Singapore Energy Award winners, Energy Carta and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and 2nd Minster of Trade and Industry, S. Iswaran (second from left).
Youth group, Energy Carta, received a special mention at this year’s Singapore Energy Award for its “spirit and passion in promoting energy awareness”, inspiring young people to understand the opportunities that are available in the sustainable development sector.
The Energy Market Authority of Singapore gives out the award once every two years to recognise organisations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Singapore’s energy sector. This is the first time the awards are being presented.
Through the award, which is focused on capability development and innovation, the EMA hopes to inspire forward-looking organisations and future leaders to focus on strategies and solutions that address the challenges faced by the sector in Singapore.
Other winners of the awards included industry veteran Quek Poh Huat, the senior advisor to Singapore Power and Senoko Energy.
When he presented the awards yesterday morning, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, S. Iswaran, described Mr Quek as having “demonstrated outstanding leadership in developing local power sector manpower capabilities”.
Mr Quek recently chaired the Power Sector Manpower Taskforce and together with his team, developed recommendations for building manpower capabilities for Singapore’s power sector, which is rapidly ageing.
“Working in the power sector is not seen as easy. People think that they will have to deal with harsh working conditions … But these conditions aren’t always harsh. We also need to make people understand the opportunities,” said Mr Quek in an earlier interview.
Senoko Energy, a pioneer in Singapore's power sector, was the award’s “Organisation” winner for offering dedicated scholarships to graduates from local Institutes of Technical Education (ITE) and Polytechnics interested in pursuing careers in the power sector.
The company was also singled out for its efforts in promoting energy awareness among young people in Singapore including offering students local schools training attachments, plant tours and project sponsorship, among other things.
As for Energy Carta, which draws its name from the Magna Carta, meaning “great charter”, the student group was born from the idea that students themselves can make a difference. It raises money to fund large scale student-led events to encourage their peers to consider jobs that can help solve climate change.
Said its founder, Yujun Chean: “The belief is that while most people may not be intrinsically keen to solve climate change, they may indirectly do so by building a career in the sector, and Energy Carta aims to get them started on that path.”
He said: “I hope that such platforms will excite our youth to think more about their role in attaining our objectives of energy security, environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness, and perhaps inspire them to consider a career in our vibrant energy sector.”
BY : EMA Staff