Funeral industry in for shake up

[RadX]

As I said, this is the best business ever!!!

 

This is indeed timely

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nea-calls-for-in-depth-study-of-singapores-funeral-industry-after-recent-blunders-by?utm_source=STSmartphone&utm_medium=share&utm_term=2020-06-15 18%3A41%3A13&fbclid=IwAR0o50ZbRM79xfswhZWiYxNOrVSLENzPDAkxGs5td3YYYnHw18z03IxUIjE

[RadX]

NEA calls for in-depth study of Singapore's funeral industry after recent blunders by operators

 

 

 

SINGAPORE - A comprehensive 12-month study of the country's funeral industry will be conducted to scrutinise standards and assess manpower demands.

This follows a series of recent blunders, including mix-ups, where the wrong body was cremated and where the deceased was left uncovered on an embalming table.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) put up a tender on the government procurement portal GeBiz on June 2 for a consultancy firm to survey the funeral services scene. The findings will be used to formulate policies for further developing the industry.

The NEA is the lead planning agency for after-death facilities and services here. Responding to The Straits Times, it said the study's key conclusions would be shared with the Association of Funeral Directors and other parties, so that they can "explore areas for collaboration on initiatives".

This would ensure that the funerary industry has a ready pool of competent workers, which is essential given that the country's annual deaths are set to double from about 20,000 in 2016 to 40,000 in 2040 due to its ageing population, NEA added.

"This will drive demand for after-death services infrastructure and also industry manpower to support the provision of such services."

The in-depth study will cover the entire industry, including funeral parlour operators and embalmers.

Stay Informed | Singapore GE

Get breaking news and updates in the lead-up to Polling Day.

Sign up

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

It will identify skill gaps by comparing the desired education needs of funeral firms against the qualifications of those they now hire, as well as "quality jobs" that offer competitive salaries and career progression.

The industry's standards will also be benchmarked against the best practices in other countries.

The study comes just a few months after the NEA issued stricter rules for licensed funeral parlours. These operators are held to higher standards, which include locking embalming rooms at all times with access restricted to authorised staff and using body identification tags bearing details such as the deceased's name and gender.

Mr Ang Zisheng, president of the Association of Funeral Directors, told ST that a study of the profession is "long overdue" and has come as a result of many engagement sessions with the NEA over the years.

Related Story

More terminally ill patients staying at home or in hospice, partly due to hospital bed crunch, fear of Covid-19 infection

Related Story

Changing face of funerals amid Covid-19 circuit breaker rules

The funeral business had been largely neglected for years, he said, adding that the study should also look into the space allocated to funeral service providers.

Funeral firms welcomed the move, which will help shape the future of the funeral profession.

Mr Ang Ziqian, chairman of Mount Vernon Sanctuary, said the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the funeral profession, which serves an essential need of the community. He hopes the study will go towards offering funeral professionals a more conducive environment to work in.

Mr Jeffrey Lee, sales and marketing manager at Simplicity Casket, has observed increasing numbers of young and educated individuals who are keen on joining the trade. He said that it is only fitting to push for improvements to build up this future talent pool.

Mr Hoo Hung Chye, senior funeral director at the Singapore Funeral Services, said the industry professionals should be provided with basic training and continuing education to help them update their competencies.

This will allow them to "better serve the families and uphold the dignity of the deceased", he added.

[Jamesc]

I wonder if you gave them a big enough tip

maybe they can bury the wrong person?

Mistakes happen I can live with that.

No one is perfect right?

When never made a mistake in their life?

Edited June 15, 2020 by Jamesc

[Watwheels]

I think it goes w/o saying, good help is hard to find for this industry.

 

[Volvobrick]

The career path leads to a dead end..... 

Die die must try. 

[mersaylee]

Tertiary qualification...? I vote for @RadX to be the Dean of faculty 
 

still related...not bad for a retirement job hor
 

[Picnic06-Biante15]

5 minutes ago, mersaylee said:

Tertiary qualification...? I vote for @RadX to be the Dean of faculty 
 

still related...not bad for a retirement job hor
 

Combine all the companies into one big organisation.

And voted @RadX to be the CEO ... 

[inlinesix]

1 hour ago, Picnic06-Biante15 said:

Combine all the companies into one big organisation.

And voted @RadX to be the CEO ... 

CCCS will say anti-competition 

[ToyotaShuttle]

About time for regulation of this industry. Many firms have been making supernormal profits from family members who might not know what to do when their loved ones die.

Funeral directors like to pressure them to buy all kinds of packages so they can be seen as filial. Am quite happy with the latest CB rules limiting the number of vistors to a funeral. No visitors don't need to spend so much.

[Carbon82]

3 hours ago, Jamesc said:

I wonder if you gave them a big enough tip

maybe they can bury the wrong person?

Mistakes happen I can live with that.

No one is perfect right?

When never made a mistake in their life?

You sure you want this to happen to your MIL?!

Wait she ended up at your doorstep when the funeral director bury or burn the wrong person, how?

[Icedbs]

3 hours ago, RadX said:

This would ensure that the funerary industry has a ready pool of competent workers, which is essential given that the country's annual deaths are set to double from about 20,000 in 2016 to 40,000 in 2040 due to its ageing population, NEA added.

 

This is a blue ocean. Everyone is going for digital transformation when the real money, with little competition is actually in funeral transformation.

[Throttle2]

Chow chow 10,000 high paying jobs created there.

wan shui ! Huat ah!

[Vinceng]

Why is NEA, as the agency in charge, unable to survey the funeral scene? Must spend big money to engage a consultancy firm and get conned?

[Neost]

next thing you know, a TLC will be setup to do this biz as well

[kobayashiGT]

13 hours ago, Jamesc said:

I wonder if you gave them a big enough tip

maybe they can bury the wrong person?

Mistakes happen I can live with that.

No one is perfect right?

When never made a mistake in their life?

Who you wanna bury arh?

[Alpha78]

8 hours ago, Vinceng said:

Why is NEA, as the agency in charge, unable to survey the funeral scene? Must spend big money to engage a consultancy firm and get conned?

That's the problem with the outsourcing trend these days isn't it?

Those who are supposed to possess the domain knowledge outsource it and in the process lose the knowledge.

Those who provide the consultancy service may not even know enough about the industry, and comes up with all sorts of funny recommendations.

So when the sh*t hits the fan, simply point to the consultant and say, their recommendation screwed up.

It's called risk transfer, aka buying insurance. Someone else does the dirty work, and takes the blame when things go wrong.

[Jamesc]

13 minutes ago, kobayashiGT said:

Who you wanna bury arh?

A close relative of my wife. 

[kobayashiGT]

26 minutes ago, Jamesc said:

A close relative of my wife. 

You feed her with pufferfish poison.

I saw youtube video and learn one. 😈