80 jobs on offer at 1st NTU engineering services fair

80 jobs on offer at 1st NTU engineering services fair

Engineering services firms in Singapore are scouting for more talent amid Asia's infrastructure boom. And Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has helped them hook up with potential hires with its first engineering services career fair.

The fair on Tuesday attracted about 400 students checking out the 80-plus jobs on offer in roles such as design engineering, project management and procurement.

It follows a recent similar fair at National University of Singapore, which drew about 200 students.

ight firms, including Fortune 500 company Jacobs Engineering Group and global conglomerate Foster Wheeler - which have operations here - as well as local firms Sembcorp Industries and Hyflux, were at the NTU campus.

They design and manage the building of manufacturing plants and essential infrastructure such as rail services.

The average monthly starting pay for a graduate in the engineering services sector is around the same as that for a straight-out engineer, said the Economic Development Board (EDB) which co-organised the fair with NTU.

This is about $2,900, according to a survey by consulting firm Hay Group.

But pay need not be the only draw. Mr Goh Chee Kiong, EDB director of clean technology, said the sector could offer "meaningful opportunities to make a difference to society through solving pressing infrastructure problems in developing countries".

Indeed, final-year electronics engineering student Ng Jin Bao, 25, said: "I want to get into an energy company first. This may be a stepping stone to building clean energy facilities in the future." Asia's rapid growth means that US$8 trillion (S$10 trillion) worth of infrastructure will be needed in the region from 2010 to 2020, said the EDB.

kashc@sph.com.sg


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