The Public Service Commission (PSC) is set up to oversee the recruitment, promotion and terms of service of civil servants. One of its roles is to recruit and develop talent for various ministries and government services, through scholarships.
While there is no cap on the number of PSC scholarships awarded annually, it is very competitive as candidates are assessed through various qualities. In 2016’s cycle, PSC received more than 2,700 applications and awarded 73 scholarships. Recipients of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in Singapore, President’s Scholarship, are also chosen from this group.
This new scholarship, PSC Scholarship (Engineering), aims to develop and groom individuals for leadership positions in the engineering and technology sectors in Singapore. It is offered to pre-university students or current undergraduates (as mid-term scholarship) who are keen to pursue an engineering career in the public service. Besides traditional areas of study such as civil and electrical engineering, the scholarship holders can also choose to study growing fields such as business analytics, financial systems engineering and geospatial technology, as long as the subject complements their career choices and is related to the engineering cluster.
After graduation, recipients of this scholarship will join a ministry or statutory board under the engineering cluster that they are attached to: defence and security; infocomm technology and smart systems; and infrastructure and environment.
Through this, the government is hoping to nurture a group of engineers with the right technical skills to join the public service, as the country enters the next phase of development. There has been a shortage of home-grown engineers. For some years now, there has been reluctance among students to study engineering in university. The best now prefer to do medicine, law, finance and business. With the introduction of this engineering scholarship and the announcement that the salaries of public-sector engineers will be raised, the government is hoping to combat this shortage.
Commentary by Susan Tan, Education UK Manager
First of all, the new scholarship means more opportunities for those who may not have been able to afford studying overseas do so. The application cycle is currently ongoing and we will know in July the number awarded. However, what is more important is the impact of these initiatives. In the 70s and 80s, lots of Singaporeans chose to study engineering because they believed the country and economy needed these skills. Over time, our students have lesser interest in studying STEM subjects and are choosing professions, such as banking, which offer higher salaries. Hopefully these recent changes will get university-bound students excited about engineering as a profession, not just in public service but also in the private sector. After all, there is huge demand in offshore and marine engineering where Singapore is a global player. Talents are also much needed to develop new solutions to the country's issues in areas such as waste management, water supply, security and transport. UK institutions with strengths in these areas should promote their courses to the local schools and polytechnics.