For the first time, employees in the building sector will be sponsored for their part-time postgraduate studies, under a tie-up between the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and industry firms.
These 10 postgraduate students, who will continue to work while pursuing their studies, are among 210 recipients of the BCA-Industry joint sponsorships this year.
Under the inaugural part-time postgraduate sponsorship award, 70 per cent of course fees are paid by BCA and the remaining 30 per cent by the employee's firm.
One of the 10 recipients is Ms Teoh Pei Ling, 25, a design engineer with ECAS Consultants, who is pursuing a part-time Master of Science course in civil engineering.
This follows the first sponsorship she received for her undergraduate studies in civil engineering.
"There are new technologies, so I feel that there's a need to upgrade myself," said Ms Teoh, citing building methods such as prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction, in which entire rooms or units are built in factory-like conditions before being assembled on-site.
ECAS Consultants director Titus Tay said the firm had been planning to sponsor Ms Teoh when it learnt about the new part-time postgraduate award. It would have been harder for the firm alone to handle the sponsorship and details such as contracts, he said, adding: "It's good that BCA made this possible."
The sponsorship is one way that firms can tap BCA schemes to offer career progression, said BCA chairman Lee Fook Sun at the award ceremony yesterday. "This will allow aspiring employees to deepen their skills while they continue to gain valuable hands-on experience at the workplace," he added.
The BCA-Industry Built Environment Sponsorships are available for undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma studies.
The built environment industry is going through exciting changes, said Mr Lee. He noted many career opportunities, with mega projects such as Jurong Lake District, the redevelopment of the Paya Lebar airbase area, Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the Southern Waterfront City.
"As future built environment professionals, you can support the industry in changing the way we build," he told the sponsorship recipients.
