By Jessica Cheam

AS MANY as 1,200 jobs will be up for grabs this year in an emerging sector that is still hotting up despite the recession: clean technology.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) said the jobs will come from foreign companies that have invested locally and are now hiring.

Also, the burgeoning number of research and development (R&D) centres and start-up firms in the sector are aggressively hiring, said EDB's director of cleantech Goh Chee Kiong.

Clean technology - 'cleantech' for short - refers broadly to eco-friendly technologies and solutions such as clean energy, environmental or water technology.

The cleantech industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, with investments rising from US$148.4billion (S$228billion) in 2007 to US$155.4 billion last year in spite of the global financial crisis, according to research firm New Energy Finance.

The EDB recognises the sector as an opportunity for Singapore to diversify its economy, and recently put its cash behind cleantech. Singapore has invested $680million in the sector, building its R&D, test-bedding and manpower capabilities, and giving a leg-up to start-ups.

January's Budget also pledged a further $1billion to fund sustainable development.

The EDB expects the industry to contribute $1.7 billion to gross domestic product come 2015, providing 18,000 jobs - 11,000 from environment and water space, and 7,000 from the clean energy industry - according to Mr Goh.

He cited examples of such 'green-collar jobs': membrane specialists in the water industry, engineers in the solar sector, systems integrators who wire solar panels to buildings, suppliers of sustainable building material and those in energy management.

Even the finance sector is benefiting with the growth of cleantech funds and business trusts in environmental technology.

The EDB continues to woo major international firms to relocate here and will announce deals in the year to come, said Mr Goh.

Singapore remains attractive as it provides the right infrastructure for businesses and is positioned as a 'living lab' for test-bedding such technologies before exporting to the world.

The country's manufacturing sector, which includes electronics, chemicals and precision engineering clusters, provides a good foundation for the industry.

'All the building blocks are already in place,' said Mr Goh.

'Despite the crisis, we are confident that the industry is on track and will become a major contributor to our economy in the next decade.'

Cultivating talent is extremely important and to this end, the Government has given out $5million for 18 cleantech-related scholarships via the Clean Energy Programme Office and the Environment and Water Industry Development Council.

The target is to award 200 scholarships worth at least $55million over the next five years.

And demand seems to be growing strong as interest in the sector hots up. Mr Goh said 160 applications for scholarships were made this year, twice the number last year.

Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw added that jobs linked to the environmental and sustainability sectors now are 'on the list of sexiest jobs'.

'I think these jobs will be snapped up. There is a lot of career development in the green sector now. Even the economic woes have not stopped long-term investments in this industry.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.