WHEN he was a 13-year-old boy, Mr Chris Chan admitted that his heart 'hurt' each time he watched his mother work at a construction site.

This motivated Mr Chan to work hard and pursue his dreams of running his own business to help relieve his parents' burden.

'I remember as a young boy, I used to help my parents, who were odd-job labourers, at the construction site during school holidays,' he told The New Paper.

But, his O-levels results were not good enough for him to go to polytechnic.

'I decided to take up a course in electrical and electronic engineering in an Institute of Technical Education,' said the eldest of five.

He went on to work in a Japanese and then, a local firm.

When Mr Chan realised there was a demand for precision engineers, he started to learn from manuals, his colleagues and clients during his free time.

'I did not want to give up on my dream of running my own business,' he said.

The hard work, sweat and tears were all worth it.

Today, Mr Chan, 47, is the chief executive officer of Ultra Industrial Automation Pte Ltd (UIA) - an engineering firm with a presence in China and India.

UIA has sales of about $25 million a year. It deals with automation components and sub-systems for motion controls.

'When I started this business with a partner in 1985, we were achieving only $200,000 in sales a year,' he said.

UIA plans to expand to Thailand and Vietnam, but Mr Chan said the process was still in an exploratory stage.

'Because we are careful with our investments, we survived the 1997 financial crisis and also the slowdown in the semiconductor industry in the last two years,' he said.

In the last five to 10 years, there has been a shortage of precision engineers and many companies have had to hire foreign labour, Mr Chan said.

'Not many locals are interested in this business.

'Many have a misconception that it is a messy job and don't want to get their hands dirty.

'Maybe parental influence also plays a part, as many may discourage their children from learning about precision engineering,' he said.

Not many realise that precision engineering offers a successful career path.

Mr Chan said that when he started his firm, he used to employ Malaysians working with him as machinists or precision engineers.

'They are now successful businessmen running their own companies in Malaysia,' he said.

Usually a fresh graduate can earn $1,300 to $1,500 as a precision engineer.

'From there, depending on how skilful or hardworking they are, they can be promoted to managers in three to four years,' he said.

DYNAMIC INDUSTRY

Mr Chan said that as managers, they would earn a salary starting from $3,000.

Also, he said, the industry was dynamic because a precision engineer was exposed to a wide job scope.

'You can learn about product finishing, chemicals and different aspects of metal or plastic products,' he said.

Mr Chan said he encouraged his staff to pursue short courses to upgrade themselves.

The firm provides sponsorship from 70 per cent to 100 per cent for employees keen on furthering their studies.

Mr Chan himself recently completed a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Thames Valley University in the UK.

'Who says there is no future in precision engineering? It is all about hard work and determination,' he said.

EDB launches precision engineering manpower initiative

THE Economic Development Board has launched a $76 million precision engineering manpower initiative in partnership with the Workforce Development Agency, Nanyang Polytechnic and the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association.

Under this initiative, two new programmes have been introduced - the National Precision Engineering Scholarship Programme and the Specialist Programme.

The two programmes aim to train 2,000 candidates over the next five years with cutting-edge precision engineering skills and capabilities.

The Specialist Programme is a five-year in-employment upgrading programme.

It provides engineers with special upgrading opportunities through part-time diploma and specialist training courses.

This article was first published by The New Paper on Jan 26, 2008