Press Release - More Opportunities for ITE Graduates to Deepen Their Skills

ITE HQ/CA/CMR/08/03

News Release No. 04/23

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) held its Work-Study Diploma Graduation Ceremony today at ITE Headquarters & College Central, to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2023. Guest-of-Honour, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Second Minister for Education, presented Medals to 28 Course Medallists. These 28 individuals were among 441 trainees from 28 WSDip courses who completed their training in end-September 2023. Dr Maliki also announced the launch of five new WSDips, which will provide training opportunities in the areas of Accountancy; AI and Data Intelligence; Electronics and Computer Engineering; Nursing; and Tourism Management (Refer to Annex A). The addition of the five WSDips will bring the total course offerings to 42 (Refer to Annex B) with approximately 1,500 places to fill. This is a 25% increase compared to the 2023 enrolment intake of 1,200. The new courses will commence in April and October 2024.

Queenie Leong Wei Ni, currently in her second year of Higher Nitec in Accountancy at ITE College Central, is delighted that ITE will offer a new Work-Study Diploma in Accountancy. She is keen to enrol in the course after her graduation in March 2024. She explained, “I have considered various progression pathways but I favour the WSDip programme because the hands-on experience that I would be able to gain through on-the-job training will equip me with the crucial skills required to perform my job roles and functions, and this will give me greater confidence to excel in my job.”

Deeper Engagement with Industry and Partners

Since its launch in 2018 with an initial enrolment of around 100 trainees from 41 companies, over 3,500 trainees from more than 700 companies have now participated in the WSDip programme. Notably, 90% of the programme’s graduates continued their careers in the industry they were trained for. This sustained growth and achievement owes much to the support of companies that have embraced a collaborative approach to cultivate a talent pool through the WSDip programme which enables trainees to simultaneously acquire practical knowledge and experience.

To meet its target to increase intake to 2,000 by 2030, ITE will continue to work closely with industry partners to grow the outreach of the WSDip programme. Ms Jacqueline Allan, Executive Director of Nature Landscapes Pte Ltd remarked, “The ITE WSDip programme presents mutually beneficial opportunities for companies and trainees. It provides a platform for companies to work with ITE to train and equip trainees with essential skills, and at the same time, enable trainees to be able to learn while on the job and kick-start their careers with greater confidence. Our experiences with the trainees have been very positive. They demonstrate a strong desire to learn and have proven to be valuable assets to the company”.

Enhancing Workplace Training Capabilities

With 70% to 80% of WSDip training being conducted at the workplace, ITE also supports WSDip partner companies by helping to enhance the skills of company mentors and in-house trainers, through its Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme. Under the programme, company trainers receive training that will enhance their skills in designing and delivering On-the-Job (OJT) training, as well as pedagogic and coaching skills so that they can be effective in imparting skills to the WSDip trainees.

Aside from WSDip partner companies, other companies have also tapped on the TTT programme to enhance their in-house training and staff capability development.

This year, over 1,200 company trainers have benefitted from the five training modules available through the TTT programme. This represents a growth of more than 25% compared to last year’s figures. Among these trainers, 125 have earned the Certified Industry Trainer certificate, while another four received the Advanced Certified Industry Trainer (ACIT) certificate, which is exclusively conferred to those who fulfil accreditation criteria by effectively implementing and conducting in-house training for their respective companies.

ACIT recipient, Mr Jeffrey Woo, Senior Nurse Educator at Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, felt that the knowledge and skills gained from the TTT programme have improved his proficiency in conducting training for nursing staff in the hospital and from other nursing homes. He shared, “I have a better grasp of training methods which I now apply in developing training programmes for our learners. This involves conducting learners’ needs assessment, customising lesson plans that are tailored to learners’ needs and expectations, and employing coaching methods to guide and facilitate their self-directed learning, ultimately improving their professional competencies”. Jeffrey currently supports the training of ITE Skills Certificate (ISC) in Healthcare - Dementia Care and ISC in Healthcare – Home Care, which are offered by Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital as an ITE Approved Training Centre.

Annex A

Brief on New ITE Work-Study Diplomas

Work-Study Diploma in Accountancy

About the Course

This course aims to equip trainees with deepened technical knowledge in both financial accounting and audit and assurance. The use of data, analytical skills, and the latest technology will help the trainees to provide insights to support businesses in a volatile environment and drive workforce productivity.

Entry requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum entry requirements:

• ITE graduates from any one of the following courses:

Nitec with GPA ≥ 2:

• Nitec in Business Administration

Higher Nitec:

• Higher Nitec in Accounting (2 years)

• Higher Nitec in Accounting (3 Years)

OR

In-service employees with:

• Equivalent qualifications such as Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Level 5 and above

• Relevant work experience

• Strong employer endorsement

• Pass company screening and interview

Duration

2.5 years

Venue

ITE College Central

Progression Pathway

On completion of the programme, trainees can be employed as Accounts Executives/Audit Associates.

Work-Study Diploma in AI & Data Intelligence

About the Course

This Work-Study Diploma course aims to equip graduates with the skills, knowledge and professional attributes to deploy, integrate and support AI capabilities and data technologies, to drive business benefits through digital strategies. Trainees will acquire skills and knowledge under the chosen specialisation as follows:

AI Specialisation
Build, assess and deploy AI/ML models, to support continuous improvements of AI solutions.

Data Engineering Specialisation
Develop, implement and maintain data flow channels and data processing systems, to derive insights for business needs.

Entry requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum entry requirements:

ITE graduates from any one of the following courses:  

Nitec with GPA ≥ 2:

• All courses from School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology

Higher Nitec:

• All courses from School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology

OR

In-service employees with:

• Equivalent qualifications such as Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Level 5 and above

• Relevant work experience

• Strong employer endorsement

Pass company screening and interview

Duration

2.5 years

Venue

ITE College West

Progression Pathway

On completion of the programme, trainees can be employed as Data Engineers or AI/ML Engineers.

Work-Study Diploma in Electronics & Computer Engineering

About the Course

The course equips trainees with the skills, knowledge and professional attributes to design, deploy and manage AI-enabled and IoT-based systems with digital connectivity, to optimise operational efficiency and reliability in a digitalised work environment.  It also provides trainees the option to acquire and deepen their skills and knowledge in either Applied Electronics & AI specialisation or IoT & Data Engineering specialisation.

Entry requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum entry requirements:

• ITE graduates from any one of the following courses:

Nitec with GPA ≥ 2 or Higher Nitec:

• All courses from School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology

• All courses from School of Engineering

OR

In-service employees with:

• Equivalent qualifications such as Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Level 5 and above

• Relevant work experience

• Strong employer endorsement

Pass company screening and interview

Duration

2.5 years

Venue

ITE College West

Progression Pathway

On completion of the programme, trainees can be employed as Assistant Integration Engineers.

Work-Study Diploma in Nursing

About the Course

This course equips trainees with the skills, knowledge and professional attributes to apply concepts of professionalism in the delivery of care to the patients. Trainees will also apply principles of safe drug administration, key concepts of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in making decision to formulate holistic nursing care plans.

*Pilot run in October 2024 is open to company-nominated applicants only.

Entry requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum entry requirements:

• ITE graduates from any one of the following courses:

OR

In-service Enrolled Nurses (EN) with:

• A valid EN practising certificate from Singapore Nursing Board

• Strong employer endorsement

Pass pre-admission medical examination and meet Singapore Nursing Board’s Fitness to Practice guidelines

Duration

3 years

Venue

ITE College East

Progression Pathway

On completion of the programme, trainees are eligible to register as Registered Nurses with the Singapore Nursing Board.

Work-Study Diploma in Tourism Management

About the Course

The Work-Study Diploma seeks to equip trainees with the skills, knowledge and professional attributes to manage the operations at an attraction or a travel establishment in order to provide exemplary service experience for customers.
Trainees will acquire skills in the operations of attractions, resorts, travel and tour operators, customer behavior analytics, content curation and digital marketing as well as sustainable tourism practices application.

Entry requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum entry requirements:

• ITE graduates from any one of the following courses:  

• Higher Nitec:

OR

In-service employees with:

• Equivalent qualifications such as Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Level 5 and above

• Relevant work experience

• Strong employer endorsement

Duration

2.5 years

Venue

ITE College West

Progression Pathway

On completion of the programme, trainees can be employed as Travel Consultants, Travel Operations Executives/Supervisors, and Attractions Operations Executives/Supervisors.

Annex B

Specific entry requirements for each course can be found in the WSDip Course Booklet.