Mr Quek See Tiat, Chairman BCA
Dr John Keung, CEO BCA
Industry partners, Scholarship recipients,
Proud parents and family members,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

1      Today is an important milestone for the twelve young individuals who are receiving the BCA-Industry Built Environment Scholarship Award. I would like to congratulate all our Built Environment scholars.

2      I am especially heartened to hear of the outstanding achievements by one of the recipients, Mr Tok Chuan Tiong. Having left school at secondary three and worked as a bartender for two and a half years, Chuan Tiong took a major decision to resume his studies, and successfully completed the GCE ‘O’ levels as a private candidate. His perseverance and hard work helped him clinch the OUE-Lien Ying Chow Scholarship and the Liu Yin Soon Scholarship for his first and second years of study at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Earlier this year, he was conferred the BCA Gold Medal and Prize for being the most outstanding graduate for the Diploma in Facilities Management for Business course. Today, Chuan Tiong is the proud recipient of the BCA-Keppel Land Built Environment Scholarship. In Chuan Tiong’s words, “my attitude determines my altitude”. We all have much to learn from Chuan Tiong, especially his determination and tenacity in pursuing his aspirations.

Critical Role of the Building & Construction Industry

3      Over the past 40 years, the construction industry has made significant contributions in developing the first-class built environment that we live, work and play in today. With mega projects like the Integrated Resorts, Marina Bay Financial Centre, and MRT lines in the works, the industry is currently deeply involved in re-shaping and rejuvenating our living environment. Going forward, the industry will continue to play a critical role in delivering our future developmental needs.

4      This is indeed an exciting time to be joining the industry. Not only is the construction sector buzzing with activities, it is delivering projects of greater sophistication and higher quality. To advance the construction industry and sharpen its competitive edge, the industry must continue to be at the forefront of new challenges, embrace or even forge new trends. In this regard, our building professionals and workforce, including our 12 young scholars, will need to constantly upgrade and update themselves on developments in two new areas of growth that have emerged.

5      Sustainable Built Environment. First, with rising concerns over climate change and soaring energy prices, there is an increased emphasis on sustainable development. Buildings are a huge consumer of resources – building materials, energy and water. It is, therefore, important to develop and manage our built environment in a sustainable way.

6      To achieve this, BCA is actively promoting the development of environmentally friendly or green buildings. BCA’s Green Mark for buildings scheme is now widely recognised and the green building movement in Singapore has gathered momentum in recent years. The challenge for the industry is, to continually innovate and devise novel solutions to design and build green, yet cost-effective buildings, especially solutions that can be implemented for existing buildings.

7      Accessible Built Environment. A second key area of growth is to develop a built environment that is friendly to all users. We have started to put in place various barrier-free features in our buildings and public areas to facilitate our elderly to live in their familiar surroundings and for them to get around. At the same time, we are promoting the adoption of Universal Design to deliver a built environment that meets the needs of all its users: the young, the old and persons with different abilities. By doing so, the industry plays an important part towards creating an inclusive society for all.

Building a Professional Workforce

8      We are at the forefront of driving these new, exciting areas of development to shape the kind of built environment and society that we want for Singapore. To meet these challenges, we need to build up the capability of the industry, and the key to advancing the industry lies with developing its people. We need to develop capable and forward-looking industry stewards to anchor the industry and attract more talented youths to join the industry. To achieve this, BCA has taken a two-prong approach.

9      Building Leadership Capabilities. First, to build a core of professional industry leaders, BCA will be offering industry-specific management programmes. These include the Advanced Management Programmes (AMP) for senior management and Executive MBAs (EMBA) for middle management. These programmes are targeted to transform the way senior and middle management of the industry lead and manage their firms for performance excellence, and plan for business transformation and growth. Together with top universities, BCA will also be designing market-immersion executive programmes in selected foreign countries to provide industry participants with relevant business knowledge and insights, as well as opportunities to build up a network with foreign counterparts.

10      We also aim to build a pool of capable professional and technical personnel to lead the industry in key areas such as the design and construction of sustainable, quality and user-friendly buildings, and the management of construction safety. For example, to build up industry capability in green building design, BCA Academy is targeting to train some 500 Green Mark Managers within the next few years, starting with a pioneer batch of about 45 Green Mark Professionals by the end of this year.

11      Nurturing a Pipeline of Quality Workforce. Second, we will step up efforts on career promotion to attract new talents and nurture a pipeline of new blood to join the industry. The talented youths of today are faced with an array of scholarship and career choices. It is BCA’s vision to make the building and construction industry a career of choice for our youths. To do so, we need to create greater awareness of the career opportunities available and to reach out to our youths through interactive and engaging platforms, including new media such as the Internet. BCA is therefore developing a dedicated one-stop Internet portal to provide career information, training opportunities and job vacancies in the industry.

12      In addition, BCA is collaborating with the industry to intensify outreach programmes through other channels such as career talks at schools, career fairs and media campaigns. BCA has also partnered the industry to offer the BCA-Industry Built Environment Scholarship to attract young talents to join the industry and take on a challenging and fulfilling career. I am pleased to note that apart from the increase in the dollar value, the scholarships are offered by leading industry partners, including CapitaLand, City Developments, CPG Corporation, Frasers Centrepoint, Keppel Land, Meinhardt (Singapore) and the Singapore Structural Steel Society.

Conclusion

13      As BCA-Industry Built Environment scholars, you are our future torchbearers and industry leaders who will keep the flame of the industry burning bright. You will play a critical role in shaping our built environment, enhancing the quality of life of our people, and supporting Singapore’s economic growth. I am confident that your success stories will inspire other talented young Singaporeans to join the industry.

14      Once again, my warmest congratulations to all the award recipients on this joyous occasion.

Thank you.

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