More courses for building specialists

Shortage of industry professionals spurs BCAA, SISV initiative

THE booming construction industry over the years has created a shortage of qualified surveyors and other specialists.

As such, in a release by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), it was revealed that the BCA Academy (BCAA) and Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) will put in place a number of initiatives to build up and strengthen the pool of building professionals within the industry.

Among the specialists in demand include quantity surveyors, land surveyors, valuers and property managers.

To resolve this, the BCAA and SISV will be jointly introducing more academic programmes such as diploma, specialist diploma and degree courses to train new professionals and to upgrade the skill sets of existing ones.

BCAA will also be working with SISV to initiate more dialogue sessions with firms in the industry to facilitate discussion on developing such capabilities.

To further promote the building profession, BCA and SISV signed a memorandum of understanding to share resources, promote educational programmes and jointly create and implement new products and services to drive the local building industry forward.

John Keung, CEO of BCA, said, 'I'm confident that this new collaboration will help elevate the occupational profile in the built environment. BCA looks forward to working with SISV to develop more programmes to train personnel at the technical and professional level to meet the needs of the industry.'

Source: Business Times, 27 Jul 2010