The real reasons why Singapore lacks good engineers, according to GIC’s ex-chief economist

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We have been far too liberal in importing cheaper regional engineers and IT staff for over two decades. This has bid down the real wages and working conditions of such professions such that the return on investing in such a tertiary education and career is unattractive to locals.

20-30 years ago, some of the the best and brightest sought to study engineering. Now it’s become one of the last choices. You can’t blame our locals. It’s simple labour market economics and rational human capital formation choice.

Other academics have tried to offer their own explanations for the problem, including National University of Singapore professor Ben Leong’s great Jedi and stormtrooper analogy.

The government has been trying to improve things by initiatives like Tech Skills Accelerator, which was part of finance minister Heng Swee Keat’s 2016 Budget announcements, and training programs by the Ministry of Communications and Information.