Speech - Address by Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO/ITE, at the Work-Study Diploma Signing Ceremony, on Mon 6 Dec 2021 at 4.10 PM, at ITE

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education

Mr Andrew Chong, Chairman, ITE

Mr Tan Wee Beng, Deputy Chief Executive, SkillsFuture Singapore

Industry Partners

WSDip graduates and parents

ITE colleagues

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

           When the ITE Work-Study Diploma started in April 2018 with four courses, there were already plans to expand this programme to offer ITE graduates as many opportunities as possible to deepen their skills and build their careers. In the last three years, ITE has made good progress in realising this goal. We have expanded from 4 WSDip courses in 2018 to 14 in 2019, 24 in 2020 and 30 in 2021. This year-on-year expansion of the ITE’s WSDip programme is the result of two factors: i) the strong support from employers and ii) the strong desire by ITE graduates to pursue skills upgrading through the workplace learning mode.

WSDip Programme Gives Trainees Career Progression

           In September this year, 242 trainees from 13 Work-Study Diploma courses successfully completed their two-and-a-half years of training and achieved their diploma certification. Of these graduates, 13 will be awarded the Course Medal for emerging as the top trainee in their respective courses. Our congratulations to all 242 WSDip graduates and the 13 Course Medallists. Your parents, company supervisors and employers as well as all of us at ITE are beaming with pride and happy to celebrate your achievements with you today.  

           The Work-Study Diploma programme has given trainees higher skills to take on higher responsibilities.  I shall illustrate with three examples:

• Hilman Bin Mansoor. Hilman graduated from ITE with a Nitec in Multimedia Technology and joined Dragnet Smartech Security Pte Ltd as a Control Room Operator in April 2019. Hilman flourished in the work-study training mode and emerged as the top performer in the Security Systems Engineering WSDip course. Dragnet Smartech Security has promoted him and given him more responsibilities as well as greater autonomy to make decisions.  We are glad that Hilman has found a career he is passionate about. He has ambition to continue to grow his skills and further build his career. 

• Surendran s/o P K Kumaran. Surendran graduated from ITE with a Higher Nitec in Electronics Engineering.  Suren took up the Work-Study Diploma in Microelectronics in April 2019 and in particular liked the feature of the work-study mode allowing him to immediately apply the skills he learnt to real work situations. Suren’s supervisor and colleagues at Micron Technology are impressed by his excellent work attitude and lauded him as a valuable and reliable member of the team, one who would go beyond the assigned tasks to propose improvements. Noting Suren’s capability and potential, he has been given higher responsibilities. 

• Tan Jia Jun. In 2016, Jia Jun graduated with a Higher Nitec in Facility Management. He completed his national service and took up the WSDip in Chemical Process Technology in April 2019. His employer is Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) Pte Ltd. Jia Jun shared that while his mechanical and process knowledge and skills were good, he lacked a foundation in Chemistry and hence experienced a very steep learning curve. Nevertheless, he received much encouragement and support from his WSDip course-mates, his supervisor and colleagues at Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore, as well as his ITE lecturers. Jia Jun’s perseverance has paid off. Jia Jun is grateful to PCS and said he would stay with PCS for the long haul and build his career in this industry.

More Possibilities Await

           The ITE Work-Study Diploma programme has offered ITE graduates the opportunity to work, upskill, achieve a diploma as well as build their careers.  Hilman, Surendran, Jia Jun, and all 242 WSDip graduates have benefitted from their respective WSDips. I hope that many ITE graduates as well as in-service employees will join 2022’s WSDip intake.

Our Valued Partners

           WSDip has a strong emphasis on workplace learning. We could deliver on-the-job training at the workplace only because of our very industry partners.   Our industry partners co-develop and co-deliver the WSDip curricula with ITE. The company supervisors play a critical role in providing on-the-job training, ensuring deep mastery of skills and robust application of these skills at work. We are glad our industry partners recognise that the WSDip programme is a useful means for them to build their talent pipeline.

Conclusion

           My warmest congratulations once again to all 242 WSDip graduates for successfully completed you training and achieving your diploma. My deep appreciation to all participating companies who are training the current WSDip trainees as well as taking on trainees in the April 2022 intake.  

Thank you.