Higher starting pay mooted to draw more to built environment sector jobs

Longer internships also among ideas to boost appeal of architecture and engineering roles

- Ng Keng Gene

Many student interns at engineering firm Beca have said they would like their internships to be longer than the usual 20 weeks.

Mr Galvin Chua, Beca's country manager for Singapore and Myanmar, said roughly half of the firm's approximately 15 interns per year ask for their internships to be extended.

While he said their usual internships of about 20 weeks are sufficient for learning, the extensions allow interns to see through projects and tasks they were assigned.

Mr Chua, who himself joined Beca first as an intern, said the firm also offers good-performing interns full-time roles upon graduation, and finds that they are like "seasoned employees" when they return, which justifies starting salaries that are higher than for those who had not interned there.

Structured and longer internships. Higher starting salaries for new hires at the companies where they had interned. These are among the recommendations of a task force set up to improve the attractiveness of architecture and engineering jobs in the built environment (BE) sector.

The Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants, set up in September 2024, was co-led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah. On Sept 5, she announced the publication of the task force's 21-page report.

"We want to inspire the younger generations to join the BE professions to become architects and engineers. A career in the BE sector is one that has lasting impact. Their imprints can be seen all around us—whether it is our towering skyscrapers, underground infrastructure or our homes," she said.

Ms Indranee was speaking at VivoCity at the launch of the inaugural Building Singapore Festival, which aims to get younger people interested in the built environment sector's work.