- Spanish companies that carry out civil works there may hire Spanish road engineers from five national universities
- The ‘Land Transport Authority’ plans to double the extension of the Asian country's metro network until 2030
The Government of Singapore has officially begun to recognize the qualification of civil engineers from five Spanish universities. Thanks to this recognition, the Spanish companies that bid in the important public works competitions of the Asian country will be able to include Spanish engineers in their teams, which until now was impossible given that their qualification was not recognized.
The Secretary of State for Trade, through the Spanish commercial office in Singapore, started a work campaign with the transport authorities of the Government of Singapore two years ago now to achieve two objectives: to 'recruit' Spanish road engineers, very sued in Singapore, and achieve recognition of their qualifications to be able to hold management positions and be part of the technical teams in international tenders for civil works, a demand reiterated on numerous occasions by large Spanish engineering and construction companies with interests in singapore
Since last March, the 'Building Construction Authority' has made public the recognition of the road engineering degree of five Spanish universities: the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Polytechnic of Catalonia, the Polytechnic of Valencia, the University of Cantabria and the Alfonso X el Sabio University.
Once this requirement has been fulfilled, and with one year of experience in the country, Spanish road engineers and those with electrical and mechanical specializations can apply for the title of 'resident engineer', which enables them to be hired by the construction companies that participate in the competitions of public works of the Asian country.
Until now, many Spanish companies have been forced to hire foreign engineers whose degrees were recognized by the 'Building Construction Authority' or the 'Professional Enginering Board', a basic requirement and scored in tenders launched by the 'Land Transport Authority' of Singapore. , a public entity under the Ministry of Transportation of the country. This agency plans to double the 180 km of metro of the city-state of Singapore to 360 km in 2030. Also, a high-speed train that will connect the states of Singapore and Malaysia is under study.
35 Spanish road engineers hired
In addition to an accolade for Spanish professionals and companies, this step by the transport authorities of Singapore shows the great interest they have in capturing the talent and experience of Spanish engineers. In the last two years, the Spanish commercial office in Singapore, in collaboration with the College of Roads, Channels and Ports, which has disseminated the offers in Spain, has facilitated the hiring of 35 civil engineers, at the request of Land Transport Singapore Authority.
Engineers have been able to join their jobs in these two years, but without options to hold the category of 'resident engineer', which prevented them from reaching managerial positions and being part of the technical staff in public works tenders, a possibility that since this month of March they already have open.
The Secretary of State is currently working so that the ‘Professional Enginering Board’ of Singapore also recognizes the qualifications of Spanish engineers from other specialties and expands the number of recognized universities.
