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

Dr Maliki Osman, Second Minister for Education, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs

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 the 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 of job-roles, work operations as well as the 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.

Muhammad Haziq B Azli (WSDip Applied Electronics & AI)

Our Valedictorian this morning is Haziq who has completed his WSDip in Applied Electronics and AI. In 2021, Haziq did his Higher Nitec internship at NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. His exceptional performance during the internship caught the attention of NEC who offered him a full-time job as well as sponsored his WSDip. He took the initiative to learn beyond the prescribed curriculum and mastered various programming languages so that he could contribute even more at work. Haziq's consistently exceptional work performance has led to significant advancement in his career trajectory within the organisation. Haziq has made plans to pursue a computer science degree next year. Haziq consistently gives his best in everything he sets out to do and he has achieved outstanding outcomes. We are confident Haziq’s ‘go-getter’ disposition will help him go very far!

Dinash Kumar S/O Jayabal (WSDip Aircraft Maintenance

Inspired by the movie Top Gun, Dinash has a deep interest in aviation.  Despite being offered a polytechnic place, Dinash chose to pursue a WSDip in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering while concurrently serving his full-time national service in RSAF. Dinash wore two hats – national serviceman and WSDip trainee. He successfully juggled both sets of responsibilities.  As an NSF, Dinash was awarded the Commander’s Coin twice, in recognition for his leadership qualities and academic excellence. As part of his contributions to keep Singapore’s skies safe, Dinash received the prestigious Serviceman of the Month award in November 2022. In his squadron where he works on RSAF’s helicopters, he and his team-mates took part in an Aircraft Maintenance Team Competition and won 1st place.

Looking ahead, Dinash plans to pursue a full-time degree at NTU next year, taking up either Aerospace Engineering or Economics & Data Science. Dinash’s story of passion, determination, excellence and ambition is awe-inspiring. We congratulate him!

Tan Yee En Andria (WSDip in Mechanical Systems Engineering)

Andria’s journey is one of resilience and perseverance. Due to difficult family circumstances, Andria dropped out of Nitec in Business Services to work in 2019. One year later, she re-enrolled in a different course, Nitec in Mechanical Technology. The one-year-long hiatus had provided her a new outlook towards life and clarity on her goals. She was determined to make a fresh start, stay focussed on her education and build her future.

She discovered her passion and aptitude for mechanical and automation systems. After achieving her Nitec in Mechanical Technology, she embarked on the WSDip in Mechanical Systems Engineering. Her WSDip employer, Silversteel Engineering Pte Ltd, was impressed by Andria's capability and dedication and promoted her to Assistant Mechanical Engineer in her second year of WSDip. Andria is actively involved in innovative projects for her company, such as designing an industrial robot for cleanroom environment. Silversteel Engineering noted Andria’s talents and potential and had offered to support Andria to pursue a local part-time Mechanical or Automation related degree while continuing her job with the company.

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 will help to lower maintenance costs for tenants and owners as well as 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.