ITE marks 20 years of transformation

'Place of last resort' now leader in vocational and technical education

By Kezia Toh & Poon Chian Hui, the Straits Times, 4 Apr 2012

IT WAS seen as 'a place of last resort' that occupied hand-me-down premises.

But now, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) has become a global leader in vocational and technical education, occupying mega-campuses with state-of-the-art facilities.

The ITE's journey of transformation was celebrated yesterday at a dinner to mark its 20th anniversary.

It had started out as a post-secondary institution tasked with equipping youth with industry-relevant skills, but now offers nearly 100 courses - including health-care simulation training for nursing students - to cater to the changing needs of the economy.



Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who attended the dinner along with Minister of State for Education Lawrence Wong, said: 'The evolution of Singapore's vocational and technical education demonstrates clearly the Government's determination to provide opportunities for Singaporeans to acquire industry-relevant skills.'

In his speech, Mr Teo charted the ITE's progress in addressing what he called the three Rs - ensuring its programmes were Relevant, Responsive to students' needs, and enhanced the Reputation of vocational and technical education to overcome its negative public image.

To make sure that the ITE kept up with the times, its 'hardware' underwent a revamp. In the school's first decade, seven new campuses were built and three existing ones upgraded.

Said Mr Teo: 'Instead of using hand-me-down premises, ITE students now have access to up-to-date teaching and learning infrastructure, to better prepare them for the needs of a modern developing economy.'

The 10 campuses were consolidated into three regional campuses, with each catering to between 7,000 and 10,000 students.

The campuses are in Simei and Choa Chu Kang, with a third in Ang Mo Kio to be ready by January next year.

With more students, the ITE campuses could justify specialised equipment and provide better facilities for inter-disciplinary learning; sports, recreation and student interaction spaces were added, said Mr Teo.

It was he who mooted the idea of mega-campuses during his watch as education minister.

Over the years, the ITE also beefed up the quality of education by revamping its courses to bring them in line with what the industry needed, Mr Teo said. From offering 25 courses across four sectors in 1992, it now has nearly 100 courses across 11 sectors.

As a result, the ITE has become a launchpad for further education of its graduates, with more than one in five students going on to the polytechnics.

By 2015, one in four is expected to do the same. Student enrolment is now 25,800, up from 14,000 a decade ago.

The changes have improved perceptions of the ITE. 'This indicates a significant shift in appreciation among Singaporeans for the value of an ITE education today,' said Mr Teo.

Mr Bruce Poh, the ITE's chief executive and director, said the logo for the anniversary celebrations - that of a swan - summed up its success story.

'We chose the swan because we were reminded of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale The Ugly Duckling,' he said at last night's event. 'ITE has relived this fairytale over the last two decades.'

To mark the occasion, ITE also launched a commemorative book titled Reliving ITE's Transformation.

Timeline of changes over the years

1979: The Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB), predecessor of the ITE, was formed. Half of its students were primary school leavers, and the other half, from secondary schools.

1992: ITE established as a post-secondary educational institution under the Ministry of Education.

Under its umbrella, the vocational institutes were renamed as Training Institutes, with a new ITE logo and brand name.

1993: The $34 million ITE Bishan campus was completed.

1998: ITE Tampines, built at a cost of $31 million, started operating, and was the first ITE to install a Campus Online system for students to learn and submit assignments electronically.

2000: A Centre for Music and the Arts was established for students with artistic potential.

ITE Bukit Batok was completed at a cost of $63 million. It was positioned as a 'community college' for the neighbourhood, and nearby residents were able to use the school's facilities.

2002: To reflect the raised profile of its teaching staff, they are called 'lecturers'.

2011: ITE has signed 92 MOUs with industry partners for student and staff attachments, and technology transfers.

2012: About half of ITE teaching staff have bachelor's degrees, master's or PhDs. The ITE offers close to 100 courses in Applied and Health Sciences, Business and Services, Design and Media, Electronics and Info-comm Technology, and Engineering and Hospitality.

Grounded training for skills economy
Editorial, The Straits Times, 10 Apr 2012

THE high worth of vocational and technical education has been validated many times by employers, who know best the needs of industry. Hence, education policymakers were right to invest vigorously and set the bar high in developing the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) which marked its 20th year last week. Its campuses are impressive, training methodologies are sound, and ITE graduates have a 90 per cent success rate in landing jobs within six months. This compares well with polytechnics and universities. Starting pay for skills in demand reaches $1,650. All this has earned the ITE praise from visiting educators from even developed countries.

So heartening has been the ITE's come-from-behind success, from quiet beginnings in 1992 when public perceptions were dispiriting, that it is acquiring the cachet of a brand. The citation of the Harvard-IBM Innovations Award, which the ITE received in 2007 in competition against public-service programmes from around the world, said the institute was the most transformative government programme for having an impact on citizens' lives. The emphasis on improving lives was apt as it has opened doors for those less academically inclined.

But the ITE has existed for another reason: as an intermediate pillar of the skills economy. Together with the polytechnics, the ITE produces technicians with ready-made skills for industry, commerce and increasingly in service trades. This should remain its focus. How crucial it is to the economy has a rough equivalent in Germany's famed apprenticeship system. The ITE offers structured instruction, whereas German paid apprentices learn trades on the job. Both schemes are standouts among developed economies in making the best possible use of manpower by investing in early training. Germany's foresight showed in keeping unemployment among the under-25 age group manageable after the 2008 global financial crash. Youth unemployment is low here too compared to other countries.

Despite the signal achievement of skills-based education here, don't count on old prejudices to evaporate altogether any time soon. A few months ago, a student controversially argued that ITE facilities should not outdo junior college campuses as 'our brightest students should get the best'. Such perception lags reality. Industry bosses know that capital, infrastructure and high-fliers alone are insufficient to keep Singapore ticking. A right mix of skills is needed - with all giving of their best, because, among other reasons, training brings out the best in them.