Singapore’s Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants has published a report outlining ways in which various stakeholders, from built environment (BE) consultants to service buyers, can collectively strengthen the talent pipeline and business sustainability of the BE consultancy sector.

“The BE consultancy sector plays a critical role in shaping and designing Singapore’s built environment to be safe, sustainable and inclusive and in ensuring that our urban design remains world-class standard,” said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). “It is with these outcomes in mind, the recommendations as shared by the taskforce will help ensure that the BE consultancy sector remains attractive, future-ready and competitive to support our aspirations for national development.”

Second Minister for National Development and co-chair of the taskforce, Indranee Rajah, announced the report at the inaugural Building Singapore Festival at VivoCity on 5 September 2025. The event, organised by BCA, celebrates the contributions of the BE sector towards Singapore’s development and seeks to inspire the next generation to consider a career in the sector.

The recommendations cover five focus areas: making BE careers the careers of choice; fostering sustainable and profitable businesses; growing a dynamic and progressive BE consultancy sector; building a culture of appreciation, respect and empathy; and uplifting capabilities of Singapore’s trade associations and chambers (TACs).

“The BE sector is essential in ensuring Singapore’s continuous progress. There are long-term infrastructure and building projects in the works that will shape the lives of everyday Singaporeans, which are only made possible through BE professionals’ contributions. These recommendations will create a thriving sector and ensure a strong pipeline of capable consultant firms and talented BE professionals to deliver on these infrastructure plans,” said Ms Rajah.

Established in September 2024, the taskforce developed the report in collaboration with over 400 stakeholders through over 40 engagements and focus group discussions. Participants ranged from students and young professionals to senior leaders from BE firms, institutes of higher learning (IHLs) and TACs.

Key recommendations

A). An enhanced internship programme to groom industry-ready talents that can command higher starting salaries

It is critical to ensure that the BE sector continues to offer attractive and rewarding careers for talent, so that it can deliver on Singapore’s development plans.

The taskforce recommends IHLs and progressive firms to jointly enhance their internship programmes to nurture industry-ready talent that can make greater impact in the sector upon graduation. Known as the ‘INSPIRE’ internship programme, it will feature a longer duration, dedicated mentors and clear learning outcomes to ensure that participants pick up critical technical and soft skills on the job.

With improved industry readiness, participants will be able to better contribute to their firms after graduation. In turn, participating firms will recognise the internship period as relevant work experience and offer competitive starting salaries to these returning interns above prevailing market rates for the BE course cluster. The enhanced internship is not expected to delay students’ graduation timelines.

IHLs offering BE courses, such as the Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, and Singapore University of Technology and Design, will participate in this programme. The taskforce has also received strong interest from more than 20 leading progressive firms, including Arup, Beca, DP Architects and Surbana Jurong, to participate in the programme.

The strong support from the IHLs and leading firms underscores the sector’s collective commitment to attract and groom good talents to join its ranks. Students who are interested to find out more about the enhanced internship may do so through the BuildSG microsite webpage.

B). Enhance procurement practices to enable sustainable and profitable businesses

The taskforce also recommends public and private sector service buyers to enhance procurement practices to continue emphasising quality-based procurement and further disincentivise unsustainable low bids. This would ensure that BE consultancy firms have the resources to invest in human capital, offer more competitive remuneration, drive innovation and deliver quality services. In turn, it will support the long-term growth of the sector and ensure that Singapore’s infrastructure remain world-class.

For example, the taskforce noted that the government is looking at updating its procurement evaluation criteria to further disadvantage bids that are too low and disincentivise fee-diving. This is done by increasing the coverage of the ‘Reduced Fee Score’ pilot to more projects. Previously, it only covered public sector projects up to S$50 million. The government is looking to expand this to public sector projects up to S$100 million. As such, it would create a more sustainable bidding environment which favours quality bids to encourage firms to focus on delivering value. The change will take effect by end of this year. Private sector service buyers are encouraged to adopt similar quality-based procurement methods where applicable.

In addition, the taskforce recommends for public and private sector service buyers to continue enhancing contractual clauses to enable a more equitable distribution of risks between service buyers and consultants. Contractual clauses currently being reviewed include:

• Making the Limitation of Liability (LoL) clause a default provision in the standard consultancy agreement. The clause allows professional liabilities to be more insurable and more commensurate with the consultancy fees, and scale and complexity of the consultancy projects. This allows more effective risk-sharing and improves the business sustainability of the professions.

• Similarly, both public and private sector service buyers are also reviewing the Fit for Purpose (FfP) clauses in Design & Build (D&B) contracts to ensure that risks are more insurable and commensurate with the nature of the project. This will be in line with international best practices and improve overall business sustainability for Singapore’s BE consultancy firms.

C). BE CARE Charter

To further boost workplace well-being, the taskforce has developed a new ‘Built Environment Culture of Appreciation, Respect and Empathy Charter’ (BE CARE Charter), which outlines best practices that project teams and firms can adopt to promote a collaborative culture and prioritise staff well-being.

This initiative has garnered strong support from the industry, and following the report’s launch, public sector service buyers, such as the Ministry of Education (MOE) and PUB, and private sector service buyers such as Allgreen Properties and GuocoLand will pilot the charter in several upcoming projects. Altogether, more than 30 firms, comprising service buyers and consultants, have committed to the implementation of the charter across project and/or firm levels.

The industry can access the charter on BCA’s website to adopt and adapt, where necessary, for their firm or projects. They can also pledge their commitment to the charter through BCA’s website, and they may be featured across BCA’s platforms. They can also feature this on their own communication channels to highlight their focus on building a positive workplace environment and employee wellbeing.

D). Support TACs to uplift the respective professions

The taskforce recognises the critical roles that the BE TACs play in the overall growth and sustainability of the sector and its professions, and their potential to mount greater impact.

Therefore, the taskforce recommends supporting the TACs to strengthen their in-house capabilities in critical areas such as:

• Talent outreach and branding efforts – TACs could work with firms to mount joint outreach and branding efforts to uplift the standing of BE professions.

• Technology and transformation – TACs could support and help member firms embrace emerging innovation and technology, like leveraging artificial intelligence, to streamline business operations and work processes.

• Human resource (HR) – TACs could support member firms in uplifting their HR practices, to provide better working conditions and opportunities for prospective talents and in-service professionals in the sector.

Although TACs may face resource constraints, they may consider pooling resources and leverage economies of scale, such as through bulk tenders and the development of shared service offerings, to amplify their impact.

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