ALTHOUGH the world recognises Singapore as one of its top trading hubs, apparently not everyone at home does.
'We thought it's ironic,' says Gina Lim, a deputy director of International Enterprise Singapore. 'Not enough of our young people are aware of the available opportunities in the trading arena and its key supporting functions like risk management and commodity banking.'
Ms Koh: 'If they can't find the people, trading companies will move to where they can find them.'
This is a problem. 'With the boom in the trading industry, manpower is not increasing fast enough to meet the fast-growing demand for good people,' Ms Lim says.
Gerry Craggs, managing director in South-east Asia for steel trader Stemcor, says: 'The growth of trading activities exposed a core weakness in the lack of suitable personnel to work at all levels in the trading companies.'
Until recently, according to Annie Koh at the Singapore Management University (SMU), whenever there was a shortage of traders, there was a certain amount of in-house training - as well as staff being poached from one trading company to another. The companies did realise that poaching was an unhealthy short-term fix, doing nothing to increase the supply of trained people. The situation cried out for a permanent solution.
'The success of a company is critically linked to its ability to attract, retain and grow its talent,' Ms Lim says. And certainly it's not going to help when there is a dearth of traders in the talent pool.
The acute shortage poses an even bigger concern for International Enterprise Singapore - Singapore's position as a trading hub.
'As the agency promoting international trade, IE Singapore works closely with over 200 global traders who are based in Singapore,' Ms Lim says. 'Part of our strategy is to enhance the operating environment in Singapore for these traders, to maintain Singapore as the choice location for offshore trading.'
Prof Koh, who is the dean for executive education and associate dean at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at the SMU, is blunt: 'If they can't find the people, trading companies will move to where they can find them.'
The smaller concern of the industry and the larger national issue have banded industry players, IE Singapore and SMU to set up the International Trade Institute, which was promoted last month at the Global Trader Summit by SIswaran, Minister of State for Trade and Industry.
Ms Lim says: 'The institute is the first worldwide to be set up within a university with a specialist focus on international trading, anchored by a unique public sector-private sector-academia partnership.' While it is intended to meet the rising demand for professional traders, the institute will do research as well, while offering consultancy services and undertaking projects for trading firms in Singapore and the rest of Asia. The move to provide formal training and build up a pool of trading talent has been under way for the past three years, culminating in the International Trading Track which was set up in July last year to offer trading courses to students at the SMU.
While the trading track is a success, it's not enough to meet the needs of the trading community. 'It is only available at one institution and only for university students,' says Mr Craggs, whose company has helped to establish the trading track - and is now helping to shape the new trading institute.
Ms Lim says: 'The International Trading Institute, beyond offering a trading track for SMU students, will offer executive education courses. This means that existing traders who need a booster course, individuals looking for a career switch and others in the supporting industries keen to know more about trading can all tap into these courses.'
Prof Koh, who is the institute's academic director, says: 'Plans are in the pipeline to extend some of the undergraduate courses to other universities and polytechnics as well as to launch executive education programmes to train industry practitioners in the form of a certificate in trading.'
She says that since the launch of the institute on May24, working adults and professionals have been asking to sign up for trading courses. 'Banks have also come in with requests for such courses as they serve trading firms.'
Prof Koh reckons that the institute, which starts its student enrolment in August, will take about 100 students this year. Prof Koh expects more than 800 students to study in the institute over the next five years.
She sees a course on oil trading becoming popular with science students. Teaching shipping business and how to raise money in this business will also be part of the institute's programme.
'Such skills will stay for a long time even if the world gets flatter and more Internet-savvy,' she says. 'Goods still need to get from point A to point B. So trading and the movement of goods will stay and the science and art of trading is a specialised skill which only a dedicated institute working with the right experts can deliver.'
Prof Koh is especially enthusiastic about the institute's role in research. 'Global firms will be invited to commission projects or participate in collaborated research so that the research outcomes will be relevant and beneficial to the industry,' she says.
Palm oil trading offers a rich subject for research. Singapore's listing of a palm oil futures contract on Singapore Exchange-owned JADE and another on Malaysia's exchange has thrown up many questions, Prof Koh says. With the recent trend for palm oil to be used in bio-fuel, people are also seeing many new possibilities for the commodity - a development worth looking into, she says.
'With all the knowledge creation, we can also design an Asian commodities index and folks can invest in the index as a futures contract,' Prof Koh says. 'The institute can be quoted on what the index is trading at the end day of trading.'
She envisages the institute offering consultancy services to trading firms in Singapore as well as the rest of Asia and the Middle East.
'There is a demand from regional trading firms to acquire skills and knowledge in trading and risk management strategies,' she says. 'Experienced practitioners as well as ex-traders have volunteered their time and expertise to undertake consultancy projects and to train the next generation of traders.'
She sees the institute becoming a forum for knowledge to be shared. 'It will invite trading companies for forum discussions, round-tables and seminars to see what are the issues and trends that they need to keep track of,' Prof Koh says. 'So all the energy traders, the agri-commodities folk, the steels and other metal traders, the electronics and chips traders will all have a common platform to get together.'
And together they might just create enough buzz to attract young Singaporeans into the trade.
