Speech - Address by Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO, ITE, at 2023 ITE Graduation Ceremony at Tay Eng Soon Convention Centre, ITE HQ on 21 July 2023, 3.30pm

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education,

Mr Andrew Chong, Chairman,

ITE Members of the ITE Board of Governors,

Distinguished Guests, Industry Partners,

Graduands, Parents, ITE Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction
Today, we celebrate the graduation and achievements of 14,091 students and adult learners from ITE’s Full-time, Part-time, Traineeship, Technical Diploma and Work-Study Diploma programmes for Academic Year 2022/2023. While most of the graduands are receiving their Nitec and Higher Nitec certification, 501 graduands are receiving their diploma.

To all graduands, our warmest Congratulations!

Graduands, your achievements are both the result of your own hard work and perseverance, as well as the dedication of your lecturers and the support of your family members. I invite everyone to express our congratulations to the graduands and their family members as well as our appreciation to the ITE lecturers.

Different Starting Points, Different Choices, Different Journeys of Success
Each graduand’s journey in ITE is different. I wish to share the journey of 6 graduands to reflect their struggles and triumph over their past set- backs, the choices they made and their determination to build a brighter future for themselves.

• Kow Qin Liang. Qin Liang joined ITE in January 2021 after he completed his studies at NorthLight School. Qin Liang has always been enthusiastic about cars and is especially interested in the technologies behind the F1 racing cars. He enrolled in Nitec in Automotive Technology. As the course of study is aligned to his passion, it triggered his natural curiosity, genuine fascination to know and intense desire to master the skills. His lack of Mathematics and Science foundation did not matter. His desire to learn and his drive to achieve mastery transcended these shortcomings. He excelled and achieved a GPA of 3.875 and he enrolled in ITE’s Technical Engineer Diploma (TED) in Automotive Engineering in April this year. We have no doubt Qin Liang will enjoy his TED journey and that he will be a special talent for the automotive industry.

• Abdul Azim Bin Abdul Rahman. Abdul Azim struggled academically in his primary and secondary school years. After his N-Levels in 2019, Abdul Azim came to ITE and enrolled in Nitec in Security Technology. Azim’s learning experience became more positive. He achieved a good Nitec GPA, progressed Higher Nitec in Security System Integration and graduated in March this year with a perfect GPA of 4.0. He will be receiving a Gold Course Medal. Azim has discovered his potential and is now confidently pursuing a poly diploma in Infocomm Security Management. ITE is glad to have helped Azim gain confidence and belief in his ability.

• Ryan Ng Rui Yang. Ryan enrolled in Nitec in Microelectronics in January 2021. Ryan obtained a GPA of 2.0 in his first semester in ITE. Knowing that he was at risk of not being able to progress to Higher Nitec, Ryan decided to apply himself diligently. His lecturers encouraged, coached and mentored him. His GPA improved steadily in the next 3 semesters and he graduated in December last year with a final GPA of 3.217. Ryan’s transformation had been remarkable. During his internship, he demonstrated drive and initiative. His employer offered him a job immediately after his internship. However, Ryan decided he should continue to upgrade his skills and has chosen to progress to Higher Nitec in Cyber & Network Security, this April. For the significant improvement that Ryan had demonstrated, he is awarded the Outstanding Progress Award.

• Cherole Tok Jing Rou. Cherole’s journey in ITE has been fraught with challenges and disruptions due to her difficult family circumstances. Cherole enrolled in Nitec in Community Care & Social Services in January 2017. However, after one month, due to her family’s dire financial situation, she decided to put her education on hold and went to work. She returned to ITE one year later in January 2018, enrolled in Nitec in Financial Services, completed the Nitec course and progressed to Higher Nitec in Service Management in April 2020. Her Higher Nitec journey was also disrupted by her family circumstances and she took a year off. She came back in April 2021. Even last year, Cherole again contemplated interrupting her studies to work full-time as her father had undergone a heart surgery and the family’s financial situation was again very tight. Her Class Advisor and lecturers rallied to support her and helped her as she juggled her school work, part-time job and trips to the hospital. Her resilience is remarkable. She pulled through that very difficult period and graduated with a GPA of 3.915 in March this year. In April, Cherole started her Work-Study Diploma in Community Engagement & Development and is working at Heartware Network. We are very glad for Cherole that she could pursue a diploma while working and having an income to supplement her family’s income.

• Muhammad Cairel Bin Razali. Muhammad Cairel enrolled in Nitec in Western Culinary Arts in January 2015. After graduating in December 2016 with a commendable GPA of 3.149, Cairel decided to serve his National Service. He returned to ITE in April 2020 to enrol in the Technical Diploma in Culinary Arts. Cairel had two internship stints – 6 months at Table 65 (a fine dining restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa) and 3 months at Raffles Hotel Osteria Bar & Billiard Room. Cairel has done exceedingly well and is the top graduate of the Technical Diploma course. Cairel aspires to be an Executive Chef and to own his own restaurant one day. He has enrolled with Institut Paul Bocuse (IPB) for the Master’s Degree in Culinary Leadership and Innovation. Cairel will start his studies in IPB next month and he is given a scholarship of 5,000 euros from the French Embassy in Singapore.

• Tan Chong Boon. Chong Boon is one of our mature graduands at 45 years old. He was working in the F&B industry when the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. His job was significantly affected. Chong Boon decided he should learn new skills and pivot to another industry sector. He enrolled in ITE’s CET Higher Nitec in Cyber & Network Security in October 2020. As a mature and highly motivated learner, Chong Boon excelled and achieved a perfect GPA of 4.0. His Higher Nitec qualification helped him secure a full-time job at Netpoleon Solutions in November 2022 as an Associate Support Engineer. In April this year, his employer sponsored Chong Boon for his Work-Study Diploma in Cyber Security and Forensics.

Conclusion
The six stories of our graduands represent all the individual stories of the 14,091 graduands. They had their different set-backs and struggles. They made different choices and chose different pathways. They were very determined and they pushed themselves very hard.