e c l i n e i n t e r m s o f n u m b e r o f p e o p l e
292
e m p l o y e d . I n 1 9 7 0 , t h e f i f t h r a n k e d n o n - K I O j o b c a t e g o r y
w a s t h a t o f d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e w o r k e r s ( 2 2 , 9 6 8 o r 3 . 5 3 % ) ,
a n d i n 1 9 8 0 i t w a s t h e c a t e g o r y o f t a i l o r s , d r e s s m a k e r s ,
s e w e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 3 0 , 8 6 7 o r 2 . 8 6 % ) . I n 1 9 7 0 ,
t h i s c a t e g o r y r a n k e d e i g t h , w i t h a t o t a l n u m b e r o f p e o p l e
e m p l o y e d a t 1 6 , 1 0 2 o r 2 . 4 7 % . T h i s m e a n s t h a t t h e r e w a s a
p e r c e n t a g e a n d a b s o l u t e i n c r e a s e i n t h i s n o n - K I O c a t e g o r y .
T h i s i n c r e a s e w a s n o t a p p l i c a b l e t o a n o t h e r " s e r v i c e ”
c a t e g o r y , e . g . , t h a t o f c o o k s , w a i t e r s , a n d r e l a t e d w o r k
e r s . I n 1 9 7 0 , t h i s c a t e g o r y h a d 1 4 , 2 8 7 p e o p l e e m p l o y e d
( 2 . 1 9 % ) . I n 1 9 8 0 i t s h o w e d a p e r c e n t a g e d e c l i n e ( 1 . 9 6 % ) ,
b u t t h e r e w e r e i n c r e a s e s i n a b s o l u t e t e r m s ( 2 1 , 1 7 2 ) d u e
t o i n c r e a s e s i n t h e l a b o r f o r c e . F o r 1 9 7 0 , o t h e r c a t e g o
r i e s w h i c h w e r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e t o p t e n n o n - K I O l i s t
w e r e p r o t e c t i v e s e r v i c e w o r k e r s ( 1 7 , 5 2 9 o r 2 . 6 9 % ) a s
w e l l a s b u i l d i n g c a r e t a k e r s , c l e a n e r s a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s
( 1 2 , 8 0 4 o r 1 . 9 7 % ) . I n 1 9 8 0 t h i s c a t e g o r y i n c r e a s e d i n
a b s o l u t e t e r m s ( 2 0 , 2 9 6 ) b u t d e c r e a s e d p e r c e n t a g e - w i s e
( 1 . 8 8 % ) . F o r 1 9 8 0 , t h e o t h e r t o p n o n - K I O s w e r e : p l u m b e r s ,
w e l d e r s a n d o t h e r r e l a t e d s t r u c t u r a l m e t a l w o r k e r s ( 2 6 , 8 9 1
o r 2 . 5 0 % ) ; p r o d u c t i o n s u p e r v i s o r s a n d g e n e r a l f o r e m e n
( 2 6 , 5 9 7 o r 2 . 4 7 % ) ; a n d p r o t e c t i v e s e r v i c e w o r k e r s
( 2 5 , 2 4 0 o r 2 . 3 4 % ) .
O n c e m o r e f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 , t h e " r a r e n o n - K I O s " o r
t h o s e w h i c h h a d t h e l o w e s t p e r c e n t a g e s i n t h e w o r k f o r c e
w e r e t h e j o b c a t e g o r i e s t h a t b e l o n g e d t o t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l
293
Table 50. Occupations (2-digit Non-KIOs) ranked as
percentage of total employed, 1970*
C e n s u s
C o d e O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k T o t a l N o . %
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s & O t h e r
T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
& R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 4 7 , 4 5 6 7 . 2 9
9 9 l a b o r e r s 2 2 6 , 4 2 6 4 . 0 6
9 7 D o c k e r s A n d F r e i g h t H a n d l e r s a n d
M a t e r i a l H a n d l i n g a n d R e l a t e d
E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
3 2 5 , 5 4 0 3 . 9 2
N o t C l a s s i f i a b l e 4 2 3 , 1 3 1 3 . 5 5
5 4 D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 5 2 2 , 9 6 8 3 . 5 3
5 8 P r o t e c t i v e S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 7 1 7 , 5 2 9 2 . 6 9
7 9 T a i l o r s , D r e s s m a k e r s , S e w e r s ,
U p h o l s t e r e r s a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
8 1 6 , 1 0 2 2 . 4 7
5 2 C o o k s , K b i t e r s a n d R e l a t e d k f o r k e r s 9 1 4 , 2 8 7 2 . 1 9
5 5 B u i l d i n g C a r e t a k e r s , C l e a n e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
l o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 0 1 2 , 8 0 4 1 . 9 7
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 1 3 8 0 . 0 1
6 3 F o r e s t r y W o r k e r s 2 8 7 0 . 0 1
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e l t m o n g e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
3 1 1 0 0 . 0 2
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : T o t a l N o . o f O c c u p a t i o n
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
6 5 0 , 8 9 2
23 lM
Table 51. Occupations (2-digit Non-KIOs) ranked as
percentage of total employed, 1980*
Census
Code Occupations Rank Total No. %
Highest Percentages
98 Motor Vehicles, Ships and Other
Transport Equipment Operators
and Related Workers
1 67,310 6.25
Not Classifiable 2 62,174 5.77
95 Bricklayers, Carpenters and
Other Construction Workers
3 39,433 3.66
97 Dockers and Freight Handlers and
Material Handling and Related
Equipment Operators
4 32,652 3.03
79 Tailors, Dressmakers, Sewers
Upholsterers and Related Workers
5 30,867 2.87
87 Plimbers, Welders and Other Related
Sheet/Structural Metal Workers
6 26,891 2.50
70 Production Supervisors and
General Foremen
7 26,597 2.47
58 Protective Service Workers 8 25,240 2.34
52 Codes, kkiters and Related Workers 9 21,172 1.97
55 Building Garetakes, Cleaners
and Related Workers
Lowest Percentages
10 20,296 1.88
60 Farm Supervisors 1 29 0.003
63 Forestry Workers 2 60 0.006
76 Tanners, Fellmongers and 3 76 0.007
Peltdressers
* Formula used for percentage: Total no. of persons per occupations
1,077,090 X 100 = %
2951
a n d f o r e s t r y s e c t i o n s . T h e s e j o b s i n c l u d e d f a r m s u p e r v i
s o r s , t a n n e r s , t o b a c c o p r e p a r e r s a n d s t o n e c u t t e r s .
Sex Composition of 2-digit Non-KIO Subset
F o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 , t h e t o p n o n - K I O w a s c l e a r l y t h e
c a t e g o r y o f w o r k e r s o p e r a t i n g m o t o r v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d
o t h e r t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t . I t w a s a l s o p r e d o m i n a n t l y m a l e ,
a s e x p e c t e d ( 4 6 , 8 9 9 o r 7 . 2 % m a l e s , 5 5 7 o r . 0 8 % f e m a l e s
i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 6 6 , 3 5 5 o r 6 . 2 % m a l e s , 9 5 5 o r . 0 9 % f e m a l e s i n
1 9 8 0 ) . T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y l a b o r e r s i n 1 9 7 0 ( 2 3 , 5 5 5 o r
3 . 6 % m a l e s , 2 , 8 7 1 o r . 4 4 % f e m a l e s ) a n d b y b r i c k l a y e r s
a n d c a r p e n t e r s i n 1 9 8 0 ( 3 7 , 6 7 0 o r 3 . 5 % m a l e s , 1 , 7 6 3 o r
o r . 1 6 % f e m a l e s ) . D o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s r a n k e d
f o u r t h i n 1 9 7 0 , a n d m a l e s d o m i n a t e d t h i s c a t e g o r y ( 2 1 , 8 9 0
o r 3 . 4 % ) . W o m e n , i n 1 9 7 0 , s h o w e d u p i n l a r g e n u m b e r s i n
t h e c a t e g o r y o f d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e w o r k e r s ( 2 1 , 8 2 6 o r 3 . 4 %
f e m a l e s , 1 , 1 4 2 o r 1 . 7 % m a l e s ) . T h e y w e r e a l s o p r e d o m i n a n t
i n 1 9 8 0 i n t h e c a t e g o r y o f t a i l o r s , d r e s s m a k e r s a n d r e
l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 2 5 , 6 3 1 o r 2 . 4 % f e m a l e s , 5 , 2 3 6 o r o r . 4 9 %
m a l e s ) . H o w e v e r , f o r t h e r e s t o f t h e t o p n o n - K I O s i n 1 9 8 0 ,
t h e m a l e w o r k e r s w e r e i n t h e m a j o r i t y . T h e s e o c c u p a t i o n s
i n c l u d e d t h e f o l l o w i n g : p l u m b e r s a n d w e l d e r s ( 2 . 3 4 %
m a l e s , . 1 5 % f e m a l e s ) ; d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s ( 2 . 3 %
m a l e s , . 7 4 % f e m a l e s ) ; p r o d u c t i o n s u p e r v i s o r s a n d g e n e r a l
f o r e m e n ( 2 . 1 9 % m a l e s , . 2 8 % f e m a l e s ) . T h e t e n t h r a n k e d
n o n - K I O f o r 1 9 8 0 w a s p r e d o m i n a n t l y f e m a l e a n d t h i s w a s t h e
c a t e g o r y o f d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e w o r k e r s ( 1 5 , 7 8 1 o r 1 . 5 %
296
297
Table 52 , Occupations (2-digit non-KIO) classified by sex
and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970*
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
X Rank Female
Total No.
X
Highest Percentages
98 Motor Vehicles,
Ships and Other
Transport Equipment
Operators and
Related Workers
1 46899 7.2 557 0.08
99 Labourers n.e.c. 2 23555 3.6 2871 0.44
- Not Classifiable 3 22690 3.5 441 0.07
97 Dockers and Freight
Handlers and Material
Handling and Related
Equipment Operators
4 21890 3.4 3650 0.56
54 Domestic Service
Workers
5 1142 1.7 2)826 3.4
58 Protective Service
Workers
6 17159 2.6 370 0.06
•Formula used for percentage: No. of Persons per Sex
650,892 x 100 = X
298
Table 52 con’t.
Census
Code
Occupations Rank Male
Total No.
I
Rank Female
Total No.
1
87 Plumbers, Welders
and Other Related
Sheet/Structural
Metal Workers
7 12090 1.8 568 0.09
95 Bricklayers,
Carpenters and
Other Construction
Workers
8 11698 1.8 436 0.07
79 Tailors, Oressmakers,
Sewers, Upholsterers
and Related Workers
9 5106 0.78 10996 1.7
55 Building Caretakers,
Cleaners and
Related Workers
Lowest Percentages
10 10623 1.6 2181 0.33
63 Forestry Workers 87 0.01 1 0 0
60 Farm Supervisors 36 0.005 2 2 0.0003
82 Store Cutters and
Carvers
161 0.02 3 12 0.001
76 Tanners, Fellmongers
and Peltdressers
97 0.01 4 13 0.002
P e rc e n t
Q
M A LE
FE M A L E
Rntks by Highest Percentage
R anks by Lowest Percentage
ALL OCCUPATIONS ( 2 - DIGIT NON-KIO) CLASSIFIED BY SEX AND RANKED
AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL EMPLOYED, 1970
F I G U R E 2 9
NJ
VO
_VO_______________________________________
. 002 ° / c
300
Figure 29 con't.
Occupations (2-digit non KIO) classified by sex and
ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970
Legend:
A. Motor Vehicles, Ships and Other Transport Equipment
Operators and Related Workers
B. Labourers n.e.c.
C. Not Classifiable
0. Dockers and Freight Handlers and Material Handling
and Related Equipment Operators
E. Domestic Service Workers
F. Protective Service Workers
G. Plumbers, Welders and Other Related Sheet/Structural Metal Workers
H. Bricklayers, Carpenters and Other Construction Workers
1. Tailors, Dressmakers, Sewers, Upholsterers and Related Workers
J. Building Caretakers, Cleaners and Related Workers
K. Forestry Workers
L. Farm Supervisors
M. Stone Cutters and Carvers
N. Tanners, Fellmongers and Peltdressers
Table 53. Occupations (2-digit non-KIOs) classified by sex and ranked
as percentage of total employed, 1980*
Census
Code Occupations Rank
Male
Total No. % Rank
Female
Total No. %
Highest Percentages
98 Motor Vehicles, Ships and
Other Tmsport Equipment
Operators and Related Workers
1 66,355 6.16 955 0.09
95 Bricklayers, Carpenters and
Other Construction Workers
3 37,670 3.50 1,763 0.16
79 Tailors, Dressmakers, Sewers,
Upholsterers and Related
Workers
5,236 0.49 4 25,631 2.38
87 Plumbers, Welders and Other
Related Sheet/Structural
Metal Workers
5 25,265 2.35 1,626 0.15
97 Dockers and Freight Handlers
and kfeterial Handling and
Related Equipment Operators
6 24,629 2.29 8,023 0.74
70 Production Supervisors and
General Foreman
7 23,582 2.19 3,015 0.28
58 Protective Service Workers 8 23,525 2.18 1,715 0.16
52 Cooks, Waiters and Related
Workers
10 12,848 1.19 8,324 0.77
54 Domestic Service Workers
Lowest Percentages
324 0.03 9 15,781 1.47
63 Forestry Workers 60 0.01 1 0 0.00
60 Farm Supervisors 28 .00 2 1 .00
76 Tanners, FeUmongers and
Peltdressers
60 0.01 3 16 .00
^Formula used for percentage: No. of persons per sex
-------------X 100 - %
1,077,090
3 0 1 |
females, 324 or.03 males). As expected, the lowest percen
tages in terms of the sex composition of the workforce
were women in the agricultural and forestry jobs such as
forestry workers, farm supervisors, and tanners.
Age Composition of the 2-digit Non-KIO Subset
For 1970, the top non-KIOs were concentrated in the
20-29 age brackets and these job categories included those
which were mentioned earlier. These were: operators of
motor vehicles, ships and other transport equipment
(3.68 %), laborers (2.28 %), dockers and freight handlers
(2.07 %), not classifiable workers (1.9 %), and domestic
service workers (1.32 %). For 1980, workers in non-KIO
jobs were also primarily in the 20-39 age bracket, but
there were many workers too in the other age brackets. For
example, among operators of motor vehicles and other
transport equipment, workers were concentrated in the 20-
39 age bracket (34,661 or 3.2 %) as well as in the 40-59
age group (28,033 or 2.6 %). "Not classifiable" workers
in 1980 were in the young age groups (29,052 or 2.70 % in
the below 20 group and 31,671 or 2.94 % in the 20-39 age
bracket). On the other hand, majority of the bricklayers
(2.28 %) as well as dressmakers (1.91 %), plumbers and
welders (1.82 %) and other non-KIOs were concentrated in
the 20-39 age bracket for 1980.
Trends in the non-KIOs indicate that these follow the
3 0 2
303
T a b l e O c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i g l t n o n - K I O ) c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e a p l o y e d , 1 9 7 0 *
C en su s
C o d e
O ccupations R a n k B elow 2 0
Total N o.
1 R a n k 20-39
Total no.
i R a n k 40-59
T otal N o.
1
Highest Percentages
98 H otor Vehicles, Ships
an d O th er Transport
E q u ip m en t O perators
an d Related H orkers
1 4 7 4 0.23 1 23929 3.68 2 22053 3.39
99 L abourers n.e.c. 4036 0.62 3 14834 2.28 7556 1.16
9 7 D ockers an d Freight
H andlers an d Haterial
H andling an d Related
E quipaent O perators
3160 0.46 4 13463 2.07 1 0 8917 1.37
N ot Classifiable 1 0025 1.5 5 12379 1.9 7 2 7 0.11
5 4 Ooaestic Service
H orkers
3536 0.54 6 8608 1.32 1 0824 1.66
'Foraula used for percentage: N o. of Persons per A g e G r o u p
650892 x 1 0 0 ; t
304
Table 54 con't.
C ensus Occupations R a n k Belov 2 0 t R a n k 20-39 1 R a n k 40-59 1
C o d e Total N o. Total N o. Total N o .
58 Protective Service 406 0.06 7 10452 1.6 6671 1.02
H orkers
79 Tailors, Dressaakers. 3817 0.59 8 9318 1.4 2967 0.45
Severs, Upholsterers
an d Related N orkers
85 Electrical an d 6729 1.03 9 9090 1.39 2472 0.38
Electronic Fitters
Asseablers a n d
N ineaen
lovest Percentages
60 F are Supervisors I I 0.0001 1 9 8.003 2 1 8 0.002
82 Stone Cutters an d 2 1 8 0.002 186 0.02 49 0.007
C arvers
50 W o rk in g Proprietors 3 2 1 0.003 843 0.13 1998 0.31
Catering an d lodging
3-0-51
T a b l e 55 . O c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i g i t n o n - K I O ) c l a s s i f i e d b y a g e g r o u p
a n d r a n k e d a s p e r c e n t a g e o f t o t a l e a p l o y e d , 1 ) 8 0 *
C ensus O ccupations R a n k B elow 20 I R a n k 20-39 1 R a n k 40-59 1 R a n k 60 I A b o v e 1
C o d e Total Total Total Total N o .
N o . N o. N o.
Highest Percentages
98 H otor Vehicles, I2 T 5 0.12 I 34661 3.2 3 28033 2.6 33 4 1 0.31
Ships an d O th er
Transport E q u ip m en t
O perators a n d
Related N orkers
N ot Classifiable 4 29052 2.70 2 31671 2.94 1 4 25 0.13 26 0.002
95 Bricklayers, 4768 0.44 5 24614 2.28 8824 0.82 1227 0.11
Carpenters an d O th er
Construction H orkers
79 Tailors, Dressaakers, 5725 0.53 6 20571 1.91 3 9 4 1 0.36 630 0.06
Sewers, Upholsterers
an d Related H orkers
*for«ula used for percentage: N o of Persons per A g e G r o u p
1077090 x 1 0 0 = 1
306
Tabl e 55 c o n ' t .
C ensus O ccupations R a n k B elow 20 1 R a n k 20-39 I R a n k 40-59 1 R a n k 60 1 A b o v e 1
C o d e Total Total Total Total N o .
N o . N o. N o.
87 Pluibers, W elders 2851 0.26 7 19580 1.82 4182 0.39 278 0.02
a n d O th er Related
Sheet/Structural
M etal H orkers
70 Production 413 0.04 8 1 9 1 6 1 1.78 (470 0.60 553 0.05
Supervisors a n d
G eneral F oreaen
97 D ockers an d Freight 4569 0.42 9 18606 1.73 8605 0.80 872 0.08
H andlers a n d M aterial
H andling an d Related
E quipaent O perators
58 Protective Service 2528 0.23 1 0 14267 1.32 6933 0.64 1512 0.14
L ow est Percentages
60 F ara Supervisors I 1 .00009 2 1 0.002 4 5 0.0004 2 2 0.0002
307
Table con't.
C en su s
C o d e
O ccupations R a n k B elou 2 0
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 20-39
T otal
N o.
1 R a n k 40-59.
Total
N o .
1 R a n k 60 1 A b o v e
Total N o .
I
63 Forestry H orkers II 0.001 29 0.003 1 7 0.001 3 3 0.0003
82 Stone Cutters an d
C arvers
29 0.003 1 0 3 0.009 38 0.003 5 4 0.0004
76 Tanners, Fellaongers
an d Peltdressers
1 2 0.001 3 3 0.003 2 6 0.002 6 5 0.0005
g e n e r a l p a t t e r n o f w o r k e r s b e i n g c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e 2 0 - 3 9
a g e b r a c k e t . H o w e v e r , w o r k e r s i n s o m e j o b s t e n d e d t o
b e c o m e o l d e r s u c h a s t h o s e o f o p e r a t o r s o f m o t o r v e h i
c l e s a n d t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t , w h i l e a j o b c a t e g o r y s u c h
a s " n o t c l a s s i f i a b l e " w o r k e r s s h o w e d a y o u n g w o r k f o r c e .
E t h n i c C o m p o s i t i o n o f 2 - d i g i t N o n - K I O s
I n t e r m s o f e t h n i c c o m p o s i t i o n , t h e C h i n e s e g r o u p , a s
e x p e c t e d , w a s i n t h e m a j o r i t y f o r t h e t o p t e n n o n - K I O s f o r
b o t h 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 . T h e y w e r e t h e p r e d o m i n a n t g r o u p i n t h e
f o l l o w i n g n o n - K I O s : m o t o r v e h i c l e s a n d o t h e r t r a n s p o r t
e q u i p m e n t o p e r a t o r s ( 3 2 , 5 8 6 o r 5 . 0 1 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 4 9 , 6 6 8
o r 4 . 6 1 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; n o t c l a s s i f i a b l e w o r k e r s ( 1 7 , 6 9 7 o r
2 . 7 2 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 5 1 , 4 5 9 o r 4 . 7 8 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; l a b o r e r s
( 2 1 , 4 8 1 o r 3 . 3 0 % i n 1 9 7 0 ) ; d o m e s t i c s e r v i c e w o r k e r s
( 1 9 , 3 4 4 o r 2 . 9 7 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 1 , 5 8 1 o r 1 . 0 8 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ;
d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s ( 1 8 , 6 9 4 o r 2 . 8 7 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
2 1 , 5 2 1 o r 2 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; a n d a s t a i l o r s a n d d r e s s m a k e r s
( 1 5 , 2 9 9 o r 2 . 3 5 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 2 9 , 0 6 1 o r 2 . 7 0 % i n
1 9 8 0 ) .
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e o t h e r m i n o r i t i e s w e r e n o t t h e
p r e d o m i n a n t g r o u p s i n a n y n o n - K I O j o b c a t e g o r y . H o w e v e r ,
t h e r e w e r e j o b s w h e r e s o m e m i n o r i t y g r o u p s p a r t i c i p a t e d
m o r e v i s i b l y . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e M a l a y s w e r e e m p l o y e d i n t h e
f o l l o w i n g j o b c a t e g o r i e s : m o t o r v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d o t h e r
t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t o p e r a t o r s ( 1 1 , 3 0 9 o r 1 . 7 4 % i n 1 9 7 0
3 0 8
309
Table 56. Occupations (2-digit non-KIO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1970s
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s & O t h e r
T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
1 3 2 , 5 8 6 5 . 0 1 9 1 1 , 3 0 9 1 . 7 4 3 , 2 9 4 0 . 5 1 2 6 7 0 . 0 4
9 9 L a b o u r e r s n . e . c 2 2 1 , 4 8 1 3 . 3 0 3 , 4 3 2 0 . 5 3 1 , 4 7 9 0 . 2 3 3 4 0 . 0 1
3 4 D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 3 1 9 , 3 4 4 2 . 9 7 2 , 8 8 1 0 . 4 4 6 2 1 0 . 1 0 1 2 2 0 . 0 2
9 7 D o c k e r s a n d F r e i g h t H a n d l e r s
a n d L f e t e r i a l H a n d l i n g a n d
R e l a t e d E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
4 1 8 , 6 9 4 2 . 8 7 3 , 3 7 1 0 . 5 2 3 , 3 7 9 0 . 5 2 9 6 0 . 0 1
N o t C l a s s i f i a b l e 5 1 7 , 6 9 7 2 . 7 2 3 , 0 7 3 0 . 4 7 1 , 3 3 5 0 . 2 1 1 , 0 2 6 0 . 1 6
7 9 T a i l o r s , D r e s s m a k e r s , S e w e r s , 6
U p h o l s t e r e r s a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
1 5 , 2 9 9 2 . 3 5 3 4 5 0 . 0 5 4 3 6 0 . 0 7 2 2 . 0 0
5 2 C o o k s , W a i t e r s a n d R e l a t e d
W o r k e r s
8 1 2 , 8 2 1 1 . 9 7 5 6 8 0 . 0 9 7 7 3 0 . 1 2 1 2 5 0 . 0 2
8 7 P l u m b e r s , W e l d e r s a n d O t h e r 1 0 1 0 , 4 3 7 1 . 6 0 1 , 2 9 2 0 . 2 0 8 6 2 0 . 1 3 6 7 0 . 0 1
l a t e d S h e e t / S t r u c t u r a l
310
Table 56 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I ' f a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
9 5 B r i c k l a y e r s , C a r p e n t e r s a n d
O t h e r C o n s t r u c t i o n W o r k e r s
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
9 , 9 6 8 1 . 5 3 1 , 1 0 4 0 . 1 7 1 , 0 2 7 0 . 1 6 3 5 0 . 0 1
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 3 0 0 . 0 0 4 2 3 0 . 0 0 0 1 1 0 . 0 0 0 4
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e l l n a n g e r s &
P e l t d r e s s e r s
1 0 0 0 . 0 1 5 3 6 0 . 0 0 0
O
3 0 . 0 0 0 1 1
7 8 T o b a c c o P r e p a r e r s &
T o b a c c o P r o d u c t M a k e r s
3 2 2 0 . 0 4 9 4 1 0 . 0 0 6 6 7 0 . 0 1 0 1 1
8 2 S t o n e C u t t e r s a n d C a r v e r s 1 6 2 0 . 0 2 4 7 0 . 0 0 1 2 3 0 . 0 0 0 1 1
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s p e r e t h n i c g r o u p
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 * %
6 5 0 , 8 9 2
311
Table 57. Occupations (2-digit non-KIO) classified by ethnic groups and ranked as percentage of total employed, 1980s 1 5
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
H i g h e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e 1 5 1 , 4 5 9 4 . 7 8 3 , 9 4 1 0 . 3 7 5 , 7 0 9 0 . 5 3 1 , 0 6 5 0 . 1 0
9 8 M o t o r V e h i c l e s , S h i p s & O t h e r
T r a n s p o r t E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
2 4 9 , 6 6 8 4 . 6 1 9 1 3 , 8 8 4 1 . 2 9 3 , 4 8 1 0 . 3 2 2 7 7 0 . 0 3
7 9 T a i l o r s , D r e s s m a k e r s , S e w e r s ,
U p h o l s t e r e r s & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
3 2 9 , 0 6 1 2 . 7 0 9 0 1 0 . 0 8 5 5 3 0 . 0 5 3 5 2 0 . 0 3
9 5 B r i c k l a y e r s , C a r p e n t e r s &
O t t e r C o n s t r u c t i o n W o r k e r s
4 2 8 , 2 3 1 2 . 6 2 9 , 6 3 3 0 . 8 9 1 , 4 4 8 0 . 1 3 1 2 1 0 . 0 1
7 0 P r o d u c t i o n S u p e r v i s o r s &
G e n e r a l F o r e m e n
5 2 2 , 3 3 1 2 . 0 7 2 , 1 2 5 0 . 2 0 1 , 6 8 0 0 . 1 6 4 6 1 0 . 0 4
9 7 D o c k e r s & F r e i g h t H a n d l e r s &
I f e t e r i a l H a n d l i n g & R e l a t e d
E q u i p m e n t O p e r a t o r s
6 2 1 , 5 2 1 2 . 0 0 7 , 4 3 7 0 . 6 9 3 , 4 3 8 0 . 3 2 2 5 6 0 . 0 2
^ F o r m u l a u s e d f o r p e r c e n t a g e : N o . o f p e r s o n s b y e t h n i c g r o u p
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1 0 0 = %
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
err
Table 57 con't.
C e n s u s
C o d e
O c c u p a t i o n s R a n k C h i n e s e
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k M a l a y s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k I n d i a n s
T o t a l N o .
% R a n k O t h e r s
T o t a l N o .
%
8 7 P l u m b e r s , W e l d e r s & O t h e r 7
R e l a t e d S h e e t S t r u c t u r a l
M e t a l W o r k e r s
2 0 , 7 1 4 1 . 9 2 4 , 1 5 2 0 . 3 9 1 , 8 5 9 0 . 1 7 1 6 6 0 . 0 2
5 2 C o d e s , W a i t e r s & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s 8 1 8 , 2 8 1 1 . 7 0 1 , 7 6 8 0 . 1 6 8 5 8 0 . 0 8 2 6 5 0 . 0 2
5 4 D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e W o r k e r s 1 0
L o w e s t P e r c e n t a g e s
1 1 , 5 8 1 1 . 0 8 3 , 4 2 7 0 . 3 2 7 0 5 0 . 0 7 3 9 2 0 . 0 4
6 0 F a r m S u p e r v i s o r s 2 5 0 . 0 0 2 2 1 0 . 0 0 0 4 3 0 . 0 0 0 1 0 0
6 3 F o r e s t r y W o r k e r s 3 3 0 . 0 0 3 2 5 0 . 0 0 2 2 0 . 0 0 0 1 0 0
7 6 T a n n e r s , F e U m o n g e r s &
P e l t d r e s s e r s
6 7 0 . 0 0 6 4 3 0 . 0 0 0 3 6 0 . 0 0 0 1 0 0
a n d 1 3 , 8 8 4 o r 1 . 2 9 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; b r i c k l a y e r s a n d c a r p e n t e r s
( 1 , 1 0 4 o r . 1 7 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 9 , 6 3 3 o r . 8 9 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; a n d
a s d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s ( 3 , 3 7 1 o r . 5 2 % i n 1 9 7 0
a n d 7 , 4 3 7 o r . 6 9 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e I n d i a n s , o n t h e o t h e r
h a n d , w e r e c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g j o b s : m o t o r
v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d o t h e r t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t o p e r a t o r s
( 3 , 2 9 4 o r . 5 1 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 3 , 4 8 1 o r . 3 2 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ;
d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s ( 3 , 3 7 9 o r . 5 2 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
3 , 4 2 8 o r . 3 2 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; n o t c l a s s i f i a b l e ( 1 , 3 3 5 o r . 2 1 %
i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 5 , 7 0 9 o r . 5 3 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) ; a n d a s b r i c k l a y e r s
a n d c a r p e n t e r s ( 1 , 0 2 7 o r . 1 6 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 , 4 4 8 o r . 1 3 %
i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
C o m m e n t s o n K I O s a n d N o n - K I O s
C o n t r a s t i n g t h e s e t w o g r o u p s , w e c a n s e e t h a t t h e y
f o l l o w t h e g e n e r a l o c c u p a t i o n a l p a t t e r n s s h o w n i n t h e
p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r s . H o w e v e r , r e l a t i n g t h e s e f i n d i n g s t o t h e
a m b i t i o n s o f S i n g a p o r e t o b e c o m e a " h i g h - t e c h " i n f o r m a t i o n
s o c i e t y , i t b e c o m e s c l e a r t h a t t h i s a m b i t i o n m a y t a k e m o r e
t i m e a n d r e s o u r c e s t o a c h i e v e . T h e t y p i c a l K I O s f o r 1 9 7 0
a n d 1 9 8 0 w e r e t h o s e o f t h e s a l e s p e r s o n , c l e r i c a l w o r k e r ,
t e a c h e r s a n d e l e c t r o n i c s a s s e m b l e r . T h e s e c a t e g o r i e s
c e r t a i n l y d o n o t f i t a s y e t t h e " t e c h n o c r a c y " w h i c h
D a n i e l B e l l ( 1 9 7 3 ) p r e d i c t e d f o r a n " i n f o r m a t i o n s o c i e t y . "
A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , t h e s c i e n t i f i c a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l j o b s
s e e m e d t o b e s o m e o f t h e " r a r e s t " j o b c a t e g o r i e s i n
____________________________________________________________ 313
t h a t s o c i e t y . T h e t y p i c a l n o n - K I O s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
w e r e s o m e o f t h e l e a s t s k i l l e d a m o n g t h e i n d u s t r i a l
w o r k e r s , a n d i n f a c t i n c l u d e s m a n y o f t h e c a t e g o r i e s f o r
p h y s i c a l a n d m a n u a l l a b o r e r s . H o w t h e s e w o r k e r s " f i t "
i n t o t h e o v e r a l l v i s i o n o f a n " i n f o r m a t i o n s o c i e t y " c e r
t a i n l y d e s e r v e s m o r e a t t e n t i o n . T h e n e x t t w o s e c t i o n s
s h a l l t a k e a c l o s e r l o o k a t t h e s e K I O s a n d t h e t r e n d s t h a t
t h e y e x h i b i t i n t e r m s o f t h e o v e r a l l e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e .
P a r t I V
K I O s R e c l a s s i f i e d A c c o r d i n g t o D i f f e r e n t O r i e n t a t i o n s
S t i l l u s i n g t h e a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n a p p r o a c h , K I O s
c a n b e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r s u b j e c t m a t t e r
o r i e n t a t i o n s . T h i s t y p e o f a n a l y s i s h i g h l i g h t s t r e n d s t h a t
t h e p r e v i o u s k i n d o f a n a l y s e s ( e . g . , i n t e r m s o f t h e t o p
o r t y p i c a l o c c u p a t i o n s ) d i d n o t s h o w .
F o r t h i s a n a l y s i s , a t o t a l o f 5 7 K I O s w e r e s e l e c t e d
a n d r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r o r i e n t a t i o n s . T h e
f o c u s o f t h e a n a l y s i s w a s t h e r a t e o f i n c r e a s e t h a t t h e s e
v a r i o u s K I O s s h o w e d b e t w e e n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 . T h e p u r p o s e w a s
t o f i n d o u t w h i c h j o b s c a t e g o r i e s m a y h a v e b e e n s t i m u l a t e d
b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c i e s a n d t h o s e w h i c h w e r e i n h i
b i t e d i n t h e p r o c e s s o f t h e f i r s t r e s t r u c t u r i n g a n d t h e
s e c o n d r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f t h e S i n g a p o r e a n e c o n o m y . T h e K I O s
w e r e t h e r e f o r e g r o u p e d i n t o t h e f o l l o w i n g : p h y s i c a l
s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d K I O s , b u s i n e s s - r e l a t e d K I O s , s t a t i s t i c a l
___________________________________________________________________ 314
a n d r e l a t e d K I O s , e d u c a t i o n - o r i e n t e d K I O s , b i o l o g i c a l a n d
m e d i c a l s c i e n c e - r e l a t e d K I O s , s o c i a l s c i e n c e - r e l a t e d K I O s ,
m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d t e c h n o l o g y - r e l a t e d K I O s , a n d t h e
" o t h e r s " c a t e g o r y .
P h y s i c a l S c i e n c e - O r i e n t e d K I O s
S e v e n t e e n j o b c a t e g o r i e s w e r e i d e n t i f i e d u n d e r t h i s
s u b g r o u p . T a b l e 5 8 s h o w s t h a t f o r t h e " s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d "
s u b s e t , t h e a b s o l u t e a n d p e r c e n t a g e i n c r e a s e s w i t h i n a d e
c a d e h a v e b e e n v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l . H o w e v e r , a s i n d i v i d u a l
j o b c a t e g o r i e s , t h e s e o c c u p a t i o n s s t i l l r e m a i n a s v e r y
s m a l l g r o u p s w i t h i n t h e e n t i r e w o r k f o r c e . I n o t h e r w o r d s ,
w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e g e n e r a l o c c u p a t i o n a l p a t t e r n s f o r
1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 a n d a n a l y z e d a s i n d i v i d u a l j o b t i t l e s , t h e y
c a n s t i l l b e c o n s i d e r e d a s " r a r e " o r " a t y p i c a l " j o b s .
A l o o k a t t h i s s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d g r o u p w i l l s h o w t h a t
i t i s c o m p o s e d o f p h y s i c a l s c i e n t i s t s , e n g i n e e r s , a n d
t e c h n i c i a n s . T a b l e 5 8 s h o w s t h e r a t e s o f i n c r e a s e s i n
t h e s e j o b c a t e g o r i e s w i t h i n a d e c a d e . T h e s e c a t e g o r i e s
a r e : o t h e r p h y s i c a l s c i e n t i s t s ( a n i n c r e a s e o f 1 3 7 o r 1 4 9 %
i n c r e a s e o v e r 1 9 7 0 d a t a ) ; o t h e r p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e t e c h n i
c i a n s ( 1 , 1 9 7 o r 2 0 8 % i n c r e a s e ) ; c i v i l e n g i n e e r s ( 5 7 3 o r
8 7 % i n c r e a s e ) ; e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c e n g i n e e r s ( 1 , 1 2 4
o r 1 5 2 % i n c r e a s e ) ; m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r s ( 1 , 1 3 5 o r 8 3 %
i n c r e a s e ) ; c h e m i c a l e n g i n e e r s ( 1 1 6 o r 4 1 % i n c r e a s e ) ;
m i n i n g e n g i n e e r s ( 1 0 9 o r 3 5 2 % i n c r e a s e ) ; e n g i n e e r s ,
315
Table 58. Selected KEO (3-digit) classified according
to different orientations, 1970 and 1980
O c c u p a t i o n s 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
A c t u a l
C h a n g e
%
C h a n g e
S c i e n c e - O r i e n t e d
C h e m i s t 2 4 9 2 4 7 ( 2 ) - 1
O t h e r P h y s i c a l S c i e n t i s t s 9 2 2 2 9 1 3 7 1 4 9
O t h e r P h y s i c a l S c i e n c e
T e c h n i c i a n s
5 7 5 1 , 7 7 2 1 , 1 9 7 2 0 8
C i v i l E n g i n e e r s 6 5 6 1 , 2 2 9 5 7 3 8 7
E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c
E n g i n e e r s
7 3 8 1 , 8 6 2 1 , 1 2 4 1 5 2
M e c h i n i c a l E n g i n e e r s 1 , 3 7 1 2 , 5 0 6 1 , 1 3 5 8 3
C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r s 2 8 5 4 0 1 1 1 6 4 1
M i n i n g E n g i n e e r s 3 1 1 4 0 1 0 9 3 5 2
E n g i n e e r s , n . e . c . 2 0 8 9 3 0 7 2 2 3 4 7
T e c h n i c i a n s 1 , 1 6 0 4 , 6 5 7 3 , 4 9 7 3 0 1
O t h e r P r o f e s s i o n a l , T e c h
n i c a l & R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
7 2 2 8 4 3 1 2 1 1 7
E l e c t r i c a l & E l e c t r o n i c s
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s
1 , 8 3 3 8 , 8 6 7 7 , 0 3 4 3 8 4
M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g
T e c h n i c i a n s
7 0 9 4 , 7 8 7 4 , 0 7 8 5 7 5
316
Table 58 con't.
O c c u p a t i o n s 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
A c t u a l
C h a n g e
%
C h a n g e
C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g
T e c h n i c i a n s
2 1 0 6 7 4 4 6 4 2 2 1
M e t a l l u r g i c a l T e c h n i c i a n s 2 0 1 0 2 8 2 4 1 0
M i n i n g T e c h n i c i a n s 8 9 1 9 7 1 0 8 1 2 1
E n g i n e e r i n g T e c h n i c i a n s 2 4 4 1 , 8 4 2 1 , 5 9 8 6 5 5
S t a t i s t i c s a n d R e l a t e d K I O s
S t a t i s t i c i a n s & A c t u a r i e s 4 2 8 3 4 1 9 8
S y s t e m s A n a l y s t 5 3 5 4 8 4 9 5 9 3 4
S t a t i s t i c a l & R e l a t e d
T e c h n i c i a n s
1 3 6 8 0 5 6 6 9 4 9 2
B u s i n e s s - O r i e n t e d
C o m m e r c i a l A r t i s t s &
D e s i g n e r s
1 , 0 3 0 2 , 9 3 2 1 , 9 0 2 1 8 5
S a l e s S u p e r v i s o r s 6 0 3 3 , 6 9 6 3 , 0 9 3 5 1 3
B u y e r s 9 8 1 6 6 4 ( 3 1 7 ) - 3 2
I n s u r a n c e , R e a l E s t a t e ,
S e c u r i t i e s S a l e s n e n
1 , 0 5 5 2 , 7 9 5 1 , 7 4 0 1 6 5
B u s i n e s s S e r v i c e s
S a l e s m e n
3 0 5 5 5 5 2 5 0 8 2
A u c t i o n e e r s 1 3 4 5 9 4 4 6 0 3 4 3
S a l e s m e n & S h o p A s s i s t a n t s 3 3 , 0 8 6 4 4 , 3 8 3 1 1 , 2 9 7 3 4
317
Table 58 con’ t.
O c c u p a t i o n s 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
A c t u a l
C h a n g e
%
C h a n g e ?
K I O E d u c a t i o n - O r i e n t e d
P r i m a r y & S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r s
1 9 , 7 5 4 2 1 , 3 2 9 1 , 5 7 5 8
P r e - p r i m a r y E d u c a t i o n
T e a c h e r s
5 6 6 1 , 1 7 8 6 1 2 1 0 6
S p e c i a l E d u c a t i o n T e a c h e r 6 5 1 5 4 8 9 1 3 7
U n i v e r s i t y T e a c h e r s 5 9 4 1 , 1 2 0 5 2 6 8 9
L i b r a r i a n s , A r c h i v i s t s
& Q n r a t o r s
2 2 8 3 3 9 1 1 1 4 9
P e r f o r m i n g A r t s
S c u l p t o r s & P a i n t e r s 1 1 3 2 1 6 1 0 3 9 1
P h o t o g r a p h e r s & C a m e r a m e n 8 4 3 9 7 4 1 3 1 1 6
C o m p o s e r s , M u s i c i a n s ,
S i n g e r s
9 7 6 1 , 6 1 0 6 3 4 6 5
A c t o r s & S t a g e D i r e c t o r s 4 5 5 2 5 5 ( 2 0 0 ) - 4 4
P r o d u c e r s , P e r f o r m i n g A r t s 1 9 6 1 8 2 ( 1 4 )
- 7
P e r f o r m i n g A r t i s t s 1 6 6 1 4 9 ( 1 7 ) - 1 0
318
T a b l e 5 8 c o n ' t -
A c t u a l %
1 9 8 0 C h a n g e C h a n g e * 1 9 7 0
B i o l o g i c a l & M e d i c a l S c i e n c e s
( 2 2 ) - 1 6 L i f e S c i e n t i s t s 1 1 5 1 3 7
L i f e S c i e n c e s T e c h n i c i a n s 886 5 4 3 158
1 , 2 2 3 1 , 7 6 0 M e d i c a l D o c t o r s 5 3 7
1 9 5 Pharmacists 178
D i e t i t i a n s 1 0 9
S h i p s a n d A i r c r a f t
3 4 1 A i r c r a f t O f f i c e r s 811 4 7 0 1 3 8
S h i p s ' D e c k O f f i c e r s
S h i p s ' E n g i n e e r s
4 9 3 4 5 7 - 3 6
143 2 5 3 -110 -43
i i a n u f a c t u r i n g - R e l a t e d
Metallurgists - 2 7
M e t a l P r o c e s s o r s , n . e . c 4 7 3 - 1 5 5 4 2 , 0 2 7 - 7 7
3 1 9
Table 58 con't.
O c c u p a t i o n s 1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
A c t u a l
C h a n g e
%
C h a n g e
C h e m i c a l P r o c e s s e r s a n d
R e l a t e d W o r k e r s , n . e . c .
1 , 0 2 9 8 4 6 - 1 8 3 - 1 8
B l o c k s r r n t h s a n d F o r g i n g
P r e s s O p e r a t o r s
4 5 6 4 4 9 - 7 - 2
M e t a l P l a t e r s a n d C o a t e r s 1 7 4 8 0 5 6 3 1 3 6 3
S o c i a l S c i e n t i s t s
S o c i a l a n d P o l i t i c a l
S c i e n t i s t s
1 3 4 2 2 9 2 2 3
S o c i a l W o r k e r s 1 , 0 1 3 1 , 0 5 6 4 3 4
O t h e r
S u r v e y o r s 4 8 8 1 4 0 ( 3 4 8 ) - 7 1
D r a u g h t s m e n 1 , 4 2 2 3 , 8 8 1 2 , 4 5 9 1 7 3
G u i d e s 1 6 2 5 3 0 3 6 8 2 2 7
32 C
n . e . c . ( 7 2 2 o r 3 4 7 % ) ; c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e l a t e d t e c h n i
c i a n s ( 3 , 4 9 7 o r 3 0 1 % i n c r e a s e ) ; o t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l , t e c h
n i c a l a n d r e l a t e d w o r k e r s ( 1 2 1 o r 1 7 % i n c r e a s e ) ; e l e c t r i
c a l a n d e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 7 , 0 3 4 o r
3 8 4 % i n c r e a s e ) ; m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 4 , 0 7 8
o r 5 7 5 % i n c r e a s e ) ; c h e m i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 4 6 4
o r 2 2 1 % i n c r e a s e ) ; m e t a l l u r g i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s ( 8 2 o r 4 1 0 %
i n c r e a s e ) ; m i n i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 1 0 8 o r 1 2 1 % i n c r e a s e ) ;
e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ( 1 , 5 9 8 o r 6 5 5 % i n c r e a s e ) .
L o o k i n g a t t h e a b o v e d a t a , w e c a n s e e t h a t a m o n g t h e
s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d K I O s , t h e " f a s t e s t g r o w i n g " j o b s w e r e
t h o s e o f t h e t e c h n i c i a n s ' c a t e g o r y : m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r
i n g t e c h n i c i a n s , m e t a l l u r g i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s , m i n i n g e n g i
n e e r s , e n g i n e e r s ( n . e . c . ) , a n d e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s .
T h i s c o n f i r m s t h e e a r l i e r f i n d i n g i n t h e 3 - d i g i t a n a l y s i s
o f o c c u p a t i o n s t h a t t h e t e c h n i c i a n g r o u p i n c r e a s e d s u b s
t a n t i a l l y o v e r t h e d e c a d e .
S t a t i s t i c i a n s a n d R e l a t e d W o r k e r s
W i t h i n t h i s g r o u p , t h e s y s t e m s a n a l y s t i n c r e a s e d b y
9 3 4 % i n a d e c a d e ( 5 3 i n . 1 9 7 0 a n d 5 4 8 i n 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e g r o u p
o f s t a t i s t i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s a l s o i n c r e a s e d b y 4 9 2 % ( 1 3 6 i n
1 9 7 0 a n d 8 0 5 i n 1 9 8 0 ) w h i l e t h a t o f s t a t i s t i c i a n s a n d
a c t u a r i e s i n r a s e d b y 9 8 % ( 4 2 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 8 3 i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
B u s i n e s s - O r i e n t e d K I O s
A n o t h e r s u b s e t o f K I O s i s t h a t o f b u s i n e s s - o r i e n t e d
321
j o b c a t e g o r i e s . M o s t o f t h e s e o c c u p a t i o n s i n c r e a s e d w i t h
i n a d e c a d e i n t e r m s o f n u m b e r o f p e o p l e e m p l o y e d , b u t t h e
p e r c e n t a g e a n d a b s o l u t e i n c r e a s e s w e r e m o d e s t c o m p a r e d
w i t h t h e s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d K I O s . S o m e o f t h e s e b u s i n e s s -
r e l a t e d K I O s a r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : c o m m e r c i a l a r t i s t s a n d
d e s i g n e r s ( 1 , 0 3 0 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 2 , 9 3 2 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 1 8 5 % i n
c r e a s e ) ; s a l e s s u p e r v i s o r s 6 0 3 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 3 , 6 9 6 i n 1 9 8 0
o r 5 1 3 % i n c r e a s e ) ; b u y e r s ( 9 8 1 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 6 6 4 i n 1 9 8 0 , a
d e c r e a s e o f 3 2 % ) ; i n s u r a n c e , r e a l e s t a t e a n d s e c u r i t i e s
s a l e s m e n ( 1 , 0 5 5 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 2 , 7 9 5 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 1 6 5 %
i n c r e a s e ) ; b u s i n e s s s e r v i c e s s a l e s m e n ( 3 0 5 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 5 5 5
i n 1 9 8 0 o r 8 2 % i n c r e a s e ) ; a u c t i o n e e r s ( 1 3 4 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
5 9 4 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 3 4 3 % i n c r e a s e ) ; a n d s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p
a s s i s t a n t s ( 3 3 , 0 8 6 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 4 4 , 3 8 3 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 3 4 %
i n c r e a s e ) .
E d u c a t i o n - O r i e n t e d K I O s
F o r t h i s g r o u p o f K I O s , t h e b i g g e s t i n c r e a s e s , p e r
c e n t a g e - w i s e , w e r e r e g i s t e r e d b y t h e s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n
t e a c h e r s ( 6 5 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 5 4 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 1 3 7 % i n c r e a s e ) .
T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y u n i v e r s i t y t e a c h e r s ( 5 9 4 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
1 , 1 2 0 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 8 9 % i n c r e a s e ) . H o w e v e r , i n t e r m s o f
a b s o l u t e n u m b e r s , t h e b i g g e s t c a t e g o r y w a s t h a t o f p r i m a r y
a n d s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n t e a c h e r s w h i c h r e g i s t e r e d a s m a l l
8 % i n c r e a s e , b u t w e r e v e r y n u m e r o u s ( 1 9 , 7 5 4 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
2 1 , 3 2 9 i n 1 9 8 0 ) .
112
Biological and Medical Science-Oriented KIOs
T h e f a s t e s t g r o w i n g c a t e g o r y i n t h i s g r o u p w a s t h a t
o f l i f e s c i e n c e s t e c h n i c i a n s ( 3 4 3 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 8 8 6 i n 1 9 8 0
o r 1 5 8 % i n c r e a s e ) a n d f o l l o w e d b y d i e t i t i a n s ( 1 1 i n 1 9 7 0
a n d 2 3 i n 1 9 8 0 o r 1 0 9 % i n c r e a s e ) . T h e s l o w e s t c a t e g o r y
w a s t h a t o f p h a r m a c i s t s ( 1 7 8 i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 5 i n 1 9 8 0 o r
9 . 5 % i n c r e a s e ) . M e d i c a l d o c t o r s i n c r e a s e d i n n u m b e r f r o m
1 , 2 2 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 1 , 7 6 0 i n 1 9 8 0 , b u t t h e n u m b e r o f l i f e
s c i e n t i s t s d e c l i n e d f r o m 1 3 7 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 1 1 5 i n 1 9 8 0 .
S o c i a l S c i e n t i s t s a n d S o c i a l W o r k e r s
F o r t h i s g r o u p , t h e s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s ,
t h e i n c r e a s e w a s 2 2 3 % , f r o m 1 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 4 2 i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e
s o c i a l w o r k e r s i n c r e a s e d f r o m 1 , 0 1 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 1 , 0 5 6 i n
1 9 8 0 ( 4 . 2 4 % i n c r e a s e ) .
M a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d T e c h n o l o g y - O r i e n t e d K I O s
E x c e p t f o r t h e m e t a l p l a t e r s a n d c o a t e r s , t h e o t h e r
j o b c a t e g o r i e s i n t h i s g r o u p r e g i s t e r e d d e c r e a s e s w i t h i n a
d e c a d e . T h e b i g g e s t d e c r e a s e w a s a m o n g m e t a l p r o c e s s o r s
( n . e . c . ) w h i c h d e c l i n e d f r o m 2 , 1 2 7 i n 1 9 7 0 t o o n l y 4 7 3 i n
1 9 8 0 . T h e n u m b e r o f c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s o r s a l s o d e c l i n e d f r o m
1 , 0 2 9 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 8 4 6 i n 1 9 8 0 . B u t m e t a l p l a t e r s a n d
i n c r e a s e d b y 3 6 3 % w i t h i n a d e c a d e .
P e r f o r m i n g A r t s - O r i e n t e d K I O s
F o r t h e p e r f o r m i n g a r t s , o n l y t w o o u t o f f o u r c a t e -
121
g o r i e s r e g i s t e r e d i n c r e a s e s , a n d t h e r e s t d e c l i n e d i n p e r
c e n t a g e a n d n u m b e r s . S c u l p t o r s a n d p a i n t e r s i n c r e a s e d b y
9 1 % ( 1 1 3 t o 2 1 6 i n 1 9 8 0 ) , a n d p h o t o g r a p h e r s a n d c a m e r a
m e n ( 8 4 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o 9 7 4 i n 1 9 8 0 ) . H o w e v e r , t h e c a t e g o r i e s
o f a c t o r s a n d s t a g e d i r e c t o r s , p r o d u c e r s o f p e r f o r m i n g
a r t s a n d t h e p e r f o r m i n g a r t i s t s , a l l d e c l i n e d i n n u m b e r s
w i t h i n t h a t d e c a d e .
C o m p u t e r - O r i e n t e d K I O s
A s m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r , o n e o f t h e i m p o r t a n t p o l i c i e s
a f f e c t i n g t h e ' 8 0 s i s t h e m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s " n a t i o n a l
c o m p u t e r i z a t i o n , " w i t h t h e e x p l i c i t o b j e c t i v e o f e s t a b
l i s h i n g S i n g a p o r e a s a S o f t w a r e C e n t r e b y t h e e n d o f t h i s
d e c a d e . T o a c h i e v e t h i s , a n a d e q u a t e s u p p l y o f s u i t a b l y
t r a i n e d c o m p u t e r m a n p o w e r h a s t o b e b u i l t . T a b l e 5 9 s h o w s
t h e m a n p o w e r a v a i l a b l e a s o f 1 9 8 2 a n d t h e p r o j e c t e d d e m a n d
f o r c o m p u t e r m a n p o w e r a s o f 1 9 8 5 ( N C B S u r v e y , 1 9 8 2 ) . T h e
N C B h a s i d e n t i f i e d 1 1 j o b c a t e g o r i e s a s c r u c i a l t o t h e
c o m p u t e r i n d u s t r y : D P m a n a g e r , s y s t e m a n a l y s t , a n a l y s t
p r o g r a m m e r , p r o g r a m m e r , D P c o n s u l t a n t , d a t a b a s e a d m i n i s
t r a t o r , d a t a c o m m u n i c a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t , t e c h n i c a l c o n t r o l
s p e c i a l i s t , s y s t e m e n g i n e e r , m a r k e t i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , a n d
c o m p u t e r e n g i n e e r .
T h e b e n c h m a r k d a t a f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 f o r t h e s e j o b
c a t e g o r i e s w e r e n o t a v a i l a b l e a t t h e t h e t i m e o f d a t a
g a t h e r i n g f o r t h i s s t u d y , e x c e p t f o r s y s t e m s a n a l y s t . T h e
324
Table 59. Computer manpower by year (actual and projections)**
Computer
Efenpower as
on June 1982
Projected Computer
Manpower in
Demand by 1985
DP ffanager 346 251
System Analyst 395 608
Analyst Programmer 747 850
Programmer 692 1,023
DP Consultant 72 138
Database Administrator 14 59
Data Communication
Specialist
21 53
Technical Control
Specialist
11 31
System Engineer 124 250
Marketing Representative 182 305
Computer Engineer 253 365
TOTAL 2,857 3,933
Actual no. of
Year Projections
1980 850
1982 2,800
1984 4,000
1987* 6,000
1990* 8,000
* Estimates
** Source: Singapore National Computer Board Publications, 1984
325
c e n s u s d a t a s h o w e d t h a t f o r t h i s j o b c a t e g o r y ( 3 - d i g i t ) ,
t h e i n c r e a s e w i t h i n a d e c a d e w a s v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l , a t
l e a s t c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o t h e r c a t e g o r i e s ( 5 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o
5 4 8 i n 1 9 8 0 ; b u t a s t h e N C B r e p o r t s , 3 9 5 i n 1 9 8 2 ) .
T h e n u m b e r o f c o m p u t e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s h a v e a l s o b e e n
i n c r e a s i n g i n t h e p a s t y e a r s . T h e N a t i o n a l C o m p u t e r B o a r d
1 9 8 3 - 8 4 A n n u a l R e p o r t m e n t i o n e d t h a t t h e f i r s t b a t c h o f
a b o u t 1 0 0 s t u d e n t s w o u l d h a v e g r a d u a t e d f r o m t h e t w o - y e a r
d i p l o m a c o u r s e i n c o m p u t e r s t u d i e s i n 1 9 8 4 . A n d a s o f
1 9 8 3 , t h e r e w e r e 9 8 g r a d u a t e s i n t h e b a c h e l o r o f s c i e n c e
i n c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e , p o s t - g r a d u a t e d i p l o m a i n s y s t e m s a n a
l y s i s , a n d 4 5 g r a d u a t e s f o r t h e a n a l y s t - p r o g r a m m e r d i p l o
m a . T h e a g e n c i e s o r i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h o f f e r e d t h e s e
d e g r e e s w e r e t h e N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y o f S i n g a p o r e a n d t h e
J a p a n - S i n g a p o r e I n s t i t u t e o f S o f t w a r e T e c h n o l o g y .
S u m m a r y o f K I O s C l a s s i f i e d A c c o r d i n g t o D i f f e r e n t
O r i e n t a t i o n s
T h e a b o v e d i s c u s s i o n s h o w e d t h e t r e n d s i n s o m e s e
l e c t e d 3 - d i g i t o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s w h i c h w e r e r e c l a s
s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r s u b j e c t m a t t e r o r i e n t a t i o n s .
W h e n t h e 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 d a t a w e r e c o m p a r e d , i t w a s s h o w n
t h a t t h e f a s t e s t g r o w i n g j o b c a t e g o r i e s w e r e t h e s c i e n c e -
o r i e n t e d K I O s . W i t h i n t h i s s u b - g r o u p , t h e t e c h n i c i a n s
( e . g . , e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c i a n s ) i n c r e a s e d m o r e i n t e r m s o f
p e r c e n t a g e a n d a b s o l u t e n u m b e r s w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e
o t h e r g r o u p s .
326
I n t e r m s o f a b s o l u t e n u m b e r s a n d a s i n d i v i d u a l j o b
c a t e g o r i e s , t h e K I O s w e r e s t i l l r e l a t i v e l y v e r y f e w c o m
p a r e d w i t h t h e t h e o t h e r j o b c a t e g o r i e s i n t h e g e n e r a l
w o r k f o r c e . E x c e p t f o r t h e g r o u p o f t e a c h e r s ( p r i m a r y ) a n d
t h e s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p a s s i s t a n t s w h i c h w e r e a m o n g t h e t o p
t e n o c c u p a t i o n s ( t y p i c a l j o b c a t e g o r i e s ) f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d
1 9 8 0 , t h e r e s t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l j o b s c o n s i s t e d o f v e r y
s m a l l p e r c e n t a g e s i n r e l a t i o n t o t o t a l e m p l o y m e n t . H o w
e v e r , t h e i r r a t e s o f i n c r e a s e w i t h i n a d e c a d e h a v e b e e n
v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l . I n a d d i t i o n t o s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d K I O s ,
o t h e r g r o u p s w h i c h r e g i s t e r e d m o d e s t i n c r e a s e s w e r e t h e
b u s i n e s s - r e l a t e d K I O s , e d u c a t i o n - r e l a t e d K I O s a n d t h e
b i o l o g i c a l a n d m e d i c a l - o r i e n t e d K I O s . T h o s e w h i c h d e
c r e a s e d w e r e t h e p e r f o r m i n g a r t s - r e l a t e d a n d t h e m a n u f a c
t u r i n g - r e l a t e d . T h e r e w e r e n o a v a i l a b l e d a t a f o r t h e t w o
d e c a d e s o n c o m p u t e r - r e l a t e d K I O s . H o w e v e r , t h e 1 9 8 2 d a t a
w e r e g i v e n a n d t h e p r o j e c t e d d e m a n d s f o r s u c h p r o f e s
s i o n a l s f o r t h e e i g h t i e s .
P a r t . V
S u b s e t o f K I O s R e c l a s s i f i e d A c c o r d i n g t o T y p o l o g i e s o f
I n f o r m a t i o n W o r k e r s
T h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n d i s c u s s e s t h e t r e n d s i n t h e
K I O s w h e n t h e s e a r e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o d i f f e r e n t
i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k t y p o l o g i e s p r o p o s e d b y v a r i o u s a u t h o r s .
T h e d e f i n i t i o n s o f t h e s e t y p o l o g i e s w e r e d i s c u s s e d i n
P a r t I o f t h i s c h a p t e r . A n i m p o r t a n t p u r p o s e o f t h i s s e c
t i o n i s t o f i n d o u t t h e a r e a s o f c o n v e r g e n c e a n d d i v e r
g e n c e o f t h e s e d i f f e r e n t t y p o l o g i e s a n d a s w e l l a s t o f i n d
o u t t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l t r e n d s t h e y g i v e w h e n t h e s e a r e
a p p l i e d t o a s e t o f o c c u p a t i o n a l d a t a . I n a s e n s e , t h i s
a n a l y s i s i s a f o r m o f v a l i d a t i o n f o r t h e s e d i f f e r e n t t y p o
l o g i e s .
T a b l e 6 0 s h o w s a n d c o m p a r e s t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p o l o
g i e s p r o p o s e d : b y F r i t z M a c h l u p ( 1 9 6 1 ) — k n o w l e d g e p r o
d u c e r s ( A ) a n d n o n - k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s ( B ) ; b y M a r c P o r a t
a n d t h e O E C D ( 1 9 7 7 a n d 1 9 8 1 ) - i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c e r s ( C ) ,
i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r s ( D ) , i n f o r m a t i o n d i s t r i b u t o r s ( E ) ,
i n f o r m a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e ( F ) j b y J o r g e S c h e m e n t a n d
L e a h L i e v r o u w ( 1 9 8 3 ) - i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c e r s ( G ) , i n f o r m
a t i o n r e c y c l e r s ( H ) , i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c e r s ( J ) ,
a n d i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y m a i n t a i n e r s ( K ) . A n o t h e r c a t e
g o r y w i t h i n t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n i s
i n f o r m a t i o n m a i n t a i n e r s , b u t n o o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r y i n
t h e S i n g a p o r e a n w o r k f o r c e w a s c l a s s i f i e d i n t h i s d e f i n i
t i o n . T h e r e s t o f t h e t y p o l o g i e s a r e : n o n - i n f o r m a t i o n
o c c u p a t i o n s ( 0 E C D ) ( L ) , n o n - i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( S c h e
m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w ) ( M ) , a n d t h e " n o t s u r e * ' c a t e g o r y ( N ) .
T h i s l a s t c a t e g o r y c o n s i s t e d o f o c c u p a t i o n s w h i c h t h e p r e
s e n t w r i t e r h a d d o u b t s r e g a r d i n g t h e t y p o l o g y t o w h i c h
t h e y s h o u l d b e a s s i g n e d .
328
3 2 9
Table 60. Sample of reclassification of Singapore's occupations according to various typologies*5
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
Physical Scientists and
Related Technicians
1 1 1
Architects, Engineers ami
Related Technicians
1 1 1
Aircraft and Ships' Officers 1 1 1 1
Life Scientists and
Related Technicians
1 1 1
Medical, Dental, Veterinary
and Related Workers
1 1 1 1
Statisticians, fethenaticians
Systems Analysts and
Technicians
1 1 1
Economists 1 1 1
Accountants 1 1 1
Jurists 1 1 1
Teachers and Related Workers 1 1 1 1
Table 60 con't.
Authors, Journalists and
Related Workers
Professional, Technical and
Related Workers
Legislative Officials and
Government Administrators
Clerical Supervisors
Stenographers and Typists
Bookkeepers, Cashiers and
Related Workers
Computing Machine Operators
Transport, Cairnunications
and Supervisors
Mail Distribution Clerks
Telephone and Telegraph
Operators
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1
331
Table 60 con't.
Legend: Typologies and their authors
A Knowledge Producers (Lfechlup)
B Non-knowledge Producers (Machlup)
C Information Producers (OECDAPorat)
D Information Processors (OKD/Porat)
E Information Distributors (OKD/Porat)
F Information Infrastructure Occupations (OKD/Porat)
G Information Producers (Schement & Leivrouw)
H Information Recyclers (Schement & Leivrouw)
J Information Technology Producers (Schement & Leivrouw)
K Information Technology Lfaintainers (Schement & Leivrouw)
L Non-Information Occupations (Schement & Leivrouw)
M Non-Information Occupations (Schement & Leivrouw)
N "Not Sure" Category
*Table 60 is the same as Table 2.
Occupations Reclassified According to Different Typologies
R e s u l t s o f t h e a n a l y s i s s h o w e d t h a t r e g a r d l e s s o f
w h i c h t y p o l o g y w a s u s e d , t h e p e r c e n t a g e o f K I O s a s a
p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e w o r k f o r c e i n c r e a s e d , w i t h c o u n t s r a n g i n g
f r o m 3 5 . 5 8 % o f t h e l a b o r f o r c e ( F . M a c h l u p ) , t o 3 6 . 7 9 %
( P o r a t / O E C D ) a n d t h e n t o 4 2 . 2 1 % ( S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w )
f o r 1 9 7 0 . T h e s e p r o p o r t i o n s o f t h e K I O s i n c r e a s e d i n
1 9 8 0 w i t h 3 8 . 4 9 % ( F . M a c h l u p ) , t o 3 9 . 4 0 % ( P o r a t / O E C D )
a n d t h e n t o 5 1 . 6 6 % ( S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w ) . O f t h e t h r e e
t y p o l o g i e s c o m p a r e d , t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n
s e e m e d t o i n c l u d e m o r e o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s
w i t h i n t h e w o r k f o r c e .
T h e r e a r e a l s o d i f f e r e n c e s i n t e r m s o f s p e c i f i c c a t e
g o r i e s w i t h i n e a c h t y p o l o g y . F o r t h e P o r a t / O E C D t y p o l o g y ,
t h e c a t e g o r y o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c e r s d e c l i n e d f r o m 1 5 . 5 %
( 1 0 1 , 1 8 9 ) i n 1 9 7 0 t o 1 2 . 3 0 % ( 1 3 2 , 4 7 7 ) i n 1 9 8 0 . F o r t h e
S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u
c e r s i n c r e a s e d f r o m 2 9 . 1 % ( 1 8 9 , 8 9 6 ) i n 1 9 7 0 , t o 3 0 . 0 2 %
( 3 2 3 , 3 9 9 ) i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e n e x t c a t e g o r y f o r t h e P o r a t / O E C D
d e f i n i t i o n , i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r s , i n c r e a s e d f r o m 1 3 . 3 1 %
( 8 6 , 6 0 4 % ) i n 1 9 7 0 t o 2 0 9 , 3 2 2 ( 1 9 . 4 3 % ) i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e
r o u g h e q u i v a l e n t o f t h i s c a t e g o r y i n t h e S c h e m e n t a n d
L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n i s i n f o r m a t i o n r e c y c l e r s w h i c h
i n c r e a s e d s l i g h t l y f r o m 9 . 4 % ( 6 1 , 7 6 0 ) i n 1 9 7 0 t o 1 1 5 , 9 6 2
( 1 0 . 7 7 % ) i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e c a t e g o r y o f i n f o r m a t i o n d i s t r i b u
t o r s ( P o r a t / O E C D ) d e c l i n e d f r o m 4 . 3 7 % ( 2 8 , 2 1 8 ) i n 1 9 7 0
332
T a b l e 6 1 . T o t a l s o f o c c u p a t i o n s ( 2 - d i g i t ) r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o
t h e v a r i o u s t y p o l o g i e s , 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 8 0
1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s
T o t a l N o . o f
P e r s o n s E m p l o y e d
P e r C a t e g o r y
A s P e r c e n t o f
W o r k f o r c e ( 1 9 7 0 =
6 5 0 , 8 9 2 )
T o t a l N o . o f
P e r s o n s E m p l o y e d
P e r C a t e g o r y
A s P e r c e n t o f
W o r k f o r c e ( 1 9 8 0 =
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0 )
( A ) K n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
2 3 0 , 3 1 5 3 5 . 3 ® 4 1 4 , 5 5 5 3 8 . 4 9 %
( B ) N o n - k n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
3 5 0 , 5 4 1 5 3 . 8 6 % 4 5 6 , 5 6 8 4 2 . 3 ®
( C ) I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( O K D / P o r a t )
1 0 1 , 1 8 9 1 5 . 5 5 % 1 3 2 , 4 7 7 1 2 . 3 C %
( D ) I n f o r m a t i o n P r o c e s s o r s
( O K D / P o r a t )
8 6 , 6 0 4 1 3 . 3 1 % 2 0 9 , 3 2 2 1 9 . 4 3 %
( E ) I n f o r m a t i o n D i s t r i b u t o r s
( O K D / P o r a t )
2 8 , 4 3 8 4 . 3 7 % 3 5 , 9 5 6 3 . 3 4 %
( F ) I n f o r m a t i o n I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 2 3 , 2 0 8
O c c u p a t i o n s ( O K D / P o r a t )
3 . 5 7 % 4 6 , 6 4 3 4 . 3 3 %
T o t a l s o f C / D / E / F / 2 3 9 , 4 3 9 3 6 . 7 9 % 4 2 4 , 3 9 8 3 9 . 4 0 %
< _ 0
w
U )
Table 61 con't.
1 9 7 0 1 9 8 0
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s
T o t a l N o . o f
P e r s o n s E m p l o y e d
P e r C a t e g o r y
A s P e r c e n t o f
W o r k f o r c e ( 1 9 7 0 =
6 5 0 , 8 9 2 )
T o t a l N o . o f
P e r s o n s E m p l o y e d
P e r C a t e g o r y
A s P e r c e n t o f
W o r k f o r c e ( 1 9 8 0 =
1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0 )
( G ) I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
1 8 9 , 8 9 6 2 9 . 1 7 % 3 2 3 , 3 9 9 3 0 . 0 3 %
( H ) I n f o r m a t i o n R e c y c l e r s
( S c h e n e n t & L e i v r o u w )
6 1 , 6 7 0 9 . 4 7 % 1 1 5 , 9 6 2 1 0 . 7 7 %
( J )
I n f o r n a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
P r o d u c e r s ( S c h e n e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
1 , 8 4 3 0 . 2 8 % 7 2 , 8 0 8 6 . 7 6 %
0 0
I n f o r n a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
M a i n t a i n e r s ( S c h e r a e n t
& L e i v r o u w )
2 1 , 3 6 5 3 . 2 8 % 4 4 , 2 3 4 4 . 1 1 %
T o t a l s o f G / H / J / K 2 7 4 , 7 7 4 4 2 . 2 1 % 5 5 6 , 4 0 3 5 1 . 6 6 %
( L ) N o n - I n f o r m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
3 4 6 , 4 3 7 5 3 . 2 2 % 4 4 7 , 6 7 3 4 1 . 5 6 %
( M ) N o n - I n f o m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( S c h e n e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
3 1 7 , 3 7 0 4 8 . 7 6 % 4 1 4 , 7 7 4 3 8 . 5 1 %
( N ) " N o t S u r e " C a t e g o r y 6 5 , 8 0 5 1 0 . 1 1 % 1 3 9 , 7 2 7 1 2 . 9 7 %
t o 3 . 3 4 % ( 3 5 , 9 5 6 ) i n 1 9 8 0 . H o w e v e r , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i n
f r a s t r u c t u r e o c c u p a t i o n s c a t e g o r y i n c r e a s e d s l i g h t l y f r o m
3 . 5 7 % ( 2 3 , 2 0 8 ) i n 1 9 7 0 t o 4 . 3 3 % ( 4 6 , 6 4 3 ) i n 1 9 8 0 . F o r
t h e c a t e g o r y o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c e r s m a d e a
v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e f r o m . 2 8 % ( 1 , 8 4 3 ) i n 1 9 7 0 t o
( 7 2 , 8 0 8 ) 6 . 7 5 % i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y m a i n -
t a i n e r s i n c r e a s e d a l s o , t h o u g h n o t a s m u c h , f r o m 3 . 2 %
( 2 1 , 3 6 5 ) t o 4 . 1 % ( 4 4 , 2 3 4 ) .
I n c o m p a r i n g t h e s e t w o s e t s o f t y p o l o g i e s , w e c a n s e e
t h a t f o r t h e P o r a t / O E C D f o r m u l a t i o n , t h e r e w e r e f l u c t u a
t i o n s a m o n g t h e d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s i n t e r m s o f i n c r e a s e s
a n d d e c r e a s e s w i t h i n a d e c a d e . H o w e v e r , f o r t h e S c h e m e n t
a n d L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n , a l l t h e d i f f e r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n
w o r k e r s c a t e g o r y i n c r e a s e d . T h e b i g g e s t i n c r e a s e w a s r e
g i s t e r e d , i n p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e t o t a l w o r k f o r c e b u t n o t i n
t e r m s o f a b s o l u t e n u m b e r s , b y t h e c a t e g o r y o f i n f o r m a t i o n
t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c e r s ( . 2 8 % t o 6 . 7 5 % ) . T h e O E C D o r P o r a t
f o r m u l a t i o n d i d n o t r e f l e c t t h i s c a t e g o r y a t a l l , b u t s u b
s u m e d u n d e r i n f o r m a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o c c u p a t i o n s a l l i n
f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y - r e l a t e d j o b c a t e g o r i e s . I n t h i s p a r
t i c u l a r c a s e , t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w f o r m u l a t i o n s e e m e d
t o p r e s e n t a s e t o f c a t e g o r i e s t h a t r e f l e c t m o r e p r e c i s e l y
t h e c h a n g e s i n t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s .
335
S o c i o - D e m o g r a p h i c C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f K I O s U s i n g t h e
D i f f e r e n t I n f o r m a t i o n W o r k T y p o l o g i e s
T h e t y p o l o g i e s p r e s e n t e d ( e . g . , M a c h l u p , O E C D / P o r a t
a n d S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w ) w e r e u s e d t o d r a w t h e s o c i o
d e m o g r a p h i c p r o f i l e s o f K I O s u n d e r d i f f e r e n t f o r m u l a t i o n s .
S e x C o m p o s i t i o n o f K I O s U s i n g T y p o l o g i e s
T a b l e 6 2 s h o w s t h a t r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e t y p o l o g y
u s e d , t h e m a l e s i n t h e w o r k f o r c e s t i l l o u t n u m b e r e d t h e
f e m a l e s a s k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k e r s . I n 1 9 4 7 , b y
M a c h l u p ’ s c o u n t i n g s y s t e m , t h e r e w e r e 1 7 . 3 1 % ( 6 1 , 8 2 2 )
m a l e s a s k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s a n d o n l y 1 . 6 8 % ( 5 , 9 8 6 ) f e
m a l e k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s i n t h e w o r k f o r c e ( 3 5 7 , 2 0 4 ) . S t i l l
f o l l o w i n g M a c h l u p ’ s f o r m u l a t i o n , t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f
f e m a l e s i n c r e a s e d s l i g h t l y i n 1 9 5 7 ( 1 5 , 5 0 2 o r 3 . 2 2 % ) c o m
p a r e d w i t h 1 0 6 , 1 6 3 ( 2 2 . 1 0 % ) f o r m a l e s . T h e s e f i g u r e s i n
c r e a s e d i n c r e a s e d t o 2 5 . 6 2 % f o r m a l e s ( 1 6 6 , 7 7 3 ) a n d 9 . 5 8 %
( 6 2 , 3 6 2 ) f o r f e m a l e s i n 1 9 7 0 . B y t h e 1 9 8 0 c e n s u s , u s i n g
t h e M a c h l u p f o r m u l a t i o n , t h e m a l e k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s d e
c r e a s e d p e r c e n t a g e - w i s e ( 2 1 . 4 5 % o r 2 3 1 , 0 6 3 ) , w h i l e t h e
f e m a l e p a r t i c i p a t i o n a s k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r s i n c r e a s e d
s u b s t a n t i a l l y ( 1 7 9 , 1 3 8 o r 1 6 . 6 3 % ) .
U s i n g t h e P o r a t / O E C D c a t e g o r i e s a s a g g r e g a t e ( e . g . ,
a d d i n g u p a l l t h e c a t e g o r i e s s o t h a t o n l y o n e g r o u p e m e r
g e s ) , r e s u l t s a p p r o x i m a t e d t h e s a m e t r e n d s s h o w n b y t h e
M a c h l u p f o r m u l a t i o n . T h e s e t r e n d s b a s e d o n t h e P o r a t / O E C D
a r e : 1 9 4 7 ( 2 1 . 4 3 % m a l e s a n d 1 . 8 2 % f e m a l e s ) ; 1 9 5 7
336
T a b l e 6 2 . S e x C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f K I O s A c c o r d i n g t o V a r i o u s
T y p o l o g i e s F o r 1 9 4 7 , 1 9 5 7 , 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 .
1 9 4 7
W o r k f o r c e = 3 5 7 , 2 0 4
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( A )
K n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
6 1 , 8 2 2 1 7 . 3 1 5 , 9 8 6 1 . 6 8
( B ) N o n - k n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
2 5 5 , 8 1 1 7 1 . 6 1 4 0 , 9 8 2 1 1 . 4 7
( C )
I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
3 7 , 5 0 6 1 0 . 5 0 2 , 3 6 1 0 . 6 6
( D )
I n f o r n a t i o n P r o c e s s o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
3 3 , 6 0 3 9 . 4 1 2 , 2 2 3 0 . 6 2
( E ) I n f o r m a t i o n D i s t r i b u t o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 , 7 2 6 0 . 4 8 1 , 4 1 6 0 . 4 0
( F )
I n f o r n a t i o n I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 3 , 7 0 6
O c c u p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 . 0 4 4 8 7 0 . 1 4
T o t a l s o f C / D / E / F / 7 6 , 5 4 1 2 1 . 4 3 6 , 4 8 7 1 . 8 2
t o
t o
T a b l e 6 2 c o n ' t .
1 9 4 7
W o r k f o r c e = = 3 5 7 , 2 0 4
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( G )
I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
4 4 , 2 3 4 1 2 . 3 8 3 , 9 0 2 1 . 0 9
( H ) I n f o r m a t i o n R e c y c l e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
2 8 , 6 0 1 8 . 0 1 2 , 0 9 8 0 . 5 9
( J )
I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
P r o d u c e r s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
1 , 9 3 2 0 . 5 4 3 1 8 0 . 0 9
0 0 I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
M a i n t a i n e r s ( S c h e m e n t
& L e i v r o u w )
1 , 7 7 4 0 . 5 0 1 6 9 0 . 0 5
T o t a l s o f G / H / J / K 7 6 , 5 4 1 2 1 . 4 3 6 , 4 8 7 1 . 8 2
( L ) N o n - I n f o m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
2 4 1 , 0 9 2 6 7 . 4 9 4 0 , 4 8 1 1 1 . 3 3
( M )
N o n - I n f o r m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
2 3 7 , 1 7 8 6 6 . 4 0 4 0 , 4 7 1 1 1 . 3 3
U)
u
00
( N ) " N o t S u r e " C a t e g o r y 3 , 9 1 4 1 . 1 0 1 0 , 7 7 4 3 . 0 2
339
Table 62 con't.
1 9 5 7
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s
W o r k f o r c e = 4 8 0 , 2 6 7
% o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( A ) K n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M h c h l u p )
1 0 6 , 1 6 3 2 2 . 1 0 2 2 , 5 0 2 4 . 6 9
( B ) N o n - k n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( I % c h l u p )
2 7 3 , 3 9 1 5 6 . 9 2 6 8 , 7 0 8 1 4 . 3 1
( C ) I n f o m H t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
5 1 , 6 6 6 1 0 . 7 6 4 , 3 3 0 0 . 9 0
( D ) I n f o m H t i o n P r o c e s s o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
4 7 , 3 1 8 9 . 8 5 5 , 2 1 3 1 . 0 9
( E ) I n f o m H t i o n D i s t r i b u t o r s
( O B C D / P o r a t )
6 , 8 8 0 1 . 4 3 4 , 6 1 1 0 . 9 6
( F ) I n f o m H t i o n I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 9 , 3 5 4
O c c u p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 . 9 5 1 , 3 0 4 0 . 2 7
T o t a l s o f C / D / E / F / 1 1 5 , 2 1 8 2 3 . 9 9 1 5 , 4 5 8 3 . 2 2
T a b l e 6 2 c o n ’ t .
1 9 5 7
W o r k f o r c e = 4 8 0 , 2 6 7
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( G ) I n f o r m a t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
6 8 , 5 1 5 1 4 . 2 7 9 , 9 8 8 2 . 0 8
( H ) I n f o r m a t i o n R e c y c l e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
4 2 , 9 8 6 8 . 9 5 4 , 8 7 2 1 . 0 1
( J )
I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
P r o d u c e r s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
1 2 , 8 0 6 2 . 6 7 6 3 6 0 . 1 3
( K ) I n f o r n a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
M a i n t a i n e r s ( S c h e m e n t
& L e i v r o u w )
1 , 8 2 0 0 . 3 8 7 5 6 0 . 1 6
T o t a l s o f G / H / J / K 1 2 6 , 1 2 7 2 6 . 2 6 1 6 , 2 5 2 3 . 3 8
C L )
N o n - I n f o r m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
2 6 4 , 3 3 6 5 5 . 0 4 6 8 , 7 5 2 1 4 . 3 2
( M ) N o n r - I n f o r m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
2 5 3 , 0 5 2 5 2 . 6 9 6 7 , 9 5 8 1 4 . 1 5
u >
( N ) " N o t S u r e " C a t e g o r y 1 0 , 7 7 4 2 . 2 4 6 5 8 0 . 1 4
• C "
o
T a b l e 6 2 c o n ' t .
1 9 7 0
W o r k f o r c e = 6 5 0 , 8 9 2
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( A ) K n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
1 6 6 , 7 7 3 2 5 . 6 2 6 2 , 3 6 2 9 . 5 8
( B ) N o n - k n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( E f a c h l u p )
2 5 1 , 8 7 7 3 8 . 7 0 7 9 , 1 5 2 1 2 . 1 6
( C ) I n f o r n H t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
7 9 , 2 9 0 1 2 . 1 8 2 2 , 5 6 2 3 . 4 7
( D )
I n f o r n a t i o n P r o c e s s o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
6 4 , 9 1 6 9 . 9 7 2 1 , 6 8 8 3 . 3 3
( E ) I n f o r n a t i o n D i s t r i b u t o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 4 , 6 8 4 2 . 2 6 1 3 , 7 5 4 2 . 1 1
( F ) I n f o r n a t i o n I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 2 0 , 3 0 3
O c c u p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
3 . 1 2 1 , 0 6 2 0 . 1 6
T o t a l s o f C / D / E / F / 1 7 9 , 1 9 3 2 7 . 5 3 5 9 , 0 6 6 9 . 0 7
u >
■ S '
Table 62 con't.
1 9 7 0
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s
W o r k f o r c e = 6 5 0 , 8 9 2
% o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a 1 e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( G ) I h f o n i H t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( S c h e m e n t & L e i v r o u w )
1 4 7 , 8 5 0 2 2 . 7 1 4 3 , 9 3 0 6 . 7 5
( H ) I n f o r n a t i o n R e c y c l e r s
( S c h e n e n t & L e i v r o u w )
4 1 , 3 8 8 6 . 3 6 2 0 , 3 7 2 3 . 1 3
( J ) I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
P r o d u c e r s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
1 0 , 8 1 8 1 . 6 6 7 , 4 7 3 1 . 1 5
( K ) I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
M a i n t a i n e r s ( S c h e n e n t
& L e i v r o u w )
2 0 , 3 0 3 3 . 1 2 1 , 0 6 2 0 . 1 6
T o t a l s o f G / H / J / K 2 2 0 , 3 5 9 3 3 . 8 5 7 2 , 8 3 7 1 1 . 1 9
( L ) N o n - I n f o r n a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( O H D / P o r a t )
2 4 8 , 6 4 1 3 8 . 2 0 7 8 , 2 8 4 1 2 . 0 3
( M ) N o n - I n f o r m a t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( S c h e n e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
2 3 8 , 8 4 6 3 6 . 7 0 7 8 , 5 2 4 1 2 . 0 6
( N ) " N o t S u r e " C a t e g o r y 3 1 , 9 3 3 4 . 9 1 1 1 , 3 6 3 1 . 7 5
T a b l e 6 2 c o n ' t .
1 9 8 0
W o r k f o r c e = = 1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( A ) K n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( M a c h l u p )
2 3 1 , 0 6 3 2 1 . 4 5 1 7 9 , 1 3 8 1 6 . 6 3
( B ) N o n - k n o w l e d g e P r o d u c e r s
( J f e c h l u p )
3 3 0 , 0 7 1 3 0 . 6 4 1 2 5 , 6 3 2 1 1 . 6 6
( C ) I n f o m H t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
8 3 , 2 1 4 7 . 7 3 4 9 , 2 6 3 4 . 5 7
( D ) I n f o r m a t i o n P r o c e s s o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 2 4 , 6 4 9 1 1 . 5 7 8 4 , 6 7 3 7 . 8 6
( E ) I h f o r m a t i o n D i s t r i b u t o r s
( O E C D / P o r a t )
1 6 , 7 3 5 1 . 5 5 1 9 , 2 2 1 1 . 7 8
( F ) I n f o m H t i o n I n f r a s t r u c t u r e 3 4 , 3 9 9
O c c u p a t i o n s ( O E C D / P o r a t )
3 . 1 9 9 , 8 3 5 0 . 9 1
T o t a l s o f C / D / E / F / 2 5 8 , 9 9 7 2 4 . 0 5 1 6 2 , 9 9 2 1 5 . 1 3
3 4 3
T a b l e 6 2 c o n ’ t .
1 9 8 0
W o r k f o r c e = = 1 , 0 7 7 , 0 9 0
T y p o l o g i e s a n d T h e i r A u t h o r s M a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e F e m a l e s % o f W o r k f o r c e
( G ) I n f o n i H t i o n P r o d u c e r s
( S c h e n e n t & L e i v r o u w )
2 1 2 , 6 8 9 1 9 . 7 5 1 1 1 , 5 7 5 1 0 . 3 6
( H ) I n f o m H t i o n R e c y c l e r s
( S c h e n e n t & L e i v r o u w )
4 6 , 0 5 3 4 . 2 8 6 9 , 9 0 9 6 . 4 9
( J )
I n f o r n H t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
P r o d u c e r s ( S c h e n e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
2 2 , 1 0 8 2 . 0 5 4 8 , 2 9 1 4 . 4 8
( K ) I n f o m H t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
I ' f e i n t a i n e r s ( S c h e n e n t
& L e i v r o u w )
3 4 , 3 9 9 3 . 1 9 9 , 8 3 5 0 . 9 1
T o t a l s o f G / H / J / K 3 1 5 , 2 4 9 2 9 . 2 7 2 3 9 , 6 1 0 2 2 . 2 5
( L ) N o n - I n f o m H t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( O E O D / P o r a t )
2 9 6 , 8 7 4 2 7 . 5 6 1 2 3 , 1 3 2 1 1 . 4 3
( M ) N o n - I n f o m n t i o n O c c u
p a t i o n s ( S c h e m e n t &
L e i v r o u w )
5 6 , 7 6 4 5 . 2 7 1 1 9 , 8 4 5 1 1 . 1 3
u
■ e -
• t -
( N ) " N o t S u r e " C a t e g o r y 1 0 , 7 7 4 1 . 0 0 2 4 , 2 7 8 2 . 2 5
(23.99 % males and 3.22 %)'; 1970 (27.53 % males and 9.07 %
f e m a l e s ) ; a n d f i n a l l y i n 1 9 8 0 ( 2 4 . 0 5 % m a l e s a n d 1 5 . 0 6 %
f e m a l e s ) . U s i n g t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w t y p o l o g i e s a s
a n a g g r e g a t e d e f i n i t i o n , t h e t r e n d s w e r e t h e f o l l o w i n g :
1 9 4 7 ( 2 1 . 4 3 % m a l e s a n d 1 . 8 2 % f e m a l e s ) ; 1 9 5 7 ( 2 6 . 2 6 %
m a l e s a n d 3 . 3 8 % f e m a l e s ) ; 1 9 7 0 ( 3 3 . 8 3 % m a l e s a n d 1 1 . 5 %
f e m a l e s ) ; a n d 1 9 8 0 ( 2 9 . 2 7 % m a l e s a n d 2 2 . 2 5 % f e m a l e s ) .
C o m p a r i n g t h e s e r e s u l t s , w e s e e t h a t t h e p e r c e n t a g e s
m o r e o r l e s s a p p r o x i m a t e d e a c h o t h e r . A l l r e f l e c t e d t h e
t r a d i t i o n a l l y p r e d o m i n a n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f m a l e s i n t h e
w o r k f o r c e , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e i n K I O s , a n d t h e e x p e c t e d v e r y
l o w p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f w o m e n . T h e t h r e e t y p o l o g i e s a l s o
s h o w e d t h e s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e s i n t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f
w o m e n i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s a n d 1 9 8 0 s . I n t e r m s o f d i f f e r e n c e s , w e
s e e t h a t t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w d e f i n i t i o n s s e e m e d t o
r e f l e c t g r e a t e r i n c r e a s e s f o r m a l e s a n d f e m a l e s a c r o s s
t h e v a r i o u s c e n s u s y e a r s .
I n t e r m s o f s p e c i f i c c a t e g o r i e s , t h e b i g g e s t i n
c r e a s e s f o r f e m a l e p a r t i c i p a t i o n w e r e s h o w n i n t h e k n o w
l e d g e p r o d u c e r c a t e g o r y b y t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w t y p o
l o g y f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 ( 6 . 7 4 % t o 1 0 . 3 5 % ) . T h i s s a m e
t y p o l o g y r e g i s t e r e d a v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e f o r w o m e n
w i t h i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c e r c a t e g o r y i n
t h e 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 d e c a d e ( 1 . 1 4 8 % o r 7 , 4 7 3 i n 1 9 7 0 t o
4 . 4 8 % 4 8 , 2 9 1 i n 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e P o r a t / O E C D d e f i n i t i o n s s h o w e d
m o d e s t i n c r e a s e s f o r w o m e n i n t h e k n o w l e d g e p r o d u c e r
345
c a t e g o r y , b u t a s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e w i t h i n t h e i n f o r m a
t i o n p r o c e s s o r c a t e g o r y ( 3 . 3 3 % o r 2 1 , 6 8 8 i n 1 9 7 0 t o
7 . 8 % o r 8 4 , 6 7 3 i n 1 9 8 0 ) . F o r b o t h f o r m u l a t i o n s , h o w e v e r ,
t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f w o m e n i n c r e a s e d v e r y s l i g h t l y i n t h e
c a t e g o r y o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o c c u p a t i o n s ( P o r a t /
O E C D ) a n d i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y m a i n t a i n e r s c a t e
g o r y ( S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v r o u w ) .
E t h n i c C o m p o s i t i o n o f K I O s U s i n g t h e T y p o l o g i e s
T h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f e t h n i c g r o u p s w a s a s s e s s e d u s i n g
t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p o l o g i e s . A s e x p e c t e d t h e C h i n e s e , b e i n g
t h e m a j o r i t y g r o u p , s h o w e d t h e b i g g e s t i n c r e a s e s p e r c e n t -
a g e - w i s e a s w e l l a s i n a b s o l u t e t e r m s . I n t h e P o r a t / O E C D
t y p o l o g y , b o t h i n t e r m s o f a b s o l u t e n u m b e r s a n d a s a p r o
p o r t i o n o f t h e l a b o r f o r c e , t h e t o t a l o f C h i n e s e i n t h e
d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s f l u c t u a t e d . I n c r e a s e s w e r e r e g i s t e r e d
i n t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r s ( 6 3 , 7 2 7 o r
9 . 7 9 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 6 2 , 3 9 1 o r 1 5 . 0 8 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) a n d i n f o r m
a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o c c u p a t i o n s ( 1 9 , 4 9 3 o r 2 . 9 9 % i n
1 9 7 0 t o 3 4 , 8 0 3 o r 3 . 2 3 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e C h i n e s e p a r t i c i p a
t i o n d e c l i n e d i n t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c e r s
( 8 6 , 5 1 2 o r 1 3 . 2 9 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 1 4 , 5 5 3 o r 1 0 . 6 4 % i n 1 9 8 0 )
a n d i n f o r m a t i o n d i s t r i b u t o r s ( 2 2 , 0 8 7 o r 3 . 3 9 % i n 1 9 7 0 a n d
2 7 , 9 9 3 o r 2 . 6 0 % i n 1 9 8 0 ) . U s i n g t h e S c h e m e n t a n d L i e v
r o u w t y p o l o g y , t h e C h i n e s e i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n
i n a l l t h e d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s , b u t i t w a s s u b s t a n t i a l
346
Table 63. Ethnic classification of KIOs according to
various typologies, 1970 and 1900 (Chinese Group)
19 7 0
Workforce = 650,892
19 8 0
Workforce = 1,077,090
Typologies and Their Authors : Total No.
:Per Category
% of
Workforce
Total No.
Pa- Category
% of
Workforce
(A) Knowledge Producers
(Machlup)
184,956 28.42 337,982 31.38
(B) Non-knowledge Producers
(Efechlup)
268,336 41.23 334,581 31.06
(C) Infornation Producers
(OECD/Porat)
86,512 13.29 114,553 10.64
(D) Infornation Processors
(OBGD/Porat)
63,727 9.79 162,391 15.08
(E) Information distributors
(OECD/Porat)
22,087 3.39 27,993 2.60
(F) Infornation Infrastructure
Occupations (OECD/Porat)
19,493 2.99 34,803 3.23
Total of C/D/E/F/ 191,819 29.47 339,740 31.54
(G) Information Producers
(Schement & Leivrouw)
157,484 24.20 273,067 25.35
(H) Information Recyclers
(Schement & Leivrouw)
45,300 6.96 87,116 8.09
(J) Information Technology
Producers (Schement &
Leivrouw)
1,133 0.17 43,276 4.02
(K) Information Technology
Efeintainers (Schement
& Leivrouw)
18,360 2.82 33,246 3.09
Total of G/H/J/K 222,277 34.15 436,705 40.54
(L) Non-Information Occu
pations (OECD/Porat)
264,958 40.71 327,105 30.37
(M) Non-Information Occu
pations (Schement &
Leivrouw)
243,646 37.43 302,188 28.06
(N) "Not Sure" Category 53,945 8.29 113,433 10.53
347
in the category of information technology producer (1,133
or .17 % in 1970 and 43,276 or 4.02 % in 1980).
The Malays and the Indians trailed behind the Chinese
in terms of their participation in KIOs. The number of
Malays and Indians seldom reached beyond the 3 % level in
any of the occupational typologies presented. However, for
the Malays, these typologies showed some increases in
several categories. For the OECD/Porat typology, the par
ticipation of the Malays increased in most of the catego
ries except for a percentage decline among information
distributors (2,603 or .40 % in 1970 and 3,119 or .29 % in
1980). However, for the Malays employed in jobs under the
information processors category, the increase was quite
substantial in absolute terms (9,830 or 1.51 % in 1970
and 23,306 or 2.16 % in 1980). Using the Schement and
Lievrouw typology, the participation of Malays increased
in the category of information producers (8,106 or 1.25 %
in 1970 to 16,213 or 1.51 %) . They also increased their
participation in the information recycler category (8,921
or 1.37 % in 1970 up to 19,090 or 1.77 % in 1980) as well
as in the information technology producer category where
the increase had been dramatic (579 or .088 % in 1970 and
21,877 or 2.03 % in 1980). The Indians, as a group, in
creased their participation substantially in the informa
tion processor category (Porat /OECD), 7,284 or 1.11 % in
in 1970 to 13,260 or 1.23 % in 1980. They also
3 4 8
Table 64. Ethnic classification of OQs according to
various typologies, 1970 and 1980 (Malays Group)
: 19 7 0
: Workforce = 650,892
19 8 0
Workforce = 1,077,090
Typologies and Their Authors : Total No.
:Per Category
% of
Workforce
Total No. % of
Per Category Workforce
(A) Knowledge Producers
(ffechlup)
16,838 2.59 35,410 3.29
(B) Non-knowledge Producers
(Efechlup)
51,057 7.84 84,442 7.84
(C) Information Producers
(OECD/Porat)
3,694 0.57 6,864 0.64
(D) Information Processors
(OECD/Porat)
9,830 1.51 23,306 2.16
(E) Information Distributors
(OECD/Porat)
2,603 0.40 3,119 0.29
(F) Information Infrastructure 2,464
Occupations (OECD/Porat)
0.38 8,700 0.81
Total of C/D/E/F/ 18,591 2.86 41,989 3.90
(G) Infornation Producers
(Schenent & Leivrouw)
8,106 1.25 16,213 1.51
(H) Information Recyclers
(Schement & Leivrouw)
8,921 1.37 19,090 1.77
(J) Infornation Technology
Producers (Schenent &
Leivrouw)
579 0.09 21,877 2.03
(K) Information Technology
Maintainers (Schement
& Leivrouw)
1,885 0.29 8,032 0.75
Total of G/H/J/K 19,491 2.99 65,212 6.05
(L) Non-Information Occu
pations (OECD/Porat)
50,706 7.79 83,438 7.75
(M) Non-Information Occu
pations (Schement &
Leivrouw)
46,673 7.17 78,914 7.33
(N) "Not Sure" Category 5,652 0.87 13,419 1.25
349
Table 65. Ethnic classification of KIOs according to
various typologies, 1970 and 1980 (Indian Group)
: Workforce
19 7 0
« 650,892 Workforce
19 8 0
= 1,077,090
Typologies and Their Authors : Total No.
:Per Category
7 a O f
Workforce
Total No.
Per Category
% of
Workforce
(A) Knowledge Producers
(Pfachlup)
20,137 3.09 26,842 2.49
(B) Non-knowledge Producers
(Machlup)
28,148 4.32 32,368 3.01
(C) Information Producers
(OKD/Porat)
10,016 1.54 8,942 0.83
(D) Information Processors
(OKD/Porat)
7,284 1.12 13,260 1.23
(E) Information Distributors
(OSCD/Porat)
2,108 0.32 3,050 0.28
(F) Infornation Infrastructure 1,040
Occupations (OKD/Porat)
0.16 2,722 0.25
Total of C/D/E/F/ 20,448 3.14 27,974 2.60
(G) Infornation Producers
(Schement & Leivrouw)
17,361 2.67 21,226 1.97
(H) Information Recyclers
(Schement & leivrouw)
5,530 0.85 7,925 0.74
(J) Information Technology
Producers (Schenent &
Leivrouw)
97 0.01 6,309 0.59
(K) Infornation Technology
Maintainers (Schement
& Leivrouw)
943 0.14 2,556 0.24
Total of G/H/J/K 23,931 3.68 38,016 3.53
(L) Non-Information Occu
pations (OKD/Porat)
27,811 4.27 32,003 2.97
(M) Non-Infornation Occu
pations (Schement &
leivrouw)
24,846 3.82 29,414 2.73
(N) "Not Sure" Category 4,282 0.66 10,497
°*97 3 5 0
increased in the information technology producer cate
gory from a mere 97 (.014 %) to 6,309 or (.585 %) in 1980.
However, in terms of the overall workforce, the partici
pation of the Indians in the KIOs as described by various
typologies was still extremely low.
Summary of Typologies
Using the different typologies on information work
ers, the Singaporean occupational data were analyzed. The
typologies of Machlup (1961), Porat and the OECD (1981)
and Schement and Lievrouw (1983) showed the same trends
when the different typologies were used as aggre
gates. For example, all the typologies showed more or less
the same percentage increases for the KIOs taken a group
across the census year, 1947 to 1980. To this degree,
some consistency in the three formulations was evident.
However, the Schement and Lievrouw typology seemed to
include more occupations within the KIO subset than the
other typologies. In terms of specific categories, the
analysis showed large increases in the category of inform
ation processors (OECD/Porat), knowledge producers and in
form technology producers (Schement and Lievrouw).
The socio-demographic profiles of the KIOs using
these various categories were also drawn. Males, as
expected, were numerous in all the different categories,
and women, as expected, had extremely low participation
351
r a t e s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n 1 9 4 7 a n d 1 9 5 7 . T h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n
i n c r e a s e d s t a r t i n g i n 1 9 7 0 a n d b y 1 9 8 0 , w o m e n i n t h e
k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( a s d e f i n e d b y t h e s e
t y p o l o g i e s ) c o n s i s t e d o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 % t o 2 2 % o f t h e
w o r k f o r c e . T h e n u m b e r o f w o m e n a l s o i n c r e a s e d i n t h e i n
f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r c a t e g o r y a n d i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h
n o l o g y p r o d u c e r c a t e g o r y . T h e r e w e r e v e r y f e w w o m e n i n t h e
c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o c c u p a t i o n s a n d
i n t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y m a i n t a i n e r s .
T h e C h i n e s e , a s t h e m a j o r i t y g r o u p , i n c r e a s e d t h e i r
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a l l t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p o
l o g i e s , w h i l e t h e M a l a y s a n d t h e I n d i a n s t r a i l e d b e h i n d .
H o w e v e r , a l l e t h n i c g r o u p s i n c r e a s e d a s a p r o p o r t i o n o f
t h e w o r k f o r c e i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k c a t e g o r i e s o f i n
f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y p r o d u c e r s .
S u m m a r y o f t h e C h a p t e r
T h i s c h a p t e r e x a m i n e d i n d e p t h t h e k n o w l e d g e a n d
i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n s ( K I O s ) o f S i n g a p o r e . B o t h t w o -
d i g i t a n d t h r e e - d i g i t l e v e l s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l d a t a w e r e
u s e d . U s i n g t h e t w o - d i g i t l e v e l , t h e a n a l y s i s s h o w e d t h a t
t h e t y p i c a l K I O f o r 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 8 0 w e r e s a l e s m e n a n d s h o p
a s s i s t a n t s , c l e r c i a l w o r k e r s , a n d e l e c t r i c a l a n d e l e c t r o
n i c a s s e m b l e r s a n d f i t t e r s . I t w a s a s t i l l a m a l e d o m i n a
t e d w o r k f o r c e , b u t w o m e n i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n
s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n 1 9 8 0 . T h e t o p " n o n - K I O " w o r k e r f o r t h e s e
t w o d e c a d e s w e r e t h e m o t o r v e h i c l e s , s h i p s a n d o t h e r
352
t r a n s p o r t o p e r a t o r s f o l l o w e d b y " n o n - c l a s s i f i a b l e
l a b o r e r s , " a n d t h i r d , b y d o c k e r s a n d f r e i g h t h a n d l e r s .
U s i n g t h r e e - d i g i t l e v e l o f o c c u p a t i o n a l d a t a , j o b c a
t e g o r i e s w e r e r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o s u b - g r o u p s w i t h
g i v e n o r i e n t a t i o n s . A m o n g t h e s e s u b g r o u p s , t h e f a s t e s t
g r o w i n g j o b c a t e g o r i e s w e r e t h e s c i e n c e - o r i e n t e d j o b s ,
w h i l e t h e s l o w e s t K I O s w e r e t h o s e o f t h e p e r f o r m i n g a r t s .
O c c u p a t i o n a l d a t a w e r e a l s o r e c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o
t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p o l o g i e s p r o p o s e d b y v a r i o u s a u t h o r s .
T h e s e t y p o l o g i e s c o n v e r g e d t o s o m e d e g r e e g i v i n g s o m e c o n
s i s t e n c y t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n s p r o p o s e d . H o w e v e r , t h e r e w e r e
s o m e d i f f e r e n c e s . F o r e x a m p l e , s u c h a s s o m e d e f i n i t i o n s
t e n d t o i n c l u d e m o r e j o b c a t e g o r i e s t h a n o t h e r s . B u t t h e
p o s i t i v e s i d e i s t h a t s o m e c a t e g o r i e s w i t h i n t h e t y p o l o
g i e s p r e s e n t e d r e f l e c t m o r e p r e c i s e l y t h e c h a n g e s w i t h i n
t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s o f S i n g a p o r e . A s o c i o - d e m o -
g r a p h i c p r o f i l e o f K I O s w e r e a l s o d r a w n u s i n g t h e s e t y p o
l o g i e s . M a l e s s t i l l o u t r a n k e d t h e f e m a l e s , b u t t h e l a t t e r
i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e 1 9 8 0 s . T h e M a l a y s a n d
t h e I n d i a n s t r a i l e d b e h i n d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e
K I O s , b u t t h e i r i n c r e a s e d p a r t i c i p a t i o n w a s n o t e d i n t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s o r c a t e g o r y , i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y
p r o d u c e r c a t e g o r y , a s w e l l a s t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o d u c e r
c a t e g o r y .
3531
Chapter 10
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This chapter summarizes the findings from the present
study and discusses their implications for policy and
the theory of social transformations in the context of
"information societies."
Objectives of the Present Study
The general objectives of the present study are:
1. To examine and apply the analytic concepts of the
information society literature on labor force and occupa
tional structures.
2. To identify the trends and patterns in the occupa
tional structures of Singapore, particularly in the subset
of knowledge and information occupations (KIOs).
3. To examine the social forces that have shaped the
occupational structure, specifically knowledge and inform
ation occupations (KIOs).
4. To analyze the implications of the observed trends
in the occupational structures in relation to the process
of social transformation of Singapore.
Part I
Chapter summaries
Chapter 1_ (Introduction) presented the context of the
study which included social observations that led to the
conceptualizing of "information or post-industrial so-
354
cieties." These social observations made in OECD coun
tries were the following: (a) the significant and perva
sive impact of computers and computer-based communication
technologies in the home and in the workplace; (b) the
predominance of knowledge and information workers in the
labor force; (c) the growing importance of the service
sectors and "information sector" in terms of their contri
bution to the economy; and (d) the increasing privatiza
tion of information.
The literature on information societies is wide-
ranging, with different scholars adopting various levels
of analysis on diverse topics. Some are studies on
impacts of new technologies, domestic and international
policies on communication and information, and economic
issues such as rates for new services and others. An
important theme of the literature focuses on social and
economic consequences of the shift of the workforce to
nonfarm employment in most OECD countries. Specifically,
this includes the rise or substantial increase of jobs
that involve the production, processing or distribution of
information. Such fundamental changes in occupational
structure can present both opportunities and problems for
a big segment of the population.
For some of the newly industrializing countries,
e.g., Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, the
transition to "information societies" is the economic
355
e.g., Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, the
transition to "information societies" is the economic
task of the *80s and '90s. Singapore, which is in the
process of restructuring its economy to become an "inform
ation-intensive society" becomes an important "benchmark
case for NICs and other developing countries who want to
enter the "information age." The focus of the study was on
the occupational structure of Singapore, viewed as an
important indicator of social change. From the economic
perspective, occupations are closely related with the pro
ductive capacity of a country and therefore its potential
for economic growth. From the sociological perspective,
occupations are major indicators of social stratification
and existing social relations within a particular socie-
society. Thus, to a large degree, the occupational struc
ture can show power relationships, prestige values and
even the survival potential of any nation. Major and mas
sive changes in occupational structure can therefore indi
cate fundamental social changes within a society.
Chapter (Review of Related Literature) presented
some of the related literature on "information and post
industrial societies." The social observations that
sparked the interest in this area were amplified by scho
lars in the fields of sociology and communications and
later used as the empirical basis for conceptualizing a
"postindustrial society." Of particular relevance was the
356
observation that in many OECD countries, more than half of
the workforce were engaged in "services" or tertiary sec
tor activities that included the production and manipula
tion of knowledge and information. The latter observation
had given some popularity to the notion of "information
society."
The review of related literature emphasized the con
cept of "information society as post-industrial society"
or as "service-based society." Cited therefore in this
chapter were some of the origins of "postindustrial
ism" and the common themes that ran through the writings
of several Western liberal social theorists . As reviewed
by Gershuny (1978), these post-industrial themes in
cluded politics and change, technocracy and planning,
increasing role and scope of education, change in con
sumption patterns, changing conditions of employment and
the changing nature and scale of organization.
Presented as a debate were works of different writers
who supported the "post-industrial society" position and
those who opposed it. Critics of the concept focused on
the relationships between social change (which the "post
industrial" concept assumes) and economic growth. An
important argument was that the emergence of a service
service sector (an important indicator of social change
in the "post-industrial and information society" lite
rature) does not necessarily mean the decline of the
357
industrial sector. This means that there is no basis for
calling the next "evolutionary " state of society as
"post-industrial."
In relation to this "evolutionary" process of change,
The Fischer-Clark model, which is the standard (economic
sectoral employment model, was criticized because it
strongly assumed a linear and sequential process of eco
nomic transformation: agricultural, manufacturing and then
service. The evidence presented by Singelmann (1977)
who studied the industrialization patterns of the U.S.,
some European nations and Japan showed that the linear
and sequential process of sectoral change in terms of
employment was not valid. In some countries, employment
in the manufacturing sector (transformative) grew toge
ther with the service (tertiary) sectors. In other words,
the argument that the "next stage" of societal evolu
tion, given the increase of service workers, would be a
"post-industrial" and soley a service-based society
(implying the end of the industrial age) had very limited
historical basis. It is not by any means a "universal
phenomenon." On the contrary, there were even evidences
that the manufacture and consumption of "service goods"
e.g., sophisticated washing machines, music machines,
etc., were increasing instead of declining. That could
358
mean more people employed in the manufacturing (secondary
or transformative) sector.
The concept of "services" as being too vague and too
inclusive was also criticized. A more precise version,
proposed by Singelmann, identified different types of
services within the sector. This allows the differentia
tion of services that require less skills (domestic
service work) and that which call for sophisticated
training (e.g., financial analyst).
Chapter (Conceptual Framework) continued the review
of literature on occupational structures in the context of
"information and post-industrial societies." It also
included an analytical framework for the study of occu
pational structures in Singapore.
The review showed that although scholars agreed on
the same social observation, that is, a sizeable portion
of the workforce in OECD countries was predominantly
engaged in services and that the service sector had grown
in terms of employment and productivity, the conclusions
drawn from these observations, differed vastly. For the
"post-industrialists" like Daniel Bell ( 1973), these
changes indicated the future preeminence of the tech
nocratic class, the shift from a goods-producing to a
service-producing economy, and the centrality of theore
tical knowledge. Critics like French sociologist A.
3 5 9
Touraine agreed about the centrality of information and
theoretical knowledge in this future society. He cau
tioned, however, about an "over-integrated society and the
new working class of dependent participants with no autho
rity over their economic decisions." The conflict view of
post-industrial society was amplified by Gartner and
Reissman (1977) when they said that the new service
society is emerging in a neo-capitalist industrial con
text. Ultimately, however, the service economy must
utilize the socialist mode of production, that is, active
participation in decision-making at all levels of work
because the service society is a society of human ser
vices. Heilbroner (1977), on the other hand, saw the
emerging society as "post-capitalist" in the sense that
the nation's funds are spent on socialist programs such as
guaranteed incomes, family allowances, public health
plans. But it remains capitalist because of economic con
centration and the linking of political and economic
elites.
The relationship between "post-industrialism" and
and the Third world was also examined in the review.
Targ (1977) emphasized the further integration of the
global system into a unified heirarchy of control and
accumulation as facilitated by the new technological
expertise generated in the post-industrial societies.
360
Furthermore, the movement of Center nations from indus
trial to post-industrial economies suggest a new global
division of labor.
On the other hand, the "post-industrial" society
presents the advantage for developing countries to "leap
frog" from agriculture to services in terms of employment.
The key factor is technology and its transferability.
The manufacturing or transformative sector can be
capital-intensive so that the workers "released" from the
agricultural sector can go straight into services or the
tertiary sector.
Occupational structures will change as the service
sector and the service economy expand. Together with
this expansion, as had been observed by various scholars,
is the rise of, or increase in jobs that involve the
production, distribution and manipulation of information
(symbols). What then is the linkage between service occu
pations and the KIOs (knowledge and information occupa
tions)? It can be expected that more KIOs can be found in
some types of services: distributiuve (e.g., communica
tion), producer services (banking and financial services)
and social services (education , postal, government).
Clearly, there are social implications of having KIOs
as the predominant form of occupations in a society and
can present both opportunities and problems as well.
361
Chapter _3 also discussed the analytical framework
used to study changes in the occupational structures and
the accompanying social processes. The major premises
of the framework are: (1) shifts in occupational struc
tures indicate social changes; and (2) these occupational
structure are embedded in a specific historical context,
and therefore shaped by social, political and economic
forces interacting within that context. These forces that
affect the direction and magnitude of the social changes
are identifiable.
The analytical framework presented borrows its com
ponents partly from the macroeconomic model of manpower
forecasting and the labor force approach in sociology.
But the analysis of the data combines the contextual-
historical and sociological perspectives. The first
component is institutional actors. These are the major
institutions that influence and shape the economic
policies. For Singapore, there are only two: the govern
ment and the multinational corporations.
The second component is policies. These are the
instruments by which social events are influenced. The
third component is composed of the social factors of
supply and demand. In this study, supply factors are demo
graphic patterns and the learning systems of the country,
both formal and nonformal or work-related institutions.
362
For the demand factors, investment was discussed as a
critical variable.
The fourth component is the labor force, an immediate
determinant of occupational and industrial distribution.
The last component is the subset of knowledge and inform
ation occupations (KIOs). It is assumed that the present
occupational patterns, including those of the KIOs can be
explained by the analytical framework. Thus, if we were
to test Daniel Bell’s prediction that in the information-
based and service-based society (of the future Sin
gapore), the technocratic class shall be preeminent, this
analytical framework can be used to find both the histo
rical and empirical basis of such a prognosis.
Chapter 4 discussed the analytical perspective used,
data sets collected, data collection procedures, and the
specific methods used to analyze the data.
The present study utilized the contextual-historical
approach as the main analytical perspective. Occupational
structures are embedded in a specific context, shaped by a
country’s history as well as its prevailing political and
economic system. Moreover, to study the future trends,
quantitative projections become more meaningful because
for some countries like Singapore, institutional interven
tion is a key factor in future events.
The level of analysis was the aggregate level, rely
ing in many instances on macroeconomic data (e.g., GDP,
363
investments, etc.) as well as on labor force data (e.g.,
demographic patterns, industrial employment, etc.). This
level of analysis complements the contextual-hitorical
analytical perspective.
Information collected for quantitative analysis was
mainly from census and other statistical information pub
lished in various census books and statistical yearbooks
published by by the Singapore government. Census data for
the years of 1947, 1957, 1970 and 1980 were used as pri
mary sources of information. In terms of occupational
data, one-digit, two-digit, and some three-digit code data
were used for the various census years. Important sources,
in addition to the yearbooks, were the census monographs
written by Prof. Saw Swee Hock of the National University
of Singapore. These were: The Population of Singapore
(1983) and The Labor Force of Singapore (1984).
The primary methods used for analysis included: his
torical and institutional analysis, use of percentages to
find out some occupational patterns, and trend analysis
to project occupational patterns based on census data.
In addition, an important part of the analysis was
was the reclassification of available census data into
various typologies for knowledge and information occupa
tions proposed by various scholars.
Chapter 5_ (Singapore: Land and People) described the
364
land, people and institutions of present-day Singapore and
also included a brief, chronological narrative of its his
tory as an island nation.
Singapore consists of the island of Singapore and
some 57 odd islets within its territorial waters. Its
immediate neighbors are Peninsular Malaysia to the north,
East Malaysia to the east, and Indonesia to the south.
Singapore's climate is characterized by high humdity and
abundant rainfall because it is close to equator and also
because it is an island.
Singapore's population, as of November 1983 was
2,502, 000. The Chinese composed 76 % of its people,
followed by the Malays (14 %) and the Indians (6 %).
Persons of other ethnic groups constituted the remaining
2.3 %.
Singapore's population has slightly more males than
females, with a sex ratio of 1, 040 males per 1,000
females. Birth rate has declined and so has the total
fertility rate for women aged 15-44.
The official languages in Singapore are Malay, Chi
nese (Mandarin), Tamil and English. Malay is the national
language and English is the language of government admi
nistration.
Literacy rate in Singapore was about 85 percent in
1983. There was a higher literacy rate for males than for
females and most were monolingual.
_____________________________ 365
Singapore’s modern history consisted of the following
distinct phases: its life under the British colonial rule
from 1816 when a trading station was established in Sin
gapore by Sir Stanford Raffles to 1942; the brief Japanese
occupation from 1942 to 1945; resumption of British rule,
but with greater participation in self-government from
1945 to 1958; establishment of the State of Singapore in
1958; the formation of Malaysia to include the Federation
of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brueni and North Borneo
from 1958 to 1965; the separation from Malaysia to become
a fully independent and sovereign nation starting in 1965
to the present time.
Singapore has been ruled by one political party since
its independence in 1965, the People’s Action Party (PAP).
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had been prime minister of Singapore for
the last 21 years, but was in power even before the inde
pendence of Singapore.
The government is parliamentary , with the parliament
as a unicameral body with 75 members. Almost all those
elected were from the PAP, with the opposition holding
only a single seat in parliament. The other institutions
include the judiciary with the judicial power vested in
the Supreme Court and in the Subordinate courts. There is
an executive branch, with the president of the Republic
elected by Parliament for a term of four years. The pre
sident appoints the prime minister, a member of the par
_______________________________________________ 366
liament who commands the confidence of the majority of
the members of the parliament. On the advice of the Prime
Minister, the President appoints other ministers from
among the members of Parliament to form a Cabinet.
Today, the two top officials of the Singaporean lea
dership are Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister, and Dr. Goh
Keng Swee, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Education, respectively.
Chapter (> (Economic Transformation of Singapore)
amplified the chronological account of Singapore's his
tory. It also focused on the city-state's economic trans
formation and the social forces that brought about this
social change, particularly in terms of its economic
growth.
The cohesive leadership of Singapore is probably the
most important social force in its transformation as a
city-state. It had been known for its efficiency and
integrity as well as pragmatism and still continues to be
so today. The PAP, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s political party had
been in power since 1959. In its struggle against the
communists in 1965, Mr. Lee's party had gained the upper
hand, and in the process the party acquired a rigid orga
nization which concentrates power into a few hands.
Before independence, Singapore faced enormous prob
lems such as widespread strikes, high unemployment, abet
ted by the influx of workers from Malaysia. Before 1965,
____________________________ 367
the economic planning was based on access to a domestic
market that included Malaysia. This market was lost when
Singapore separated from Malaysia, thus leaving little
choice for economic opitons. The Singaporeans' major prob
lems in 1965 included: (a) lack of domestic market
because of a small population; (b) lack of skills and
technology, and (c) lack of natural resources and capital.
Moreover, its entrepot economy was not growing fast enough
to generate jobs. Restructuring the economy was a para
mount concern.
The first economic restructuring consisted of a
strategy that rested on the export of labor-intensive
manufactures in order to reduce high levels of unemploy
ment. The government also encouraged military, trade,
finance and transportation activities to diversify the
economic structure. But it was industrialization that was
the major hope for rapid job creation.
Early on, the Singaporean government decided that it
could not depend on local capital alone. It had to woo
foreign capital in massive amounts. To achieve this goal,
a favorable climate for foreign investments had to be
created. The most important economic measures implemented
by the government consisted of the following: (a) provi
sion of social and economic infrastructures for industry
that included creating industrial estates and providing
telecommunicationn services; (b) provision of a skilled
368
workforce which required restructuring the educational
system and allowing foreing workers to stay in Singapore
for limited periods of time; (c) insuring industrial peace
that minimized disruptive behavior of workers like
strikes; (d) provision of economic incentives and tax
holidays to corporations to firms setting up their facili
ties in Singapore; (e) provision of banking and financing
services in order to support the manufacturing sector;
(f) participation of Government in the industrialization
process by setting up its own business ventures; (g) other
export promotion efforts undertaken by the government such
as trade missions abroad.
The net effects of these strategies .were the
following: (a) inflow of massive foreign capital into the
Singaporean economy; (b) creation of jobs and achieving
high levels of employment; (c) provision of basic needs
for majority of the people, including consumer durables
like telephones and refrigerators.
The second restructuring is now in operation in Sin
gapore. As early as 1970, it was the consensus that the
future strategy for development, assuming limited man
power resources and less immigrant labor, should be
switching from relatively low technology, low value added
industries to science-based high value-added operations.
New industries would include metal and metal engineering,
electgrical products, electronic products. For the
369
1990's, the way to high economic growth is the export of
goods and services. Other services in which Singapore has
a competitive edge includes telecommunications, a field of
activity that is closely tied with computers in terms of
voice, data, and image transmissions. The computer indus
try and services, therefore , becomes a key factor to the
future plans of Singapore.
In his book, Dependent Development, (1981), Frederick
Deyo offers another perspective in terras of the indus
trialization process in Singapore. Singapore, South Korea
and Taiwan are small countries with limited domestic mar
kets and few resources. But they also had an abundance of
workers who were acquisitive, partially urbanized and
highly responsive to wage incentives. Under these circum
stances, development planning relied heavily on export-
oriented growth strategy based on labor-intensive indus-
stries. However, conversely it had also imposed tight
corporatist control on unions in order to stabilize labor
costs and enhance labor productivity and industrial stabi
lity. All three countries also started their industria
lization with strong unified ruling elites within dominant
single-party systems, facilitating centralized political
control.
Chapter _7 (Supply and Demand of Labor: Social
Factors) analyzed the social factors that have shaped and
370
influenced the supply and demand of labor, and conse
quently the labor force and occupational structures of
Singapore. The focus was not on the quantitative measure
ment of these social factors, but rather on their linkages
to the process of social transformation in Singapore, and
their impact on the supply and demand of labor. Discussed
in this chapter were the demographic patterns and educa
tional policies on the ’'supply-side" and investments on
the "demand side." The general conclusion is that the
government of Singapore has pursued a vigorous interven
tionist policy in regulating through direct and indirect
means the interactions between supply and demand for man
power in Singapore. For the social factors of the "supply
side," the government has regulated population levels as
well as the outputs of the educational system, both in
quality and quantity. The overriding priority was to
achieve economic growth at all costs, including "equity,"
thus the necessity to integrate all aspects of social life
into one economic framework molded by the Singaporean
leadership. This "economic growth" orientation was imple
mented through the labor-intensive industrialization pro
cess of the early '70s. Singapore was enormously success
ful in its drive for economic growth. But at what social
costs is a question that has no no clear answer.
On the "demand side" of labor, the Singaporean govern
ment decided to use the capital provided by the multina
371
tional corporations to fuel its industrialization. As
discussed earlier, various incentives and economic mea
sures were undertaken to attract foreign capital into
Singapore. The biggest investment areas were petroleum and
petroleum products, electrical and electronic machinery,
apparatus and supplies. The largest foreign investor was
the United States ($992 million in 1973 and $3.49 billion
in 1983), followed by Japan ($237 million in 1973 and
$2,099 billion in 1983). The next biggest investors were
the European countries. Local investments had also grown
dramatically, but in spite of this, the fact of life in
Singapore is that its economy is extremely dependent on
foreign investments.
Policies and economic orientations pursued during the
early industrialization phase are still in operation today
and being applied to the "second restructuring" of Sin
gapore’s economy, that is, the shift to capital-intensive,
high productivity industries. Policies that are in opera
tion at this stage include: using a "manpower approach" to
education and regulating formal and non-formal learning
systems to meet the specific needs of industries; creating
a conducive atmosphere for investments through such means
as providing a skilled workforce as well as the necessary
infrastructure for industry.
Chapter 8 (Occupational Structures of Singapore)
examined in depth the labor force and occupation struc
372
tures of Singapore. The labor force trends were discussed
as part of the background for occupational structures. The
occupational data analyzed included one-digit, two-digit
and some selected three-digit coded data.
Using one-digit industrial classification (based on
the Fisher-Clark model), figures showed that the greatest
increases in employment for Singapore in the last 21
years were in the secondary sector, while the greatest
decrease was in the primary (agriculture) sector. The
tertiary sector ("services") for Singapore had remained
fairly stable over the last 40 years. No doubt, Singa
pore's traditional role for entrepot trade had influenced
the tertiary sector. Specifically, the "biggest jumps" in
employment occurred in manufacturing (19.5 % in 1957 to
35.8 % in 1982) and in financial and business services
(4.6 % in 1957 to 7. 9 % in 1982). A big employer was of
course the government, although its share declined (30.7 %
of the workforce in 1957 and 20.6 % in 1982).
Analysis of occupational data (2-digit) showed the
trends among the top ten occupations ("typical") from the
1947 to 1980 census. In 1947 and 1957, domestic ser
vice workers were among the top occupations, but they de
clined in 1970 and 1980. The "stable occupations" among
the top ten or typical occupations from 1947 to 1980 were
those of salesmen or shop assistants and clerical workers,
although their percentages in relation to the entire work-
force fluctuated across the years. Those which were pre
sent in 1947 but gradually diminished and disappeared
among the top ten occupations were: domestic service
workers, toolmakers, machinists, hawkers or street ven
dors. The "new” occupations which appeared among the top
ten or most typical occupations, particularly in the 1970s
and 1980s were: operators of motor vehicles and other
transport equipment; electrical and electronics fitters
and assemblers; machine assemblers and precision instru
ment makers. On the increase too during the 1980s were
managers, bookkeepers, cashiers and technicians.
In terms of sex stratification, women had histori
cally low rates of participation in the Singaporean labor
force. When they started being employed, particularly
inthe 1970s, they were in labor-intensive jobs such as
domestic workers. When these job categories declined,
women were employed as electronics assemblers and as
clerical workers.
In terms of age and ethnicity, the typical worker in
1980 was likely to be in the 20-39 age bracket and of
Chinese descent. By 1980, the most typical occupation was
that of salespersons and related workers, who were predo
minantly Chinese males. The second most typical job
category was that of clerical workers who were likely to
be Chinese women in the 20-39 age bracket. The third most
374
typical job was that of electrical and electronic fitter
and assembler, a job category with predominantly young
female Chinese workers. Malays were also likely to enter
this job category compared with others.
These trends reflect quite clearly some of the social
forces discussed earlier such as industrialization poli
cies and key areas of investments (e.g., electrical and
electronics product). However, the socio-demographic
profiles of these occupations using two-digit coded data
showed which groups in society were most affected by
these policies. Except for the salesperson and the cleri
cal worker, the most typical occupations were in manu
facturing or secondary sector. However, analysis also
showed that when these jobs were reclassified, the fol
lowing trends were evident. The low-skilled and labor-
intensive jobs declined. The medium-skilled and manufactu
ring related job categories fluctuated across the years,
that is, some new ones appeared, and some disappeared.
However, the third trend is that the most stable jobs
across the years, relatively speaking, were the job cate
gories were the "symbol/word oriented" categories among
the top ten or most typical jobs.
Chapter 10 (Knowledge and Information Occupations)
examined in depth the KIOs of Singapore. Both two-digit
and three-digit levels of occupational data were used in
the analysis. Using the two-digit level and the "aggregate
375
definition approach, the analysis showed that the typical
KIO for 1970 and 1980 were salesmen and shop assistants,
clerical workers, and electrical and electronic assem
blers and fitters. It still a male dominated workforce
but women increased their participation significantly in
1980. The top "non-KIO’' worker for these two decades were
the motor vehicles, ships and other transport operators,
followed by "non-classifable laborers,” and third, by
dockers and freight hanbdlers.
Using the three-digit level of occupational data, job
categories were reclassified according to the sub-groups
with given orientations. Among these subgroups, the fast
est growing job categories were the science-oriented jobs,
while the slowest were those of the performing arts.
Occupational data were also reclassified according to
the different typologies proposed by various authors.
These typologies converged on the aggregate, giving some
consistency to the definitions proposed. However, there
were some differences, such as some definitions tend to
include more job categories than others. But the positive
side is that some categories within the typologies
presented reflect more precisely the changes within the
occupational structures of Singapore. A socio-demographic
porfile of KIOs were also drawn using these typologies.
Males still outranked the females, but the latter in
creased its participation in the 1980s. The Malays and
3 7 €
the Indians trailed behind in their participation in the
KIOs, but increased participation for all ethnic groups
were noted in the information processor category and in
the information technology producer category.
Part II
Conclusions
Chapters 1 to 9 examined in depth the occupational
structures, particularly the subset of knowledge and info
rmation occupations of Singapore, in the context of its
political and economic history as a city-state. Using the
historical-contextual approach and the analytical frame
work proposed earlier, this present study has sought to
determine the linkage between the "information society"
concepts and the process of social transformation of
Singapore. The reason for this is that Singapore aspires
to be an "information society," and its leadership is
taking deliberate and concerted measures towards this
direction.
The following section summarizes the important
findings and discusses some of the implications of the
study.
Singapore * s vision of an information society
1. Singapore's leaders have defined the city-state's
vision of the future, that of becoming an information
society, almost exclusively in terms of economic growth.
377
To succeed, the strategy adopted is to shift from
labor-intensive industries (prevalent in the '70s) to
capital-intensive, high technology and high value-value
added industries in the ’80s. The core of this restructu
ring is the computer industry and includes also the prod-
duction of information technology and sophisticated con
trol systems, the development of software products, bio
technology, and robotics. For this economic restructuring
to succeed, the key elements, as defined by the Singapo
rean leadership, are massive foreign capital, sophisti
cated technology, and skills. Thus, to attract and main
tain foreign capital, strategies used so successfully
before are once more in operation. Examples are the provi
sion of infrastructure, a highly skilled and cooperative
workforce, and a general environment of political stabi
lity conducive to investments. Once more, a vigorous
interventionist policy is being pursued to affect the
social factors of the supply and demand of labor. For
example, the workers are being encouraged to learn and
acquire computer skills, anticipating that for the indus
tries of the near future, computer literacy is a prere
quisite. Thus, both formal and non-formal learning sys
tems are being geared again to anticipate the manpower
demand of capital-intensive, high value added industries.
The computer industry has also been granted pioneer
378
status by the government to encourage computer companies
to relocate in Singapore.
2. What emerges from the above discusssion is the
fact that Singapore's future is being shaped by its past.
Clearly, strong historical continuities are embodied in
the same social forces that were in operation during the
first industrialization phase. These include the same
ideological framework (i.e., capitalist and corporatist
ideology completely oriented to the external markets), the
same powerful institutions (government and the multinatio
nal corporations) and elites who have been in power since
1959; and the same interventionist policies that will
affect directly and indirectly the supply and demand of
labor and occupations.
Occupational Trends
1. Given a set of political and economic context,
Singapore's occupational structures will reflect the
social changes instituted. Results of the analysis showed
that with the first industrialization program implemented,
low skilled and labor-intensive occupations declined over
the years, while those related to manufacturing (e.g.,
electronics assemblers) and certain types of service-
oriented occupations (e.g. financing and bamking) have
increase. consequently, with the new restructuring of the
economic base, new occupations will appear and some of the
379
present "mainstays'1 in the occupational structures will
decline.
2. There will be a continuing increase in "science-
oriented" KIOs. The government is taking steps to encou
rage this.
3. However, the growth area in terms of jobs are not
the "high tech" jobs involving much theoretical know
ledge but rather the "technician level." In short, the
"typical job" in Singapore's near future is not likely to
be an a knowledge or information producer such as an elec
trical, electronics or computer engineer. For some years,
the demand for these jobs will exceed the supply, and
they will remain "atypical" or "rare" jobs in terms of the
entire population. There is short supply because of the
excessive demand of industries for certain types of "know
ledge produers" and because of the strict admission stand
ards of Singapore's only higher education institution.
The "typical job" will be a "skilled technician" working
in "high-tech" industries. According to a personnel mana
ger interviewed in Singapore, the automation stage for
all industries is still far off and some companies are
still labor intensive. Therefore, the scenario that shows
a computer engineer working in a fully automated environ
ment will not yet be a "typical scenario" of the future.
What is likely is the scenario showing a skilled techni
cian working in a semi-automated factory.
380
4. What happens to the other KIOs? For one, clerical
jobs, one of the "mainstays” of Singapore’s occupational
structures may undergo changes in terms of skill and tech
nology requirements. In short, the likely progression
will be from paper and pencil, to manual typewriters, to
electrical typewriters, to personal computers and other
word processing machines, and then to more sophisticated
versions of PC with many features incorporated in one
working station. Low-skilled clerical jobs will also like
ly to decline as the machines become more sophisticated
and automation of the office takes place. Clerks involved
in routine jobs will become "machine operators" or infor
mation technology maintainers. In addition to all these
changes, the government is encouraging the use of compu
ters in many government offices. And since government is a
major employer of the clerical workforce, two options are
likely to be followed: the phasing out of routine jobs to
be replaced by machines, and the upgrading of the remai
ning workforce to operate the machines.
What about salespersons, one of the consistent "top
occupations" for the last 40 years in Singapore? This job
is likely to be among the "top ten" occupations in the
future. As the service sector expands, so will trading
continue and many young people will still be attracted to
this occupation. Moreover, the "trading profession" had
been a tradition in the Chinese culture for a long time,
________________________________ 381
and therefore there is a strong cultural "sanction", if
you will, for this type of job.
5. Other jobs such as electronics assemblers (mostly
women) will also decline as the industrial base of Sin
gapore changes. This job category was not in existence in
1947, but became a "typical job" in the 1980s. It will
therefore decline as the electronics assembly industry
which is low-skilled and labor intensive is phased out.
3. The analysis of the Singaporean occupational
structure show clearly that jobs or occupations are cer
tainly shaped by the industrial structure of a particular
country. Thus, some of the "top ten" or "typical" occupa
tions in the various census years showed clearly the
economic structure of the country at the time of the
survey. In 1947, an important occupation was that of a
domestic worker and this gradually declined in importance
in the 1970s. The "typical jobs" in the 1970s and 1980s
were mostly related to the manufacturing industry, and to
some services. But some of these job categories will
certainly decline as the industries that the Singaporean
government encourage also change.
However, there are certain occupations which remain
"typical occupations" across the years. And some of these
are KIOs. Examples are the salespersons, teachers, and
clerical workers. This brings up the notion that regard
382
less of the economic structure of a country, some occupa
tions will remain as "typical" occupations, and these will
probably be KIOs.
Part III
Implications For Policy and Future Research
Implications' for occupational structures
1. There are some managers in Singapore who believe
that the restructuring for the "information age" is occur-
ing too fast and too soon. Enrollment in "trades" or
courses offered by Polytechnic schools has started to de
cline. And yet, according to some managers, the "skilled
technician group" is still very much needed by many indus
tries in Singapore. Many companies are still labor-inten
sive and automation is not yet a reality. Therefore, the
demand for semi-skilled and skilled jobs is still an
effective demand.
Given the data analyzed in this study, it is best for
the Singaporean government to heed or to listen to the
complaints of those managers who espouse a slower tran
sition to an "information-intensive" economy. The typical
jobs are not yet "high tech", and if the university system
continues to be extremely selective, then providing the
manpower with the right skills for the "high tech" compa
nies will not be possible at least within the range of
five years. The typical worker at present is an industrial
383
worker (electronics assemblers), or a KIO in the catego
ries of information distributor (salesmen or teachers),
information technology producers or information recyclers
(clerical workers). It will take some time and much
resources on the part of companies before re-training can
be completed.
Implications for the educational system
1. In Singapore, there is an excessive demand for
higher education. Because there is only one university,
the admission standards are very strict. Moreover, the
practice of "streaming" children at age 8, that is, whe
ther they should go into the "arts" or the "sciences"
has contributed to the notion that university graduates
are the elite group in Singapore. Both practices had been
criticized by people outside Singapore, but the govern
ment, the school system is an allocative mechanism for its
manpower plans.
Singapore may have to rethink both policies if it
wants to participate fully in an information economy.
Apparently, once the information sector gets fully deve
loped, there will be an increased need for people with
higher education. The "brain industries" require intel
lectual input, and unless Singapore revises its educa
tional policies for the present gradeschoolers, it will be
left behind by countries with bigger populations and with
________________________________ 3 8 4
higher educational systems that are more open and accessi
ble.
Social and Political Implications of an "information
Society in the Singaporean context
1. So far, the Singaporean leaders have consistently
defined Singapore’s future in terms of economic growth.
If Singapore makes its transistion to a an "information
future," it will be interesting to follow the social
consequences of its being an " information society" where
the free flow of ideas and information is not part of the
ideological framework. After all, the Singaporean
leadership has not fared very well when measured by the
yardstick of freedom and equity. In its pragmatic and
efficient pursuit of economic growth, the loss of certain
freedoms and concepts of equity particularly for the
minorities in that society are important social costs
that seldom, if ever, gets attention in the Singaporean
media or any political forum. Mr. Lee had publicly
declared that the the Western values of democracy and
freedom of expression are not applicable nor sound to
practice in Asian developing countries and that an inter
ventionist policy seems more appropriate and likely to
succeed.
Example of interventionist policies is "social engi
neering." One of Mr. Lee’s pronouncement for which he was
roundly criticized by the Western press was the policy on
385
encouraging college graduates (an elite group in Singa
pore) to marry among college graduates also, in the belief
that the offsprings of such marriages will result in a
"better quality” children. And women who did not have
college degrees are "encouraged" to have fewer children,
with disincentives for women in that category if they had
children more than the prescribed number. In Singapore's
drive for economic growth using the pragmatic, efficient
and interventionist approach, some groups of people in the
population are likely to be left out. This had happened in
the first industrialization phase, and this is likely
to happen again in the future.
This example of social engineering which may have
been acceptable in the past may run counter to the nature
of an information society. The compatibility of this ideo
logy and political orientation with an information society
is likely to produce interesting consequences which can be
both functional or dysfunnctional for the Singaporean
society.
2. Singapore’s population is getting older and being
exposed to a lot more education and mass media from other
countries. Added to these is the fact that it is an "open"
city with thousands of foreign workers. By and large, a an
educated population is likely to demand more freedom in
their personal choices. Already there are signs in Sin
gapore, especially among the professionals who have
386
travelled abroad, to claim for greater personal freedom
in their decisions. Therefore, it is equally likely that
the next generation of Singapore’s working population will
not be as docile or as "cooperative" as their predecessors
in the first industrialization phase. This means that the
government cannot remain to be autocratic without running
into serious opposition. However, there is a plus factor
going for the Singaporean government: it has never
encouraged political science in the university nor
critical thinking in its educational system. So the docile
population may be still be possible in the future. Except
for one uncomfortable fact: that the ultimate end of the
spectrum of knowledge and information work is theoretical
work which requires a lot of creative and critical
thinking (e.g. software development). Therefore, the Sin
gaporean government will find it difficult to fill in the
"theoretical workers" category in their industries. Alrea
dy, there had been complaints from the MNCs that the
graduates of the Singaporean system are not creative
enough. In short, Singapore’s interventionist and auto
cratic policies may be backfire once Singapore moves fully
into the "information society."
Policies for the other ASEAN countries
1. Singapore's experience is very unique given pri
marily its size, location and leadership that has emerged
387
in the last 25 years. Its experiences are therefore not
easily transferable to other Asian settings. As a develop
ment model, Singapore is not easy to emulate because it
does not have a large agricultural sector that most ASEAN
countries have. Therefore, the major problem of urban-
rural drift does not exist in Singapore. Other ASEAN
nations have the task of raising the productivity of their
agricultural sector in order to be self-sufficient and
"release their workers"for the manufacturing and service
sectors. Singapore, on the other hand, suffers the vulner
ability of a city-state: it does not have natural resour
ces and therefore it is extremely dependent on Malaysia
for its food and water. Any hostility that may break
between Malaysia and Singapore is bound to cause greater
problems for Singapore than Malaysia.
2. In terms of its interventionist development poli
cies, the other ASEAN governments may not be as willing to
adopt the Singaporean way. However, they may learn some
lessons in terms of efficiency and honesty on the part of
the Singaporean bureaucracy.
3. The development of the information sector requires
the input of massive capital, and for most ASEAN coun
tries, this is impossible to generate on a domestic basis.
There may be no choice except to allow the MNCs to operate
within the country. It will be a tough decision, and there
are no easy choices.
388
Implications for Future Research
This study has raised several questions that need to
be investigated empirically. Some of these are:
1. It has been shown by the present study that occu
pational structures as an indicator of societal change de
pends on the economic and political system of the country
concerned. Therefore, it may be more meaningful for future
students of "information societies" to investigate the
context or the social factors that have affected the occu
pational structures. Predictions such as the "the work
force of the future shall be dominated by the technocratic
elites" lose its meaning unless the contexttual and his
torical basis of such predictions are explicated. In
other words, we may observe the same phenomenon, e.g.,
the increase in KIOs, but this may have occurred for
totally different reasons in different countries. In the
case of Singapore, some KIOs (e.g., science-oriented) are
increasing because of government policies, but other KIOs
(e.g., business-related) had always been "mainstays" as
occupations throughout different economic and political
structures. In other words, the "whys" are more important
than the "what" in the study of societal changes.
2. We need to study the process of "heirarchization"
of skills, particularly intellectual skills, before we can
create typologies of knowledge and information work as
basis of occupational titles. As the analysis have shown,
389
the finer the categorization, the better will be the match
between the KIO category and the existing job title. It
will also be easier to "catch" or discern the changes
within the occupational structures if the categories are
more refined than they are at present.
3. We need to do more research on the groups of
people that are likely to be left out once transitions to
"information economies" are in full operation. It is not
clear from the Singaporean experience if the trade-off
between economic growth and equity did not have a high
social cost in terms of the other ethnic groups in Sin
gapore .
5. It is also not clear if the "arts" should be left
out in the process of achieving economic growth. Or if
the "arts" should be considered as critical in the long
term future of an "information society." In Singapore, the
"arts" are considered "unskilled" and therefore is accord
ed very low status. Artists in general are the "pro
phets" of most societies, and to push economic growth at
their expense may be very dysfunctional to the psyche of
that nation. The rational, efficient mode may create
wealth, but it certainly does not always lead to cultural
and spiritual growth of a people.
390
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APPENDICES
398
Appendix A
Reclassification of Two-Digit Job Titles According
To Various Typologies Proposed By Scholars
(As reference for Tables 60 - 65)
A - KNOWLEDGE PRODUCERS (Machlup, 1962)
Physical scientists and related technicians
Architects, engineers, surveyors and related
technicians
Aircraft and ships’ officers
Life scientists and related technicians
Medical, dental, veterinary and related
technicians
Statisticians, mathematicians, systems analysts
and related technicians
Economists
Accountants
Jurists
Teachers and related workers
Authors, journalists and related workers
Legislative officials and government adminis
trators
Clerical supervisors
Stenographers and typists
Bookkeepers, cashiers and related workers
Computing machine operators
Transport, communications and supervisors
Mail distribution clerks
Telephone and telegraph operators
Clerical and related workers (not elsewhere
classified or n.e.c.)
Sales supervisors and buyers
Technical salesmen, commercial travellers and
manufacturers' agents, salesmen and
auctioneers
Insurance, real estate, securities and business
services
Salesmen, shop assistants and related workers
Sales workers, n.e.c.
Chemical processors and related workers
Managers and working proprietors
Executive Officers
399
B » NON-KNOWLEDGE PRODUCERS (Machlup, 1962)
Sculptors, painters, photographers and related
creative artists
Composers and performing artists
Athletes, sportsmen and related workers
Working proprietors, wholesale and retail
Machinery fitters, machine assemblers and pre
cision instrument makers
Cinema projectionists and broadcasting
C = INFORMATION PRODUCERS (Porat, 1977 and
OECD, 1981)
Physical scientists and related technicians
Aircraft and ships’ officers
Architects, engineers, surveyors and related
technicians
Life scientists and related technicians
Medical, dental, veterinary and related workers
Statisticians, mathematicians, systems analysts
and technicians
Economists
Accountants
Professional, technical and related workers
Managers
Exective Officers
Jurists
D s* Information Processors (Porat, 1977 and
OECD, 1981)
Legislative officials and government adminis
trators
Clerical supervisors
Stenographers and typists
Transport and communications supervisors
Mail distribution clerks
Telephone and telegraph operators
Clerical and related workers, n.e.c.
E = Information Distributors
Teachers and Related Workers
Authors, journalists and related workers
Sculptors, painters, photographers and related
creative arts
Composers and performing artists
Athletes, sportsmen and related workers
400
F = Information Infrastructures Occupations
(OECD)
Computing machine operators
Chemical processors and related workers
Machinery fitters, machine assemblers and
precision-machine makers
Cinema projectionists, broadcasting
G = Information Producers (Schement and
Lievrouw, 1983)
Physical scientists and related technicians
Architects, engineers, surveyors and related
technic ians
Aircraft and ships' officers
Life scientists and related technicians
Medical, dental, veterinary and related workers
Statisticians, mathematicians, systems analysts
and technicians
Economists
Accountants
Jurists
Teachers and related workers
Authors, journalists and related worekrs
Sculptors, painters, photographers and related
creative arts
Composers and performing artists
Professional, technical and related workers
Legislative officials and government adminis
trators
Clerical supervisors
Bookkeepers, cashiers, and related workers
Transport communications supervisors
Working proprietors, wholesale and retail
Sales supervisors and buyers
Technical salesmen, commercial travellers and
manufacturers' agents
Insurance, real estate, securities and business
services salesmen and auctioneers
Salesmen, shop assistants, and related workers
Sales workers, n.e.c.
Managers
Executive officers
H = Information Recyclers (Schement and Lievrouw,
1983)
Athletes, sportsmen, and related workers
Stenographers and typists
Mail distribution clerks
401
Telephone and telegraph operators
Clerical and related workers, n.e.c.
I = Information Maintainers (Schement and
Lievrouw)
J = Information Technology Producers (Schement
and Lievrouw)
Chemical processors and related workers
K = Information Technology Maintainers
(Schement and Lievrouw)
Computing machine operators
Machinery fitters, machine assemblers and pre
cision instrument makers
Cinema projectionists, broadcasting
L = Non-information occupations (OECD)
M = Non-information occupations (Schement and
Lievrouw)
N = Not sure category (Refers to reclassified job
titles but basis for reclassification was not
clear)
Aircraft and ships' officers
Medical, dental and veterinary and related
workers
Teachers and related workers
Sculptors, painters, photographers and related
creative arts
Composers and performing artists
Athletes, sportsmen and related workers
Clerical supervisors
Stenographers and typists
Bookkeepers, cashiers and related workers
Transport communications and supervisors
Working proprietors, wholesale and retail
Chemical processors and related workers
Machinery fitters, machine assemblers and pre
cision instrumenht makers (except elec
trical)
402
APPENDIX B
Reclassification of Three-Digit Job Titles for
ledge and Information Occupations (KIOs)
(As reference for Tables 60 - 65)
A « KNOWLEDGE PRODUCERS (Machlup, 1962)
Chemists
Other physical scientists
Architects and town planners
Civil engineers
Electrical and electronic engineers
Mechanical engineers
Chemical engineers
Metallurgists
Mining engineers
Engineers, n.e.c.
Surveyors
Draughtsmen
Construction and related technicians
Electrical and electronics and engineering
technicians
Mechanical engineering techniicans
Metallurgical Technicians
Mining
Engineering technicians, n.e.c.
Aircraft officers
Ships' deck officers and pilots
Ships' enigneerrs
Life scientists
Life sciences technicians
Medical doctors
Pharmacists
Dietiticans
Statisticians and actuaries
Systems analysts
Statistical and related technicians
University teachers
Primary and secondary education teachers
Pre-primary education teachers
Special education teachers
Librariansm, archivists and curators
Social and political scientists
Social workers
Other professional and related workers
Sales supervisors
Buyers
Insurance, real estate and securities salesmen
Know-
403
Business services salesmen
Auctioneers
Salesmen and shop assistants
Blacksmiths and forging press operators
B = NON-KNOWLEDGE PRODUCERS (Machlup, 1962)
Sculptors and painters
Commerical artists and designers
Photographers and cameramen
Composers, musicians and singers
Actors and stage directors
Producers, performing arts
Performing artists, n.e.c.
Metal platers and coaters
Metal processors, n.e.c.
Metal platers and coaters
Metal processors, n.e.c.
Chemical processors and related workers, n.e.c.
C = INFORMATION PRODUCERS (Porat, 1977 and
OECD, 1981)
Chemists
Other physical scientists
Physical sciences technicians
Architects and town planners
Civil engineers
Electrical and electronic engineers
Mechanical engineers
Chemical engineers
Metallurgists
Mining engineers
Engineers, n.e.c.
Surveyors
Draughtsmen
Construction and related technicians
Electrical and electronics engineering
technicians
Mechanical engineering technicians
Chemical engineering technicians
Metallurgical technicians
Mining technicians
Engineering technicians
Aircraft officers
Ships' deck officers and pilots
Ships' engineers
Life scientists
Life sciences technicians
Medical doctors
Pharmacists
404
Dietitians
Statisticians and actuaries
Systems analysts
Statistical and relate technicians
Other professional, technical and related
workers
D = INFORMATION PROCESSORS (Porat, 1977 and
OECD, 1981)
Librarians, archivists and curators
E = INFORMATION DISTRIBUTORS (Porat, 1977 and
OECD 1981)
University Teachers
Primary and secondary education teachers
Pre-primary education teachers
Special education teachers
Sculptors and painters
Commercial artists and designers
Actors and stage directors
Producers, perfomring arts
Performing artists, n.e.c.
Social workers
Guides
Sales supervisors
Buyers
Insurance, real estate and securities salesmen
Business services salesmen
Auctioneers
Salesmen and shop assistants
F - INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE OCCUPATIONS
(Porat, 1977 and OECD, 1981)
Photographers and camera men
Composers, musicians and singers
Metal platers and coaters
Metal processors, n.e.c.
Chemical processors and related workers, n.e.c.
Blacksmiths and forging press operators
G - INFORMATION PRODUCERS (Schement and
Lievrouw, 1983)
Chemists
Other physical scientists
Physical science technicians
Architects and town planners
Civil engineersw
405
Electrical and electronic engineers
Mechanical engineers
Chemical engineers
Metallurgists
Mining engineers
Engineers, n.e.c.
Surveyors
Draughtsmen
Construction and related technicians
Electrical and electronics engineering tech-
nians
Mechanical engineering technicians
Chemical engineering technicians
Metallurgical technicians
Mining technicians
Engineering technicians
Aircraft officers
Ships' deck officers and pilots
Ships' engineers
Life scientists
Life sciences technicians
Medical doctors
Statisticians and actuaries
Systems analysts
Statistical and related technicians
University Teachers
Primary and secondary education teachers
Pre-primary education teachers
Special education teachers
Sculptors and painters
Commercial artists and designers
Photographers and cameramen
Composers, musicians and singers
Producers, performing artists
Social and political scientists
Social workers
Other professional, technical and related
workers
Sales supervisors
Buyers
Insurance, real estate and securities salesmen
Business services salesmen
Auctioneers
Salesmen and shop assistants
Guides
H = INFORMATION RECYCLERS (Schement and Lievrouw,
1983)
Pharmacists
Dietitians
406
Actors and stage directors
Performing artists, n.e.c.
Librarians, archivists, and curators
I = INFORMATION MAINTAINERS (Schement and
Lievrouw, 1983)
J = INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCERS (Schement
and Lievrouw, 1983)
Metal Platers and Coaters
Metal Processors
Chemical processors and related workers, n.e.c.
Blacksmiths and forging press operators
K « INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MAINTAINERS (Schement
and Lievrouw, 1983)
L = NON-INFORMATION OCCUPATIONS (Porat, 1977 and
OECD, 1981)
M « NON-INFORMATION OCCUPATIONS (Schement and
Lievrouw, 1983)
N = Not Sure Category (Refers to job titles
which had been reclassified into KIOs but
the basis for reclassification was not
clear-cut.
Aircraft officers
Ships' deck officers and pilots
Medical doctors
Pharmacists
Dietitians
University teachers
Primary and secondary education teachers
Pre-primary education teachers
Special education teachers
Sculptors and paitners
Commercial artists and designers
Photographers and cameramen
Composers, musicians and singers
Actors and stage directors
Producers, performing arts
Performing artists, n.e.c.
Librarians, archivists, and curators
Social workers
Other professional, technical and related
workers
Guides
407

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Asset Metadata

Creator Valencia, Rosita P. (author)

Core Title Knowledge and information occupations in Singapore: A country case study.

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Communication Theory and Research

Degree Conferral Date 1986-08

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag mass communications,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c17-710874

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Document Type Dissertation

Rights Valencia, Rosita P.

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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