Course completion rate 'excellent' compared with OECD countries

Nine in 10 Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students complete their courses today, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Mr Teo, who is the Coordinating Minister for National Security, said this is an "excellent" result, compared with figures reported by countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where the average success rate is 38 per cent for upper secondary students obtaining a vocational qualification.

In a speech marking ITE's 30th anniversary, Mr Teo said it was fitting the event was held at the Tay Eng Soon Convention Centre, ITE's Ang Mo Kio headquarters.

"It was the late Dr Tay who laid the foundation and played an instrumental role in conceptualising and advocating for the adoption of an expanded ITE and polytechnic sector, and saw to its initial implementation," he said.

Dr Tay was a former senior minister of state for education from 1988 to 1993 and a strong advocate of skills training. He was also ITE's first chairman.

"ITE was a critical part of the Government's approach to provide multiple opportunities and pathways, with bridges and ladders between them, so that every child could progress through the education system as far as possible, based on his ability and learning style."

In its first decade, ITE had 10 campuses, each with 1,400 to 1,800 students, but this meant that each campus was "modest in size", with limited course offerings. These were later consolidated into three regional campuses, each of which caters to between 7,000 and 10,000 students.

"With more students at each campus, ITE could invest in more specialised equipment and simulators, and provide better facilities for inter-disciplinary learning," he said.

Mr Teo urged ITE to keep up its success and go further in three ways: constantly adapting to meet students' needs, adding value to industry partners, and contributing to lifelong learning.

This includes ensuring students have a wide variety of course choices and introducing new learning models, niche diploma courses, and the work-study diploma programme.

ITE has also been helping companies through its in-house, on-the-job system.

"The system helps workers pick up new skills for their jobs quickly, recognise transferable skills, and certify new skills through the ITE Certified On-the-Job Training Centre and the ITE Approved Training Centre," said Mr Teo.

Lastly, ITE needs to contribute to lifelong learning.

"Most of our students here today will probably work for several organisations in their lives... Therefore, ITE's role in education cannot stop when a student graduates. It has to move beyond that, and continue to provide opportunities for ITE graduates and other working adults to continuously upgrade and deepen their skills."

In 2018, ITE introduced a series of bite-size Certificates of Competencies, or CoCs, for adult learners. It now has more than 140 CoCs, up from 35 in 2018.

"These short, convenient workshops serve to bridge knowledge and skills gaps quickly," Mr Teo said, adding that ITE has started offering webinars and free micro-learning courses for anyone who wishes to learn at his own pace and convenience.

ITE will continue to occupy a special place in Singapore's education and workforce development landscape, said Mr Teo.