Engineering a future in the G

by Kwan Jin Yao

THE G is again luring university graduates with engineering or information and communications and technology (ICT) degrees into its ranks, except with bigger carrots: higher salaries and potential leadership opportunities in a “strong engineering core”. Yet would the government be able to meet its target of 1,000 new public-sector engineers this year, and would jobs in the private sector – as a consequence – appear less attractive?

High starting salaries in the public sector should be a huge draw: $3,800 for engineering graduates and $4,000 for ICT graduates, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in Parliament last Wednesday on April 13. Based on the median gross monthly salaries of those in the five publicly funded universities, reported in the Graduate Employment Survey (GES), the G has matched the starting salaries of all but two degrees. In the National University of Singapore (NUS), the median graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering) degree can expect to earn $4,000 upon graduation, while the median graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering (Engineering Science) degree can expect to earn $3,800 upon graduation.

Median monthly salaries of graduates from the Nanyang Technological University (in its College of Engineering), the Singapore Institute of Technology (across all its overseas university partners), as well as the Singapore Management University (in its School of Information Systems) are lower than the starting salaries offered by the G.

When the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) released its first GES last month on March 28, it found that the median gross monthly salary for its pioneer batch of fresh graduates was S$3,600, compared to $3,300 for graduates from the other universities. The median gross monthly salaries of SUTD graduates – ranging from $3,500 to $3,950 – may be higher than their counterparts in the other universities, but they are still lower than the pay offered by the G.

Expectations for these higher salaries and more opportunities were set two years ago in 2014, when the Public Service Division announced that it was reviewing pay and career progression for its engineers. Public-sector engineers make up around 10 per cent of the 122,500 engineering professionals in Singapore, and organisations such as the Institute of Engineers have flagged concerns on declining interest in engineering among the young. Over the years, fewer undergraduates have been taking up engineering or ICT specialisations, compared to the high of engineering undergraduates constituting 40 per cent of all university places in Singapore.

In fact when it was announced last year that one of four recipients of the President’s Scholarship was going to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering abroad, it was noted in The Straits Times that she was the first to opt for engineering in nine years, “amid a declining interest in engineering and science subjects.”

Another way to lure more engineering and ICT graduates is the promise of technical leadership and advancement opportunities. And a desire to be part of Singapore’s long-term engineering developments should also matter, maybe even more than starting salaries.

A final-year civil engineering undergraduate at NUS, Kee Kia Weng, 24, plans to work in a transportation-related sector upon his graduation later this year. “Money was never one of my initial considerations when I applied for jobs in the public agencies, even though pay – along with the nature of the job and working conditions – is very important for many of my friends,” he said.

“Instead, it was the possibility of long-term employment for me. I applied for positions related to the building of new MRT lines, and since the Land Transport Master Plan was planned until 2030, I felt it was a viable option,” Mr Kee added.

Career opportunities and interest are important for 23-year-old Tsang Jun Wen, a third-year information systems major at NUS, and in this vein the new focus of the government may prove to be more appealing. His father’s work in e-supply chain management influenced Mr Tsang’s decision to take up his degree, and he will work in cyber-security with a government agency when he graduates next year.

Not all engineering and ICT graduates, however, will join the government, and the broader challenges of increasing the pool of Singaporean engineers and creating opportunities – not just in the public sector – must be addressed. Singapore wants to be a Smart Nation, wants to ride ahead technological trends, and wants to have a vibrant startup ecosystem. These wants can only be achieved with a ready pool of trained and passionate professionals.

And even if engineering and ICT graduates do not intend to work for the government, they could work independently with the government, through funding schemes provided by the National Research Foundation, for instance. A final-year information systems technology and design major in SUTD, 23-year-old Agrim Singh will be working on his startup that he co-founded after graduation.

“Creative freedom is key to contributing in such domains”, Mr Singh explained, “and computer science – in today’s day and age – gives you power to influence any industry for the better and I want to be in a position to do so.” Startups turn to government agencies such as SPRING Singapore, which offers a range of grants and schemes.

In the bigger picture the government should have no trouble getting the engineering and ICT talents it needs. Instead the pressure will fall on private companies to meet expectations of potential applicants. The winners, it appears, are the to-be graduates who enter a workplace in need of their skills and knowledge.

 

 

Featured Image by Sean Chong.

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- Jin Yao Kwan