Singapore allocates S$72 million to upskill built environment sector

The Singapore Government has committed S$72 million to the development and training of the built environment (BE) sector until 2020. This was announced by Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at the inaugural iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship Ceremony yesterday (22 January).

As part of this move, enhancements will be made to the following training initiatives :

The iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship programme

• Enhancements will be made to the programme, formerly the Built Environment Scholarship and Sponsorship programme, for the full-time undergraduate, diploma and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) tracks.
• Recipients can expect structured on-job-training upon starting full-time employment at the sponsoring firm.
• Beyond their bond period, graduates can look forward to a further training grant of S$3,000 to upgrade their skills and competencies.
• Further, graduates who continue their career in the BE sector for an additional year following their bond period will receive a retention incentive of S$7,000.
• The Building and Construction Authority will also engage students through the iBuildSG Club for students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions. To be launched in April 2019, the iBuildSG club will introduce students to the BE sector, through learning journeys, inter-disciplinary projects and hands-on workshops/ competitions, as well as visits to places of interest to learn about.

The Building Specialist Sponsorship 

• The Building Specialist Sponsorship (BSS) will be enhanced with one extra year of support under the revised three-year programme, to better align with the part-time NITEC, Higher NITEC and post-ITE development courses.
• The BSS is a collaboration between the BCA and the industry to attract and retain talent at the specialist and supervisory level.

On these efforts, Hugh Lim, CEO, BCA, said: "Powering the engine of transformation are talented and committed individuals and this is why we have enhanced our existing programmes and created new touch-points to reach out to as many individuals as possible.

"We also hope that the enhancements made to the iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship programme will continue to attract and retain talent in our sector."