Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Official Opening of ITE College West, 18 April 2011 at ITE College West Campus

Mr Bob Tan, Chairman, ITE Board of Governors
Mr Bruce Poh, CEO of ITE
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

1.         Happy to be here for the official opening of ITE College West

a.         Five years ago, we opened ITE’s first regional campus – ITE College East in Simei

b.        Today’s opening the second milestone move, in ITE’s “One System Three Colleges” model

c.         Look forward to opening of ITE College Central in 2013

2.         ITE College West

a.         Will be a “College of Service and Innovation”

b.         Focus on culinary and hospitality services, land transport, security technology and service innovation

c.         Emphasise creating authentic and stimulating work settings

i.          Equipped with training hotel, call centre, automotive Control & Engine Cells for student training

d.         Strong collaboration with industry

i.          To establish Centres of Technology and Specialised Centres, e.g. Volkswagen Regional Centre and ITE-Boncafe Barista Training Centre

3.         Why does the government lavish resources and attention on ITE?

a.         Aim is to develop every Singaporean to the best that he can be

b.         Some academically inclined, others more talented in skills-based work

c.         ITE educates students with “thinking hands”, to give students solid grounding and relevant skills for future employment

4.         Singapore facing a highly competitive environment, especially against China and India

a.         This is putting pressure on Singaporeans whose jobs can be done more cheaply in these countries

b.         In short term, government helping them cope in many ways, e.g. with “Grow & Share” package, Workfare

c.         But education and skills are the only sustainable and effective way to uplift families

d.         Taking care of lower-skilled workers already in the workforce through job and skills upgrading

e.         Determined to make sure that no young Singa­porean leaves our education system without the skills he needs to hold his own and make a good living for himself

f.          ITE is a critical element of this strategy

5.         Very proud of what we have achieved, but remember it has taken decades to build up ITE to where it is today

a.         Vocational training started in the 1960s, with the establishment of Singapore Vocational Institutes (SVI)

b.         From 1979, the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB) took over all vocational training, to enable a concerted effort to re-skill workforce for higher value work

c.         ITE established in 1992, when we made vocational education a post-secondary programme, so that all students would complete secondary education before going on to ITE

d.         Government invested heavily in ITE

i.          Top-notch infrastructure

ii.         Industry-relevant curriculum

iii.        Most importantly recruited capable teaching staff, with the right fit – able to connect with the students, and with the passion to inspire and motivate them to learn and succeed

e.         ITE now a critical pillar of our education system – one student in five goes to ITE

6.         Internationally renowned

a.         Recently mentioned The Economist’s special report on The Future of the State

b.         Many other accolades

c.         Quote from one – OECD Publication 2010 “Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education”

“In many countries, technical education is looked down upon as a dead-end option, of low quality and typically out of step with the changing needs of employers. But vocation education has been an important pathway in Singapore’s journey to educational excellence.

“The resources devoted to vocational and technical training are immense and the vocational and technical system is perhaps the best in the world – a significant element of the Singapore success story.”

d.         When foreign visitors come here, they all want to see the ITE

i.          ITE has hosted the US Education Department, UNESCO, UNICEF and senior leaders from foreign countries

7.         So much interest because our achievement with ITE is unique

a.         Singapore has an excellent schools system, but there are good schools systems elsewhere too, e.g. Finland

b.         We have good universities, but so do many other countries

c.         But hardly any other country has anything similar or comparable to ITE

d.         This reflects our commitment to have an education system catering not just to an elite, but across the board to all our students

8.         ITE graduates much sought after by employers

a.         Nine in ten employed within six months of job search

b.         Doing good jobs with opportunities for enhancement

c.         Employers perceive ITE graduates well – 91% rate ITE graduates positively on work performance

d.         Many positive comments from thankful employers. Just read one:

i.          Sumitomo Chemical: “Positive in their thinking, have good working attitude and are willing to work hard. They are also honest, disciplined and independent.”

9.         Quite a few students decide to further their education after graduating from ITE

a.         About one-fifth move on to Polytechnics

b.         We encourage this

c.         We plan to enable one in four ITE students progress to the Polytechnics by 2015

i.          Adding more places in our Polytechnics

ii.         Creating a pathway for ‘N’ Level graduates to pursue Higher NITEC courses at ITE instead of sitting for their ‘O’ Level exams, while assuring them of a place at the Polytechnics

iii.        Expanding part-time diploma opportunities so that ITE graduates can upgrade their skills after some working experience, and keep current with industry needs

d.         We are building a flexible, porous education system, in which students can take multiple avenues to achieve their potential

10.       Government will continue to invest in vocational and technical education

a.         MOE will spend $2 bn on ITE over the next five years

i.          Keep ITE on the cutting edge

ii.         Prepare students for exciting future

iii.        Enable them to participate in and support our economic transformation

b.         Increasing bursaries for lower-income students, to ensure that no deserving student will miss a quality post-secondary education

i.          Students from lowest one-third of households will have their education costs entirely covered

c.         Government also helping ITE build up its endowment fund – will provide 1.5 times matching grants

i.          Endowment can support financial aid, scholarships and enrichment programmes

11.       ITE has done well

a.         Proven brand of education

b.         International reputation for excellence

c.         Commend Board of Governors, management and staff on the opening of ITE College West

d.         Urge students to take full advantage of the opportunities which the ITE offers

e.         Continue to do the best for themselves and the country

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