Speech by 2M Indranee Rajah at the Built Environment Leaders Retreat
Aug 21, 2024
Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be here with you today – all young leaders of our Built Environment sector.
Importance of the Built Environment Sector
Two weeks ago, we celebrated Singapore’s 59th National Day at the Padang. It was a wonderful parade with the Red Lions, the SAF and civilian contingents in the Parade & Ceremony segment, our F15s, the Chinook flypast with the flag and the music and performances.
But beyond the razzmatazz and the fun and festivities, every NDP is a reminder to all Singaporeans of our journey as a people, how far we have come and what we have achieved together.
I am looking round the room. Most of you are in your 20s or 30s. You weren’t born when we started out on our journey 59 years ago. I myself was only 2 years old when it began!
But you are now going to be at the forefront of the next lap of building Singapore. If you watched PM Wong’s first National Day Rally (NDR) last Sunday, you would have caught an exciting glimpse of what future Singapore is going to look like:
We will develop our Southern Coast, a continuous 120km of coastline from the Greater Southern Waterfront in Pasir Panjang to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. We will also have new residential and recreational developments in the Marina East and Nicoll areas.
Then there is the Kallang Alive Masterplan, with a new 18,000-seat indoor arena, the new Home for Team Singapore athletes, the relocation of the Sports School and recreational sports facilities for the public to enjoy. These are just some of the many exciting plans we have in store and are only one part of the much bigger endeavour that is Forward Singapore.
There are many aspects to ForwardSG and building a sustainable, liveable and inclusive city is a central part of this exercise.
We have mapped our hopes, dreams and ambitions in the ForwardSG report. We now need to translate these into reality. The first step was the Long-Term Plan Review, or LTPR, which set out the strategies that will guide our development over the next 50 years and beyond.
We are now engaging Singaporeans on the Draft Master Plan 2025 to develop detailed plans that will bring the strategies of Forward SG and the LTPR into tangible forms over the next 10 to 15 years.
But visions, strategies and plans are not enough. To make it actually happen, we need a dynamic, progressive and attractive BE sector with a capable and talented pipeline of dedicated professionals.
In short, we need people like you – and the cohorts that are coming up through the ranks after you.
Making BE Sector a Career of Choice
To ensure that this happens, we must make the BE sector a career of choice. A career in the BE sector offers the unique opportunity to shape our living environment, improve people’s quality of life and leave a tangible legacy for future generations.
Take for example, Ms Angelene Chan, Chairperson of home-grown DP Architects. Over the course of her career, she had worked on many notable projects, ranging from the award-winning Republic Polytechnic campus to local and international icons, such as Resorts World Sentosa and the Dubai Mall.
As Angelene has shared, it was a “privilege to sculpt the landscape and mould the environment that we live in”. To ensure the pipeline, we must also ensure that our BE professionals are equipped to deal with the challenges of the sector.
As the needs of our society evolve, building projects have become more complex. Designs have become more sophisticated, sustainability considerations have become more pertinent, while resource constraints have tightened.
BE professionals also have to deal with rising expectations from clients and various stakeholders. Many have found the work demands and long hours exhausting and unsustainable, and some have even left the industry.
This is why we must double down on our efforts to transform the BE sector. For example, we are embracing technology-enabled approaches, such as Integrated Digital Delivery, or IDD, that enable greater collaborations and efficiencies.
In 2023, more than 58% of all new developments by Gross Floor Area, have adopted IDD, and we are on track to meeting our target of 70% by 2025.
As firms embrace digitalisation and new technologies, career prospects and the working experience will improve for BE professionals. Exciting new roles, such as BIM modellers, computational designers have also emerged.
In tandem, the sector has also been improving our HR practices to meet the changing needs of our workforce. More than 100 BE firms have undertaken a ‘HR health check’ to identify areas for improvement in their workplace practices.
These efforts will take time to bear fruit, but we have seen some promising early results. I am heartened to hear that 24 BE employers have been recognised in the Straits Times - Singapore’s Best Employers listing released earlier this year.
Rallying Together to Deepen Transformation
You also need to share your transformation stories to inspire others.
At the national level, BCA intends to rally BE firms and professionals to uplift public perceptions of the sector with a refreshed industry branding campaign called “Building Singapore”.
This will spotlight the pivotal role played by the BE sector in building the past, present and future of Singapore and highlight the meaningful work that you all do to build Singapore.
Do contribute your transformation stories by sharing them with my BCA colleagues.
BCA will work with partners, such as The Astronauts Collective, to curate more opportunities to introduce students to BE careers. Through various initiatives, such as “job taster” sessions, students get to experience a day in the life of BE professionals. Hopefully, these will allow students to make informed career choices and consider joining the BE sector.
Going forward, BCA and The Astronauts Collective have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand these programmes to benefit even more students.
As young leaders, you play an important role in our continued efforts to transform the BE sector.
In your respective workplaces, you can advocate for the adoption of new technologies and improved workplace practices. In your respective communities, you can also serve as ambassadors of the BE sector to welcome and support new talents to join the sector.
I am heartened to know that many of you have volunteered your time as “Built Environment Career Advocates”.
For example, Mr Mervyn Seah from Currie & Brown, has been a volunteer for various student outreach events organised by BCA and TAC. Mervyn has also been sharing his work experiences with IHL students and graduates about to embark on their BE careers. Today, we will recognise Mervyn and three other career advocates, Mr Chio Wen Tian, Mr Amos Foong and Mr Eugene Koh for their contributions. Thank you very much Mervyn, Wen Tian, Amos and Eugene.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank many of you, who have been serving the BE fraternity in various ways, such as through the various trade associations’ youth wings.
Your contributions go a long way to bring the BE sector to greater heights.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me say that this is an exciting time to be in the BE sector. We have a clear game plan on how we want to build our city of the future.
You and your peers are a critical part of this endeavour. The Government remains committed to supporting the BE sector as we shape the Singapore of tomorrow together.
We are developing further ideas on how we can collectively bring the BE sector to new heights, and we will share more details at the upcoming International Built Environment Week.
If we rally together, I have no doubt that we will be able to realise our vision for our city of tomorrow and build something truly remarkable for ourselves and for the generations to come.
Thank you all very much.