cannot find job after NS force to become construction worker while foreign talents work in air con office in shenton way

No O levels, but he earns $4,000 a month

FOR upwards of 12 hours every day, Mr Abdul Rahim Muhamed Rashid sits alone in his 20th-storey 'corner office'.

The place is small, no bigger than the inside of a Toyota Camry, but the 23-year-old says that he does not leave it except for emergencies.
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He has a little fridge in there for drinks, a small radio for company and some plastic bags and newspapers to take the place of the toilet.

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'It takes 10 minutes for me to climb up there, and I'm young. The older ones take longer. So we don't go up and down when we don't have to. We do everything in the cabin,' he says.

His job involves using the crane to pick up building materials from the ground and hoist them to where they are needed. 'It's a little bit like playing a computer game,' he notes.

But that is perhaps the only upside to it. Long days, isolation and some very questionable toilet habits are all part of the life of a tower crane operator, he says.

And it is clear why people like Mr Abdul Rahim - Singaporeans working in construction - are becoming an endangered species.

Indeed, if not for having dropped out of school at Secondary 4 because of financial problems, he does not know if he would have strayed into the field.

'Before doing this job, I was delivering pizzas. I saw a newspaper ad which said that a company was willing to sponsor a crane operator course for workers so I thought I would go and try it out,' he says.

He was selected to attend the week-long course. He passed the theory and practical tests and has not looked back since.

He started as a tower crane operator in 2008 and eight months later took a government grant for another course on how to operate a different crane.

He does not intend to stop there.

'If I have the ability to operate many different cranes, I am more flexible. If there are no jobs for a tower crane operator, maybe I can work as a crawler crane driver,' he says. A crawler crane has tracks and can therefore be driven around easily.

He admits that it will not be easy getting Singaporeans to do the job, especially those with higher education and options.

'It's hard work and a lonely life. And we work very hard seven days a week. Your girlfriend needs to be very understanding,' he jokes.

But with a monthly salary of around $4,000 including overtime and the prospect of making up to $6,500 as he gains experience, he isn't about to give it up.

'There are not that many opportunities for people of my qualifications to earn this kind of salary.'