We thank Mr Liu Fook Thim for his letter (Obvious why engineering not popular, Oct 15).
Mr Liu named organisations that run independently of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). While IES is the national society of engineers from all disciplines, each of the other institutions has specific and important roles to play in serving engineers from its individual discipline. Together, IES and these institutions work closely and collaboratively for the benefit of the engineering profession as a whole.
The registration of professional engineers is undertaken by the Professional Engineers Board (PEB). In 2013, IES introduced the Chartered Engineers Programme to provide accreditation to qualified engineers in all sectors. This maintains a high level of professional competency for our engineers. Thus far, IES has already registered 368 chartered engineers.
Mr Liu suggested that Singaporeans today are shunning engineering as a career choice. This contradicts statistics from local universities that show enrolment of engineering students to be steady over the years.
In addition, the Renaissance Engineering Programme at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Global Engineering Programme at National University of Singapore (NUS) have constantly been oversubscribed, attracting many top A-level students.
The graduates also do not struggle to find jobs. Last year, 94 per cent of engineering graduates from the Singapore University of Technology and Design were employed within six months of completing their final examinations. For NTU, NUS and Singapore Institute of Technology, the rate stands at about 90 per cent.
Besides practising as engineers, many engineering graduates are also making valuable contributions to the economy using their analytical problem-solving skills.
IES will continue to work with all stakeholders to build greater awareness of engineering as an exciting and meaningful career and build a critical mass of competent engineers to support Singapore's future growth.
Yeoh Lean Weng (Professor)
President
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
