BCA gives record 186 scholarships for careers in built environment sector

SINGAPORE - A record 186 scholarships for careers in the built environment sector - from civil engineering to project management - were awarded yesterday by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and its industry partners.

Recipients included A-level students as well as undergraduate degree and diploma students.

Eleven employees also got a chance to upgrade their knowledge under the new BCA-Industry Built Environment Undergraduate Sponsorship (Part-time degree) programme.

One is Mr Chia Siang Chuan, 34, who will take up a part-time degree in construction management at the BCA Academy.

"After this course, I can be a project manager and manage the construction from beginning to end," said the senior architectural assistant at ID Architects.

With its strong growth and ongoing efforts to introduce technology and improve processes, the built environment industry offers many exciting job opportunities, said guest of honour Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Education. She added: "The nature of work is evolving to become more knowledge-based and design intensive."

Scholarship recipient Han Jia Min, 22, hopes to correct misconceptions of the industry.

"All (people) can see is the sweat, the sun and working with labourers," said Ms Han, who is starting the fourth year of her civil engineering degree at Nanyang Technological University and will later join Kimly Construction.

She hopes to let her peers know there is much planning and calculation behind the physical construction too.

The scholarships are funded jointly by the BCA and various companies, with recipients serving a bond of at least one or two years with their sponsor firm.

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