Students studying in built environment courses to receive a boost in Singapore

Photo: Kharl Anthony Paica

Singapore is moving to make built-environment pathways more attractive, with better-paid and longer internships with a clearer bridge to full-time positions announced at the Building Singapore Festival on 5 September 2025.

The Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants, which aims to ensure that Singapore maintains a robust pipeline of skilled built environment professionals to deliver Singapore’s infrastructure needs, has identified 11 key recommendations.

As mentioned by Ms. Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development and co-chair of the Taskforce, one of the key recommendations is for firms and Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learnings (IHLs) to co-develop an enhanced internship program named “INSPIRE”.

A goal of INSPIRE is to result in more practical learning opportunities, with interns exposed to real-world projects and paired with mentors to guide them at the workplace and their future career pathways.

Offered by over 20 built environment firms, INSPIRE is an enhanced internship program spanning 30 weeks, and is not expected to delay the student’s graduation timeline. Students from the four IHLs in Singapore offering built environment courses (namely NUS, NTU, SIT, and SUTD) will be able to participate in the program progressively.

Crucially for students, interns will earn at least S$1,500 per month, with internship experience counting as relevant work experience while supporting higher-than-market starting salaries if they return to the same company post-graduation.

Example of firms that have committed to enhancing their internship program and offering higher starting salaries include Surbana Jurong Consultants, ADDP Architects, PH Consulting, AECOM, Ong&Ong, and Kyoob Architects.

According to Er. Lim Peng Hong, President of the Professional Engineers Board (PEB) in Singapore and Managing Director of PH Consulting, “PEB will recognize the enhanced internship program as part of the relevant practical experience required for PE registration”.

As an indicative reference, according to the Graduate Employment Survey (GES) 2024 released by the Ministry of Education, students who hold a Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture are drawing a basic monthly average salary of S$4,942 and S$4,027 respectively.

It should be noted that data on architecture graduates reflects outcomes for the class of 2021 BA(Arch) graduates, and is obtained from a follow-up survey 3 years after graduation to allow those who chose to continue with the relevant qualification and training required for registration to complete them. Further, the data is based on a sample size of fewer than 30 respondents or a response rate of less than 70%.

Amongst the 11 key recommendations is a focus on the importance of having industry competitive salaries to attract talent.

“To steer firms away from such unsustainable price competition, the Taskforce recommends both public and private sector buyers to continue emphasizing quality-based procurement. For example, the Government will update our procurement evaluation criteria to further disadvantage bids that are too low, and disincentivize fee-diving” said Ms. Indranee Rajah.

The Taskforce targets the upstream cause of thin pay pockets, fee-diving consultancy tenders. The Singapore Government is expected to expand its “Reduced Fee Score” approach, one that penalizes abnormally low bids, and push both public and private buyers toward quality-based procurement, creating room for firms to invest in human capital and pay competitively.

According to the Report released by the Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants, there are presently 4,850 firms in Singapore engaging in architectural & engineering activities and related technical consultancy, employing over 59,000 individuals and contributing c. S$7.44 billion to Singapore’s gross domestic product.

Beyond internships and salaries, the recommendations laid out by the Taskforce span five focus areas. This includes making built environment careers the careers of choice, fostering sustainable and profitable businesses, growing a dynamic and progressive sector, building a culture of appreciation, respect, and empathy, and uplifting the capabilities of key Trade Association and Chambers (TACs).

For students weighing options, the value proposition is getting clearer. Students may expect a longer and mentored runway into real-world practice, better allowances, and a credible prospect of a higher starting salary tied to demonstrated contribution during the internship.

Two caveats bear watching. The first cohort is small relative to sector needs, with roughly 50 INSPIRE slots, so scaling across a greater number of firms and into polytechnics pathways will matter. The second is on execution, where quality-based procurement must be consistently applied for firms to lock in better human resource practices and salaries.

If the pieces hold, students in built environment courses will not just study the city, but help build it under conditions that reward skill and time, rather than the lowest bid.