Speech by Minister Lawrence Wong at the IES 51st Annual Dinner 2017

Oct 24, 2017

I am very happy to join you this evening for your anniversary dinner.
 
Contribution of Engineers in Singapore
 
Since Singapore’s independence, engineers have played a major role in building our nation. From our buildings to our transport system and our utility plants – the work of engineers can be seen everywhere in our daily lives.
 
That is why today we enjoy world-class infrastructure which allows us to enjoy a high quality of life. For that, we need to acknowledge the work of all our engineers, past and present. All of you have made this possible. Thank you very much. 
 
The Engineering Landscape Ahead
 
Engineers will continue to play a crucial role in our next phase of nation building. As all of you know, we are not done building Singapore yet. We have many major infrastructure projects that we will be progressively rolling out over the coming decade and beyond; they include the Tuas Mega Port, Changi Airport Terminal 5, High Speed Rail to KL, Jurong Lake District, just to name a few. All of these new infrastructure will require smarter, more complex, innovative and sophisticated engineering solutions, especially as we grapple with multiple constraints – in energy, water, land and even in fiscal resources.
 
At the same time, besides new infrastructure, we also have to deal with existing infrastructure which is ageing – an issue all of us are aware of. We need a strong pool of engineers, too, to ensure that our existing infrastructure and critical systems continue to function smoothly. That means that maintenance needs to be planned and accounted for throughout the whole lifecycle of the infrastructure, from the design phase, to the implementation and subsequently the post-implementation maintenance phase.

The Engineer of Tomorrow
 
Given all these challenges ahead, we all recognise that we will need more good engineers in Singapore. Engineers will always remain the backbone of our city and we need more of them to ensure that our city functions smoothly and seamlessly
 
We also need engineers to go beyond their own traditional disciplines to work with other professionals. Many of the major projects I cited will require integrated solutions. You cannot just think in your traditional silos. We need infrastructural players – engineers, architects, contractors, developers – to all work together effectively. Engineers must be able to wear multiple hats and work across different systems
 
While we have a good engineering base today, I think we all agree that more needs to be done to build up our engineering capabilities. Engineering firms have expressed concerns at various times about the shortage of home-grown engineering talent. We see this across all engineering sectors, but it is particularly acute in the civil engineering sector.
 
For some companies, I hear it takes several months just to find a suitable local engineering candidate, and this is a sharp contrast to the 70s’ and 80s’, when engineering – particularly civil engineering – used to be one of the top choices of our best and brightest students. Now, it has fallen behind other options. We need to attract more of our top students to take up engineering.
 
The reality is we do not fall short of students who are good in Science, Technology, or Mathematics. They are strong in these subjects. We also do not lack job opportunities for our engineering students.
 
Building Engineering Capabilities
 
How can we help to raise the profile of engineering, make engineering cool and build a strong Singaporean core of engineers? It is a complex issue; I am sure all of you have been grappling with this. IES has been thinking hard about this. The Government, too, has been focusing on this. On the public sector front, we intend to do several things.
 
First, we will continue to grow our engineering base. We will ensure that the salaries offered in the public sector are competitive with the market in order to attract and retain engineering officers. And already over the past year, we have seen a 20% increase in starting salaries for engineers in the public sector.
 
Besides salaries, we are building up capabilities and developing better career pathways for public sector engineers. We have established Centres of Excellence (COEs) for key engineering clusters centred around public agencies which have a strong base of engineering expertise. Through these COEs, we plan to consolidate key capabilities and strengthen deep engineering expertise in our critical areas of need. For example, through these COEs, we have developed competency frameworks which will allow engineers clear career roadmaps, and good learning and development opportunities.
 
Thirdly, in the built environment sector, the Government will revise the criteria we use for the procurement of engineering services. Government agencies today use the Quality-Fee Method (QFM) for procurement, so the evaluation is done both on price as well as quality.
 
In recent years, we have seen cases of consultants making very low and unrealistic bids just to secure the contract, but they end up not being able to deliver the job. They call it fee diving, in short.  
 
We will adjust the criteria to put more emphasis on the quality part of the assessment. We will require tenderers to provide a breakdown of manpower deployment and man-week rates (instead of just an overall figure) so that agencies can better assess whether the resources proposed are appropriate for the job.
 
We will include the consultants’ past performance as a criterion for the tender evaluation. How do we assess your previous performance? Some agencies already have in-house performance assessment systems. Agencies like PUB and HDB already do that. But for the whole-of-government, we have set up a Consultants’ Performance Appraisal System (CPAS). This was done earlier this year. So with these performance measures, we can establish a quality feedback loop – to recognise and reward companies that have performed well, and to make clear that there are consequences on firms that fail to deliver.
 
Besides consultants or QPs, public agencies also engage engineers as Accredited Checkers (ACs). Currently, the procurement for ACs is based on fees alone.
 
Again here, we will introduce a quality-score in the procurement evaluation so that it will include quality components like track record, personnel resources and the quality of past technical submissions.
 
Through all of these changes, what we are trying to achieve is to send a strong signal to engineers, the engineering profession, the consultancies and the firms to not compete on price alone; they should compete also on excellence and quality, and invest in these areas because it will pay off. The government procurement will focus on this as well, so the more you invest in quality, the better your chances of getting a government project. 
 
Of course, the work cannot be done by the Government or the public sector alone; the private sector also plays an important role. We look forward to stronger partnerships with industry players to grow our engineering capabilities. 
 
In this regard, I am sure that IES will continue to be a key partner. Through the IES Academy, IES has been a focal point of training for our engineers. IES has also developed the competencies of engineers through initiatives such as the Advanced Engineers Leadership Programme and the Young Engineers Leadership Programme. IES is also elevating the professional status of engineers through the IES Chartered Engineer Programme. I am pleased to note that IES is launching two additional sectors to the IES Chartered Engineer Programme tonight: in Infrastructure Development, and Port and Harbour Management.
 
While we have many things to groom and nurture young engineers, I believe it is also important to recognise the pioneers who are in our midst. And that is why tonight, I am very happy that we are recognising Er. Liew Mun Leong, with the IES Lifetime Engineering Achievement Award. He has dedicated his life to serving Singapore and also mentored many young engineers in our midst. He is a deserving recipient of this award.
 
IES is also launching the book on “50 Years of Engineering in Singapore” which provides fascinating insights on the work of our pioneer engineers. I hope this will inspire many more young Singaporeans to read about what our pioneers have done and be motivated to join the ranks of the engineering profession.  
 
Finally, I would like to thank the engineering community and the IES for your many significant contributions to Singapore’s development.  Over the last 50 years, you have helped to build today’s Singapore; let us gear up to build an even better Singapore for the next 50 years. Thank you very much and have a very wonderful evening ahead.