Speech - Opening Remarks by Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO/ITE, at the ITE Graduation Ceremony at the Auditorium at Tay Eng Soon Convention Centre on 27 July 2022

Dr Maliki Osman, Second Minister for Education
Mr Andrew Chong, Chairman, ITE
Members of the ITE Board of Governors
Graduands, Parents,
ITE Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Today, we celebrate the graduation and achievements of 14,179 students and adult learners from ITE’s Full-time, Part-time and Traineeship and Work-Study programmes for Academic Year 2021/2022.

   • 7,326 graduated with Nitec

   • 6,498 achieved Higher Nitec

   • 91 graduated with Technical Diploma

   • 264 achieved a Work-Study Diploma.

   • We are proud of all our graduands. Congratulations!

2. Many of you started your ITE courses in early 2020 when we were hit by the pandemic and the unexpected two-month circuit breaker when all lessons were conducted through online mode. Beyond those two months, the remaining months of your two-year course were also fraught with disruptions, uncertainties and restrictions arising from Safe Management Measures. In spite of all these, your perseverance, adaptability and positivity have enabled you to transcend the various challenges and you have successfully completed your course and are graduating.

3. Let me recount the experience of two graduands:

   • Mohamad Izz Syafiq Bin Mohamad Ali

     • Syafiq enrolled in Nitec Space Design (Architecture) in 2018 and progressed to Higher Nitec in Architectural Technology in 2020. Despite the disruptions due to Covid, Syafiq stayed positive, pushed himself during both online and on-campus learning and went beyond to train for Worldskills Singapore. Last October, Syafiq won a Gold Medal in the Digital Construction category at the WorldSkills Singapore competition.

     • Point Architects Pte Ltd, the company at which Syafiq did his internship during his Higher Nitec training valued Syafiq’s talent and potential. They hired Syafiq immediately upon his graduation in Mar this year and is currently sponsoring him for his Work-Study Diploma in Architectural BIM & Design.

     • Syafiq will be representing Singapore in Worldskills International in France this October. I repeat a quote you gave to the journalist when asked about your participation in Worldskills International,“I want to show that ITE students can do as well as any others or even better.’ Syafiq, we will be cheering for you!

   • Jennifer Tan Siew Wen

     • Jennifer witnessed her sister, an ITE alumnus, at work and was impressed by her fantastic customer service and ability to delight customers. She decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps to pursue a course related to tourism services. Jennifer enrolled in Nitec in Travel & Tourism Services in 2018 and subsequently progressed to Higher Nitec in Leisure & Travel Operations in 2020.

     • Jennifer’s internship was disrupted by Covid. Instead of interning at the usual tourist services companies, she did her internship at KidsSTOP, a family edutainment centre at Singapore Science Centre. She was able to apply her customer service skills and developed important soft skills such as thinking on her feet to innovate and respond to unexpected and changing requirements as well as staying cheerful and enthusiastic to energise her customers.

     • Jennifer has done well in her Higher Nitec course, graduating with a Certificate of Merit. To help out with her family’s finances, Jennifer has decided to work immediately upon graduation. She is now working full-time as a Guest Service Associate at the Singapore Discovery Centre. We are proud of Jennifer’s indomitable spirit and believes she will continue to excel in all her endeavours.

4. I believe all 14,179 graduands have remarkable stories like Syafiq and Jennifer. We are very glad to celebrate your achievements with you, your family, lecturers and friends. Each and every one of you have done yourself and your families proud, and we take pride in your success.

5. 2022 is a special year for all of us. For ITE, we are celebrating our 30^th anniversary. Like the graduands, ITE also celebrated a significant milestone this year, our 30th Anniversary. ITE has transformed itself over the last three decades, focusing always on the needs of our students. We improve completion rates, ensure good employment and in more recent years, we focus on providing more opportunities for skills upgrading and career progression for our graduates through the Technical Diploma and Work-Study Diploma programmes.

6. To all graduands, whatever your immediate pathway that you have chosen - full-time studies at thePolytechnic or work-study diploma or full-time work – we want you to always stay positive, aim high, continue to learn and upskill, build a good career and most importantly live fulfilling lives.

7. Once again, to all graduands, my ITE colleagues and I send you our warmest congratulations and wish you the very best for your future.

Thank you.