BCA Academy's new campus extension to be smart and green

SINGAPORE - Costing $62.2 million, the two new buildings will come with exposed pipes and fittings that students can explore first hand, facilities maintenance technology and an rooftop education deck with an urban farm.

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Here is an extract of Minister Lee Yi Shyan's speech at the ceremony:

Promising career prospects

The built environment sector is an integral part of our economy. In the past 5 years, the construction industry has been growing at an average of 10 per cent per annum and maintaining its contributions to the GDP at 4 to 5 per cent.

Going forward, we expect the industry to maintain its share of the GDP and create demand for trained professionals in the built environment sector. This will create many good jobs for young Singaporeans.

BCA Academy graduands can look forward to promising career prospects. A past survey shows that 3 out of 4 graduands found employment within just 3 months after graduation. Our graduands are well sought after. Applied In-Demand Skills

To give every Singaporean the opportunity to develop themselves to the fullest and with skills that are relevant to the future, the Government has set up the SkillsFuture Council headed by DPM Tharman.

At the first meeting, we noted the elaborate system we have established for technical education, the recommendations of ASPIRE and the good work of WDA in Continuing Education and Training. Yet we still challenged ourselves by asking how we could future-proof our workforce against obsolescence?

This is why at BCA Academy, the faculty works closely with industry players to develop progressive curriculum to ensure relevance and applicability. Often times, we need to project into the future and consider new industry trends and the corresponding job skills needed.

A good example is the Diploma in Geo-Spatial Information & Technology. The programme, jointly developed with the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers, offers graduates the integrated domain knowledge of surveying techniques and methods employing the latest GIS-technology and equipment.

I am happy to note that the first batch of students from this programme graduates this year.

Developing Capabilities

To future-proof our workforce against obsolescence, we need our workforce to regularly un-learn and re-learn. We need to develop the passion to embrace life-long learning.

To help our workforce and mature workers to acquire new skills, BCA Academy offers CET courses through 10 part-time specialist diploma and diploma programmes. This allows in-service industry practitioners to learn new skills, deepen their knowledge and continue to progress in their careers.

I am heartened to note that the number of specialist diploma graduands jumped by 50 per cent from last year to around 570 this year.

Furthermore, close to 40 per cent of the specialist diploma graduands either received a pay rise upon completion of their studies or are enjoying other forms of career advancement.

Employers play an integral role in promoting a culture of life-long learning. In BCA Academy, employers sponsored 60 per cent of our Singaporean specialist diploma students. This is most encouraging.

We need to equip our industry practitioners with relevant skills and deepen the capability within the industry. To this end, BCA Academy will introduce a part-time programme in Construction Productivity next year.

We hope to groom a pool of industry professionals well-versed with construction productivity technologies, such as the application of Virtual Design & Construction, Pre-fabricated and Prefinished Volumetric Construction, and Cross Laminated Timber. This will transform the built environment sector towards higher productivity.

Last year, I announced that BCA Academy will expand its campus. The new building will have unique features to facilitate experiential learning that will enrich skills, expertise and knowledge.

When it opens next year, it will make BCA Academy an industry-focused 'smart' campus, where students and the industry can look forward to new learning experiences and opportunities.