Speech by SMS Desmond Lee at the Professional Engineers Board (PEB) Day of Dedication

Nov 5, 2016

A very good morning to all of you. It’s a privilege to be here for the second time, and to meet the Professional Engineering Board (PEB) members. 

First, congratulations to all the new Professional Engineers (PEs) and Specialist PEs who will be receiving your registration certificates today. You are joining a vibrant and exciting industry that is brimming with promise. 

This morning, I will just make two brief points. First, that the engineering profession provides challenging and fulfilling careers for young Singaporeans entering the field. Second, that we need a strong engineering core to transform our future City. And to achieve this, the Government, private sector and academic institutions must work together to develop and to grow this profession. 

Engineering - A Fulfilling Career in Singapore 

Let me start with my first point. 

If you have been following the media reports this year, you might have noticed that engineering is the new “in” thing. It is being spoken of with an increasing regularity. DPM Teo announced, not too long ago, that the Government will be ramping up public sector engineering capabilities. Public sector engineers will now enjoy more competitive salaries and enhanced career progression. 

In July this year, the Prime Minister said “One can argue that Singapore was built on the backs of engineers”. He added that we will need good people to join engineering, develop them, and build up deep capabilities and a thriving ecosystem. 

Last month, LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit, said that there was a need for an additional 1,000 rail engineers. Operators are making these jobs attractive with better salaries, better training, and promotion opportunities. 

BCA and PEB will also be introducing a new Specialist PE in lifts and escalators to increase the existing pool of professionals in this sector. This group of Specialist PEs will be in high demand to help ensure that the 60,000 or more lifts in Singapore are certified safe and fit for operation. 

This list is nowhere near exhaustive. So for the 102 new PEs who will be receiving your certificates, there will be a whole variety of opportunities ahead of you to explore. We also have a dozen Gold Medal Award Recipients from NUS and NTU with us this morning. I understand that seven of you, while still pursuing your studies, have already decided and committed to embark on engineering careers. This is a good choice! This is meaningful and rewarding work. I am sure that we will see some of you back here in a few years’ time to receive your PE certificates! 

Distinguished PE Award

We are also honoured this morning to present awards to two very distinguished members of the PE community – Engineer (Er.) Tan Ee Ping and Er. Liew Mun Leong . 

They have served in both the public and private sectors, and in various institutions and associations in the engineering community. 

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this, but combined, the two have almost 100 years of engineering experience – enough for two Singapore histories! Er. Tan Ee Ping was involved in the development of Jurong Industrial Estate in the 1960s and 1970s. You see what it is today – vibrant, exciting, developing. Er. Liew Mun Leong was involved deeply in the building of Changi Airport in the 1970s. Look at the development of the new terminal, Jewel, and more. 

During their stellar careers, both men have contributed tremendously to the promotion and advancement of the engineering profession. They have also left indelible marks on our nation through the projects that they have helped build. Theirs is a fine legacy and a good example to new engineers on what you can achieve. 

In this room, you have engineering undergraduates who excel in their studies and have a whole lifetime of engineering opportunities ahead of them. We have new PEs and Specialist PEs who are going to embark on this career in a more involved way. We have two Distinguished PE Award winners at the pinnacle of their careers to excite, to energise, to counsel, to mentor and to guide all of us here. 

Building Up Singapore’s Engineering Capability 

Let me move on to my second point, which is the important need to build up Singapore’s engineering capability, in order to transform our future City. As you know, there is the Future Economy committee and one of the sub-committees is the Committee on Future City. 

Getting good people into engineering is just one step, and the first step. In tandem, we will need to continue to harness technology to meet challenges like resource constraints, environmental sustainability, and an ageing population. The engineering community will need to push the boundaries to provide integrated and innovative solutions for these challenges. 

We have done this before. For example, we improved water resilience through NeWater engineering, and created our largest water catchment with the Marina Barrage. Water and waste treatment technologies developed by companies are also marketed around the world. 

As PEs, I think you will have the opportunity to be involved in many exciting new projects including new MRT lines and expressways, Tuas Terminal, expansion of Changi Airport, development of the Jurong Lake District and smart HDB Towns such as Tengah. 

These and other projects will have to work around the constraints of our small and densely-built environment. They have to be user-friendly, environmentally-friendly and sustainable. This is not an easy task. 

The Government will put in the hardware and software to build up capabilities in the private sector. This includes integrating emerging technologies like Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Augmented Reality, with our conventional infrastructure and environment engineering capabilities. 

To deepen technical capability in the public sector, Centres of Excellence have been designated to strengthen collaboration and ensure future-ready engineering capabilities. I will give a few examples. 

First, JTC will spearhead the R&D for building and infrastructure, and smart facilities management.

Second, the new Government Technology Agency, or GovTech, will take the lead in the digital transformation of the public sector, and Singapore’s goal to be a Smart Nation. 

There are also initiatives to help engineering talent maximise your potential. For example, at the Ministry of National Development, we have in-house development programmes to build up professional expertise of our engineers, such as BCA’s Core Competency Programme and HDB’s Professional Practice Scheme , as well as job attachments in both the public and private sectors. 

We are also collaborating with institutes like NTU to enable our officers to develop multi-disciplinary skillsets. 

Institutions like the BCA Academy offer a wide range of courses and workshops to help develop engineering skillsets and keep in line and ahead of technology advances. 

Whether we are in the public or the private sector, we should all continue to upgrade our skills and keep up with technology. For example, harness the potential of tools like Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) in the Built Environment sector. These tools can help enhance the planning process, improve collaboration, and save manpower and time. 

The Government will work closely with the private sector and academic institutions, to provide the support to bring engineering further. As Professional Engineers, you have a big role to play in this push as well. I hope that we will be able to work together to bring the profession to new heights. 

Thank you and congratulations to all our new Professional Engineers, and certainly, our Distinguished PE Award winners.