Press Release - Appointment of New Chairman of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) from January 2020

Mr Bob Tan Beng Hai, Chairman of ITE, will relinquish his role on 1 January 2020, after 13 years as Chairman and nine years as Board member. Mr Andrew Chong Yang Hsueh, current Deputy Chairman of ITE (since 1 June 2019), will be appointed Chairman of ITE with effect from 1 January 2020. 

Mr Andrew Chong Yang Hsueh

Mr Andrew Chong Yang Hsueh has over three decades of diversified experience in the technology sector within the Asia Pacific region, in the fields of strategy, management, skills development, marketing and organisational development. He was appointed Board member of ITE in January 2018 and as Deputy Chairman of ITE in June 2019. In January 2019, he chaired a Board Committee on the ITE Work-Study Diploma (WSDip), which recommended scaling and sustaining the WSDip as an alternative education pathway for ITE graduates. Since its launch in 2018, the WSDip has attracted a total of 422 trainees. In 2020, ITE will offer a total of 24 WSDips and some 600 trainees are expected to begin training in these. 

Mr Chong currently serves on the Future Economy Manufacturing Sub-Committee. He is also a Board/Council Member of the Workforce Singapore Agency (WSG), the  Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Singapore National Employers’ Federation, NTUC Health Co-operative and Mapletree Industrial Trust Management.  

Mr Chong was Regional President and Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific from 2010 to August 2017. He remains active in the semiconductor industry, serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA). 

Mr Bob Tan Beng Hai

Mr Bob Tan Beng Hai has served as Chairman of ITE since 1 April 2007, and was a Board Member prior to that, from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2007. 

In his 22 years of service on the ITE Board, Mr Tan played a significant role in transforming ITE, expanding opportunities for student progression, strengthening  ITE’s industry partnerships, enhancing ITE’s organisational capabilities, and boosting its local and global standing. 

Through his extensive industry networks, Mr Tan shifted employers’ mindsets on ITE graduates – employers increasingly value the skills that ITE graduates bring with them, instead of solely focusing on their academic credentials. A strong believer in the value of skills, he was a strong advocate for WorldSkills Singapore and Team Singapore at the international WorldSkills Competitions. His primary focus on elevating students’ success steered ITE towards achieving an all-time high course completion rate of close to 90% in recent years. Mr Tan’s strong advocacy and engagement with opinion leaders and stakeholders also helped to raise ITE’s public profile and recognition. 

Minister for Education, Mr Ong Ye Kung, expressed his appreciation for Mr Tan’s contributions, “I thank Bob for his many years of dedicated service as Chairman of the ITE Board for the last 13 years. He has a true passion for technical and vocational training, and guided ITE’s efforts to strengthen this pathway for Singaporeans. We worked closely together to bring about the ITE Work Study Diploma, which will be a game changer for ITE. Andrew has many years of experience in industry, in a company that is well versed with technical and vocational training and work study pathways. I am confident that he will build on Bob’s excellent work.”

Ms Low Khah Gek, Chief Executive Officer of ITE, said, “On behalf of the staff and management of ITE, I wish to thank and express our deepest appreciation to Mr Tan for his strong passion and belief in the potential and capabilities of ITE students. His inspirational leadership has galvanised confidence and trust from our stakeholders – the Board, employers, industry partners, staff and unions. This has not only strengthened ITE as an organisation, but also raised the stature of career and technical education in Singapore.”   

She added, “We warmly welcome Mr Chong as the new Chairman of ITE. His wealth of industry experience and leadership will be invaluable, as ITE continues to transform itself to meet the skills needs of the future economy.”