Speech - Opening Remarks by Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO/ITE, at the ITE Work-Study Diploma Graduation Ceremony, on Thursday 24 October 2024 (PM Session), ITE HQ

Mr Andrew Chong, Chairman, ITE

Members of the ITE Board of Governors

Industry Partners

Graduands and Parents

ITE Colleagues

Ladies and Gentlemen

Today marks the completion of a two-and-a-half-years WSDip journey and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our 749 WSDip graduands from 35 WSDip programmes. Their hard work and dedication have led them to this day. We are very proud of their achievements. We congratulate all the graduands and their parents as well as their employers, supervisors and lecturers.

The ITE Work-Study Diploma offers a win-win-win proposition for employers, trainees and ITE.

• The employers gain access to ITE graduates to form their talent pipeline.

• The trainees who are ITE Nitec/Higher Nitec graduates receive skills upgrading through a largely workplace training approach and achieve a diploma.

• ITE staff gain deep understanding of a wide range job-roles, work operations as well as skills demand, and are better able to ensure our curricula keep pace with industry needs.
  

The WSDip Journey

Graduands, over the last 2.5 years, you have put in tremendous efforts to juggle work and study. You have encountered various challenges and overcame numerous obstacles. Let me share three graduands’ journeys so we can all appreciate their diligence, grit and perseverance.

Hee Rui En (WSDip in IoT & Data Engineering)

Our Valedictorian this afternoon is Hee Rui En who has just completed her WSDip in IoT and Data Engineering. Rui En’s employer and WSDip sponsor is Gabkotech Innovations Pte Ltd.  Rui En is a fast learner as well as a good employee who innovates and brings new value to her company. She represented the company to pitch their IoT solutions to clients. In the short span of two and a half years, Rui En had been promoted twice by the company, in view of her contributions to the company’s business revenue. Rui En plans to pursue a part-time degree related to Smart Cities technologies while continuing to grow her career in Gabkotech. I am sure her employer would want to keep such a driven and talented employee!

Ng Guan Sim (WSDip in e-Commerce & Retail)

Guan Sim graduated from Nitec in Retail Services course with a perfect GPA of 4.0 and had been balancing studies and part-time work during his Nitec years. Guan Sim chose the WSDip pathway as it would allow him to gain work experience, apply concepts and skills in real-time at the workplace, and he could also enjoy renumeration every month.  Guan Sim’s employer, Prime Supermarket Pte Ltd saw his potential and capability and expanded his job role to enrich his learning and stretch him. Guan Sim experienced front-end, back-end retail operations, as well as Prime’s e-commerce operations. His manager commended Guan Sim for being an excellent problem solver. He described Guan Sim as a forward-thinking leader who is dependable and able to direct the team to work together, resolve issues and successfully complete their tasks. Guan Sim had received a significant pay increase, reflecting his excellent work performance as well as growth in his competencies.

Wan Nur Shalina (WSDip Airport Operations)

Shalina had worked in SATS Pte Ltd for eight years before her employer identified her for the WSDip programme. Shalina enjoyed the deliberate and structured approach of WSDip to grow her knowledge and skills. During her WSDip journey, she was rotated across six different business units within SATS and was exposed to diverse aspects of airport operations. Shalina treasured the learning opportunities and was determined to deliver her best in every work task. Shalina has performed well and SATS has given her the opportunity to take on greater responsibilities to accelerate her progression to the next job level. Shalina is committed to keep learning and growing and aims to pursue a part-time degree education in business so as to make greater contributions at work.

Innovation and Creativity in Company Projects

The 2.5-year WSDip programme includes a company project. These projects by the WSDip trainees add new value to the companies by improving existing or creating new products, solutions or services.

Today, nine of these innovative projects are exhibited in the Hall outside. Let me briefly highlight one project: The project at Hitachi Elevator Asia is led by Mohamad Fadli Bin Abdul Rahim from the WSDip in Vertical Transportation. Fadli had developed a real-time levelling detection system from scratch. The detection system monitors the levelling of the lift and sends remote monitoring notification via IoT to inform maintenance personnel or building managers in the event of any deviation from pre-set conditions, ensuring compliance to BCA requirements. This detection system can be adapted and set up quickly in any Hitachi’s existing lift system, and can help to lower maintenance costs for tenants and owners as well as to reduce accident rate.

I invite all guests to look at the projects at the Hall after the ceremony and appreciate our WSDip graduands’ innovations.

Strong Support from Employers

Employers play an instrumental role in the success of each WSDip graduand. You believed in the trainees’ potential. You invested time and effort to train and upskill them. You provided guidance, mentorship, and stretch opportunities. ITE and all the WSDip graduands are deeply appreciative of your support and commitment.

Out of the 320 employers involved in co-training the Class of 2024, 70% are repeat employers who had taken WSDip trainees in previous years. We are glad you view the WSDip pathway as talent recruitment, talent development and talent retention strategies for your companies.

Conclusion

Graduands, many people have contributed to your success today – employers, company supervisors and trainers, ITE lecturers, your peers and your family. Let us express our appreciation to them all.

Graduands, as you embark on the next chapter of your life, continue to pursue all your endeavours with great passion, grit and drive. We look forward to your future achievements and contributions.

Once again, Congratulations!

Thank you.