SgIS aims to nurture
a strong core of
Singaporean talent with
the skills, aptitude and
capabilities necessary
to ensure the continued
economic and social
progress of Singapore’s
key market leaders.
SgIS was established in 2012 as an initiative between the Singapore Government and many of
Singapore’s industry forerunners. It provides a platform for capable and driven individuals to
get a career head-start with market leaders in Singapore’s strategic sectors.
SgIS scholars can not only indicate their preferred sponsoring organisation from a range of
established enterprises – they will also receive plenty of developmental opportunities through the
SgIS Scholars' Development and Engagement Programme. This holistic programme seeks to instil
in scholars a strategic and global outlook, allow them to gain meaningful professional experiences
with their sponsoring organisation and build their connections within the SgIS community.
Two SgIS scholars, Wong Wai Tiem and Daniel Boay, describe the multitude of opportunities they
have received. They also explain how the scholarship has given them a head-start in their careers, an
edge over their peers and a good grasp of what is needed to propel Singapore’s economy forward.
An Exciting Career Awaits
Accountancy student Wai Tiem is already into her final semester at Nanyang Technological
University (NTU) and will join local fast-fashion brand Charles & Keith after she graduates.
Her future role in the Inventory Management team will require her to analyse sales trends of
products and determine the ideal order quantity on each product by understanding customers'
buying preferences in the market. She will also manage stock by implementing new ideas to push
their sales.
She tells us, “I find it meaningful to be able to optimise and apply my accounting and
cost-management knowledge in a field that is not directly related to accounting. Working at
Charles & Keith also give me good industry exposure.”
Daniel Boay Chong Zheng
SgIS Full-Term Scholar
with Boustead Singapore Limited
Studying:
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering),
National University of Singapore
"My
supervisors were very flexible in that area and
willing to let me learn new things, be it by sitting
in on meetings or by meeting clients."
On Daniel's end, the civil engineering student
at the National University of Singapore (NUS)
looks forward to joining Boustead Projects
Limited after graduation. Boustead Projects
is the real estate solutions arm of Boustead
Singapore Limited, a global Infrastructure-
Related Engineering Services and Geo-Spatial
Technology Group that prides itself on offering
a full suite of engineering services.
Daniel explains, “The civil engineering fi eld is
quite diverse and features various well-known
channels such as development, construction
and maintenance. Boustead Projects is
unique in its recognition as a one-stop service
platform and will be an excellent place for me
to gain exposure to the various 'layers' of civil
engineering.”
Gaining Ground Experience
Even before joining their respective
organisations, both scholars have already
had the chance to reap the fruits of both SgIS’
and their sponsoring organisation’s emphasis
on professional development. They have
each gained a better understanding of their
sponsoring organisation’s operations and
insight into their future roles through their
respective internships.
Wai Tiem’s internship saw her conduct
a research project on Charles & Keith's
franchising policy to assess overseas franchise
outlets' markup on their goods, after which
she presented her fi ndings to Charles & Keith's
management. She elaborates, “Charles &
Keith has presence in the Southeast Asian,
Middle East and Europe regions and I assess
the validity of a franchise outlet’s markup by
considering its sales data, import duties and
taxes and determine the retail prices.
“It can be confusing to laymen when
Malaysian-manufactured shoes are more
expensive in Malaysian outlets than in Thailand
outlets – one possible reason is the higher
transport and logistics costs within Malaysia.”
On Daniel's part, he has finished two
internships with Boustead Projects and is
currently looking forward to his third one. His
first internship required him to learn the ropes
of being a contractor on the ground by fulfilling
contractor duties onsite.
The chirpy individual tells us, “It was easy
to bond with the contractors and I learnt a lot
from them. As part of the pioneer batch of
SgIS-Boustead interns, I also had the unique
opportunity of taking a self-directed approach
to my internship learning by finding out what I
wanted to learn and how I wanted to learn it. My
supervisors were very flexible in that area and
willing to let me learn new things, be it by sitting
in on meetings or by meeting clients.”
Daniel has learnt so much from Boustead
Projects that his university final-year thesis will
now be centered on Boustead Projects and its
policies. Daniel will interview Boustead Project’s
directors and pore over documentation to
understand and define the organisation’s work
processes. He adds, “I seek to help improve
Boustead Project’s communication efforts after
completing my thorough analysis of Boustead
Project’s documentation.”
Meaningful Opportunities
Both Wai Tiem and Daniel also had the
chance to participate in an overseas exchange
programme in Hong Kong and Leeds, UK
respectively. Wai Tiem spent four months as a
student in the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
where she learnt to be completely independent
while picking up the Cantonese dialect. She also
embraced opportunities to tread the Lantau
Trail and reach the Lantau ‘Sunrise’ Peak (at 800
metres above sea level) and visit the Cheung
Chau Island with Singaporean friends whom
she met in Hong Kong.
Wong Wai Tiem
SgIS Mid-Term Local Scholar
with Charles & Keith
Studying:
Bachelor of Accountancy,
Nanyang Technological University
"I find it meaningful to be able to optimise and apply my accounting and cost-management knowledge in a field that is not directly related to accounting."
Daniel too learnt lessons he never thought
he would. “In Singapore, my priorities were
centered on studying and never extended to
cooking and doing household chores. Living on
my own forced me to learn how to cook, and
now I’m proud to be able to cook stingray, crab
and make sambal (spicy sauce) from scratch!”
Daniel tells us with a laugh.
But before aspiring scholars pursue SgIS
for these opportunities, both Wai Tiem and
Daniel offer a few nuggets of wisdom. Wai
Tiem advises, “It is important to know which
organisation you want to serve in after you
graduate. The bond period is also not something
that should intimidate you – think of it as job
security after you graduate.”
Daniel concludes, “SgIS scholars should
possess more than the drive to learn – they
should also have the thirst to learn. Don’t place
all your emphasis on meeting goals, only to
feel downtrodden if you don’t reach them.
Instead, learn how to embrace failure and see
each failing point as a meaningful learning
opportunity.”