HEART AT WORK
In FY 2006, ITE kept its finger on the pulse of industry and expanded its course menu to include seven new Nitec (National ITE Certificate) courses. These were in Aerospace Technology, Applied Food Science, Culinary Skills (Western), Food & Beverage Operations, Digital Audio & Video Production, Fitness Training and Security Technology.
In the year, 1,380 students (11.5 per cent of student cohort) participated in our Global Education Programme, which offers student exchange, industry attachment, community service, sports and cultural programmes in 13 countries. ITE had worked hard so students could have the advantage of global mindset and skills set to better meet the needs of an increasingly globalised world.
We are excited with the progress of our second Regional College, ITE College West, in Choa Chu Kang, which is on track for completion by 2009. It is well on its way to be an ITE College of Excellence for Service Quality, offering niche courses in Hospitality, Tourism, Retail and Automotive Technology.
UNITED IN CARE
We made time to come together to reinforce our ITE Care values at the ITE Care seminars organised by staff for staff. Indeed, our people-focused culture has yielded a cohesive team of happy and committed staff, whose overall satisfaction with the organisation was rated almost 5 out of 6 points via an Organisation Climate Survey conducted in 2006.
Staff also made time to strengthen their capability through the eight industry-focused Centres of Technology (CoTs) set up at the three ITE Colleges since 2005. The CoTs were in the fields of Industrial Automation Technology, Business and Engineering IT, Engineering Education Technology, Automation and Robotics, Metrology and Healthcare.
Together, we put up a good show for the Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) international community when VTE practitioners from all over the world gathered at our shores for the International Conference on VTE. The first to be organised by ITE, the Conference drew a total of 450 participants from 23 countries.
We continued to move closer to the vision of our current five-year strategic plan, ITE Advantage, which is to become A Global Leader in VTE. For the year in review, ITE signed five corporate Memoranda of Understanding with reputable international partners. Such international collaborations would create greater opportunities for global exchange, learning and attachment programmes not only for our staff, but for our students as well.
THE HEART BEATS ON...
Our people, united as one ITE Heartbeat, helped us scale new peaks of performance in our image equity, students’ satisfaction with the ITE College Education and graduate employment. Our Brand Equity Index had increased from 34 per cent in 1997 to 50 per cent in 2005 and, for the year in review, it went up to 60 per cent.
We also scored a record high student enrolment of 24,607 (representing a cohort capture rate of almost 25 per cent) in FY 2006, further reaffirming the attractiveness and value of an ITE College Education. Our graduates continued to do well in the labour market, with 89 per cent of them finding jobs within six months of graduation.
FY 2006 would remain a special year. Not only for the achievements, but also because I would be writing this Chairman’s Statement for the last time following my retirement in March 2007. My journey with ITE as Chairman over the past 13 years has been the most rewarding and fulfilling. I looked back with great pride at ITE’s successful transformation into a world-class institution since its establishment in 1992.
I would like to extend my appreciation to the present and past Board members, ITE management and staff, stakeholders and partners, for their strong support over the years. My best wishes go to Mr Bob Tan, who succeeded me as Chairman from 1 April 2007. I would also like to mention Dr Law Song Seng, who retired as Director & CEO of ITE in February 2007. He followed his heart when he took over the helm of ITE in 1992 and brought ITE through its transformation. I am confident the foundation we have built will be further strengthened by Mr Bob Tan, as well as Mr Bruce Poh, who took over as the new Director & CEO on 5 February 2007. May the ITE Heartbeat beats on…
ERIC GWEE TECK HAI
CHAIRMAN
INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION
