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Transformation in Technical Education Changed A Nation
The Institute of Technical Education, Singapore
Singapore

The Problem

ITE – “It’s The End!”

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the national provider of Vocational & Technical Education (VTE) education services in Singapore, was once the subject of public scorn and contempt. It was a legacy from its predecessor, the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB), set up in 1979 by the Government to create employment opportunities and support the manpower needs of the rapidly-industrialising Singapore economy. Despite its worthy mission to provide vocational training to less academically-inclined school leavers to enhance their life-long employability, VITB (and later ITE) was notoriously known as the school of last resort, a dead-end option for failures and dropouts, and a refuge of the academic underclass. Half of its student population had only primary education. The dropout rate was as high as 40%. These students, mostly from low-socio-economic or dysfunctional families, lacked financial and family support, and possessed low self-esteem and self-worth. As a result, many of the youths who attrite the system, either under the influence of negative social labeling or other reasons, formed a marginalised underbelly in Singapore society. Without strong academic foundation, many could not progress in their education and faced a lifetime of low-paying and low-skilled jobs susceptible to redundancy as the economy moved up the value chain. The early days of the ITE offered limited and uninspiring courses using old and recycled buildings and facilities, which resembled a half-school, half-factory, and ‘sweat-shop’ environment. The image and facilities repulsed both parents and potential students.

Such was the extent of social stigma that a local movie lampooned ITE’s initials as “It’s The End”. This was the sorry reflection of the prevailing sentiment of the largely Asian population in Singapore, who valued scholastic academic achievements over practical “blue-collar” vocational education. Such taunts perpetuated the already deep-seated societal prejudice towards vocational education, which undermined Singapore’s economic needs for skilled manpower, and eroded ITE graduates’ competitiveness in the job market. Policy makers were concerned that this social underclass would become a growing bastion of people living below the poverty line, bringing with it the twin threat of social problem and unemployment, and widening income gap.

In 1992, in line with Singapore’s New Economic Plan and the need for better-qualified skilled manpower, a policy change for every child to have at least ten years of general education was initiated by the Ministry of Education (MOE). With this change, ITE was established as a post-secondary education institution (PSEI) catering to the lowest 25% of each year’s school cohort, taking over the functions of VITB and positioned alongside the Polytechnics and Junior Colleges as post-secondary institutions under Singapore’s Education System. Despite its new status, ITE’s public image continued to be negative.

In response to the challenges, ITE embarked on a15-year Transformation Journey to overhaul its facilities, programmes and image, to raise public support of ITE as a vital cog of the Education System for national, social, and economic development. Today, the Education Ministry proudly regards ITE as the ”Jewel” of the Singapore Education System for kinesthetic learners.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The ITE Transformation Plan

ITE embarked on a 15-Year Transformation Plan to overhaul the image of VTE as an institution of choice for kinesthetic or experiential learners. ITE’s Transformation comprises three successive five-year Strategic Blueprints focused on enhancing and reinventing ITE through transforming the 4Ps of ITE – Place (Facilities), Product (Courses), People (Staff) and Promotion (Image). The approach is progressively bold and relentless, with each successive blueprint building upon the foundation and success of the earlier blueprints.

The first Blueprint, ITE 2000 (1995-1999), rebuilt ITE into “An Established Post-secondary Institution”, in line with ITE’s enhanced status. The second Blueprint, ITE Breakthrough (2000-2004), saw breakthrough changes propelling ITE into “A World-Class Institution”. The third Blueprint, ITE Advantage (2005-2009), created greater “advantages” for students and stakeholders and positioned ITE as “A Global Leader in Technical Education”.

A far cry from its VITB days, ITE is today widely acclaimed for its unique and successful VTE Model, which produced highly-successful graduates, equipped with market-relevant courses, in world-class authentic learning facilities, taught by passionate and industry-relevant staff. The key benefits and outcomes of the Transformation Plan are:

• National Contributions. ITE has, to date, trained more than 330,000 members of the Singapore workforce, particularly in manufacturing and services, which remain Singapore’s twin engines of growth. ITE’s contributions to skilled manpower development have led to a World-Class Singapore Technical Workforce, achieving 100% score in the BERI (Business Environment Risk Intelligence) Labor Force Evaluation Assessment since 2001.

• High Student Success. Graduation Rates swelled from 60% in 1992 to 82% today, greatly reducing “leakages” of our youth from the education system. ITE’s graduation rate is among the highest in the world for VTE institutions.

• Market-relevant Graduates. ITE graduates are highly demanded by employers, consistently achieving an average high employment rate of 90% over the last decade. Despite the global financial crisis in 2009, Employment Rate remained at a high 84%. The high employability of ITE graduates contributes to Singapore’s Low Youth Unemployment Rate of 9.9%; one of the world’s lowest. The Survey of Employers also reflected a High Employer Satisfaction Rate of above 90% in terms of ITE graduates’ Technical/Methodological/Social Competencies, since 1999.

• High Acceptability by Students. Capture Rate of the Annual School Cohort coming to ITE has increased from 18% (1995) to 24% (2009). Correspondingly, enrolment has more doubled within the same period, from 11,900 to 25,400.

• Turnaround in Public Perception. From a refuge of the academic underclass, ITE is now a “Top 3 Choice” among Post-secondary Education Institutions, according to the triennial Public Perception Study by Nielsen. These Studies affirmed ITE’s growing popularity, with its Brand Equity Index improving by a remarkable 26% points, from 34% (1997) to 60% (2009).

• International Acclaims and Recognition. ITE’s transformation garnered notable citations from both politicians and international/national authorities. ITE was studied by other countries as a Model VTE System in World Bank’s Study on VTE Training Systems (2005) and APEC’s Case Study on Career and Technical Education (2009) led by the US Education Department.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Although the Government and MOE policy makers introduced the policy change requiring all students to undergo at least 10 years’ general education and upgraded VTE to post-secondary status, deep societal bias against VTE meant that ITE would continue to be poorly regarded.

With strong support from MOE and the ITE Board of Governors, ITE Senior Management Team conceptualized and directed the reinvention of ITE and VTE through the 15-Year Transformation Plan. The goal was to radically reform the content, quality and image of vocational education, and to reposition ITE into a world-class education institution. This was operationalised through Three Blueprints, creating Three Waves of Transformation, with a vision and desired outcomes for each wave of reforms. The blueprints were developed through extensive consultation with key stakeholders, important players in the VTE eco-system, viz, employers, current/prospective students, parents, alumni, employees, unions, industry/trade associations, and industry partners. Each blueprint comprised an Action Plan, which was regularly reviewed.

To deliver the unique education that ITE offers, values that undergird the Transformation Plan were developed in consultation with staff. The resultant values, encapsulated in ITE Care – Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence and Care for Staff, Students and the Environment, are widely promulgated, with high staff buy-in. The Lecturers entrusted with caring for, motivating and delivering the best value and outcomes for students, do so with such high passion and missionary zeal that generations of ITE students and alumni have attested their success to them.

MOE played a key role in supporting the transformation of VTE and the formation of the “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Governance Model. Under this innovative VTE Delivery Model, ITE’s archaic facilities operating out of 10 small school-like institutes were consolidated into three top-line tertiary-size Colleges of the Future, with 8,000 students each. Accountability and outcomes for VTE were reviewed, with ITE Headquarters focusing on conceptualizing and reviewing organizational strategies and policies, including ITE’s transformation and rebranding, and as key driver and catalyst to administer transformation with the Colleges, in line with ITE’s Mission, Vision and Values.

There was close coupling with Key National Agencies, like Ministry of Manpower and Economic Development Board, to identify critical manpower needs, project demands for future skills and promote specific industry sectors. Academic Advisory Committees and a Technical Skills Certification Council, comprising Captains of Industry, Government Representatives and Unionists, were appointed to advise on the relevance of ITE’s programmes and identify emerging industry trends. This integrated tripartite manpower planning approach has enabled ITE to deliver highly market-relevant career and technical education services to students, who could move faster into growing sectors, thus enhancing the value of ITE’s programmes and services.

In summary, the ITE Board and Management developed a long-term vision with clear action plans to completely revamp the System and Delivery of VTE and create a unique brand of “Hands-on, Minds-on, Hearts-on” Learning Model for technically-inclined students. These youths could have dropped out from school and become marginalised. ITE is now seen as an attractive pathway to a bright future – “It’s The End That Counts!”

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The two key strategies adopted for implementing the ITE Transformation Plan include: Total Organization Development Strategy and Integrated 4Ps Strategy to transforming People, Place, Product & Promotion.

1 Total Organisation Development Strategy

At the highest level, ITE Senior Management (SM) led by Director & CEO provided the leadership for transformation. They set and communicate the Mission, Vision and Values (MVV) that align ITE to the external environment, while adopting a consultative approach towards staff and stakeholders via multiple communication and engagement platforms. The strategic blueprints were reviewed once every 5 years and annually, to ensure internal and external alignment and to build upon the innovations, success and lessons of previous plans. The implementation of programmes in each plan was carefully resourced and monitored through Key Performance Indicators using the Balanced Scorecard. ITE Care values undergird the goals and programmes of each strategic blueprint and are promulgated and integrated with ITE’s policies and practices.

2 An Integrated 4Ps Approach

PEOPLE Transformation

Attracting, retaining and developing staff with the desired profile and passion was central to fulfilling ITE’s vision under each plan. People Transformation was achieved through:
• Building a dynamic team that embraced the ITE Care Values.
• Maximising opportunities for developing staff capability to ensure that Lecturers are abreast of new technologies and industry developments.
• Providing an environment for innovation, teamwork and excellence.
• Engaging, recognising and rewarding staff for high performance and contributions.

As a result, the academic profile of Lecturers improved, and every staff embraces the ITE Care values, a key success factor for ITE’s success.

PLACE Transformation

To transform ITE’s image, the facilities were upgraded to provide a vibrant and authentic learning environment; ten small campuses were consolidated into three top-line Colleges of the Future, and a “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Governance Model was introduced. ITE students benefit from authentic real-workplace learning, state-of-the-art hardware/software, and industrial attachment opportunities provided by global and leading industry players.

PRODUCT Transformation

The Certification System and Curriculum were revamped to cater to the diverse interests and needs of industry and students by offering newer and higher-level courses, expanding progression pathways, and strengthening industry-based training infrastructure for students. It adopted a “Hands-on (requisite job knowledge and skills-set), Minds-on (creative and independent thinking), Hearts-on” (“complete” students with sound values towards self, others and the community) Education Philosophy. Besides pioneering new courses equipping students with learning skills for lifelong success, ITE also introduced Global Education to develop work-ready and world-ready graduates.

PROMOTION (IMAGE) Transformation

ITE rebranded itself and changed its negative public image through an integrated marketing communications approach at the strategic and tactical levels. Strategic intervention involved creative branding campaigns, innovative media and PR strategies, while tactical strategies included extensive direct engagement with key stakeholders to educate and orientate prospective students and associated stakeholders of the efficacy of VTE services provided by ITE.

ITE pioneered the use of branding campaigns to reposition ITE and VTE as a viable and market-relevant education option. These campaigns were anchored on market research by independent agencies.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The implementation of ITE Transformation Plan was guided by three five-year strategic roadmaps, each with identifiable milestones and performance indicators under its respective Action Plans.

First Blueprint: ITE 2000 (1995-1999)

ITE 2000 strategic plan built ITE into an “Establishment Post-Secondary Institution”. Key developments include:
Place Initiative:
• A 10-Year Physical Development Plan to build a new ITE Headquarters and 10 modern campuses
Product Initiative:
• Higher-level programmes, and a new Semester-Based Credit Training System to offer students greater flexibility and choice
People Initiative:
• Special Retraining Programmes and New Training Schemes to re-profile and level up staff capabilities in support of ITE’s new status
Promotion Initiative:
• First independent Public Perception Study to assess societal-bias against ITE
• First Branding Campaign (“ITE – Make Things Happen”) to reposition and rebrand ITE

Second Blueprint: ITE Breakthrough (2000-2004)

ITE Breakthrough escalated ITE into a “World-Class Technical Education Institution”. Key developments include:
Product Initiative:
• New Curriculum & Learning Model infused with Life Skills and technology to transform the way ITE prepares its students for lifelong learning and success
• New ITE Certification System to streamline and add value to ITE’s certificates
• New e-Student Services System and e-Tutor System to create an IT-infused education experience by offering student services and self-paced web-enabled learning anytime, anywhere
• “New Economy” courses replaced “Old Economy” courses in line with Singapore’s economic growth. New Info-Communications Technology and Applied & Health Sciences courses were launched to augment traditional Engineering and Business Courses
Promotion Initiative:
• Second Branding Campaign (“ITE – A Force Behind the Knowledge-Based Economy”)
• Experience ITE Programme (a two-day attachment programme) to reach out to prospective students even before they join ITE

Third Blueprint: ITE Advantage (2005-2009)

ITE Advantage propelled ITE as “A Global Leader in VTE”. Key programmes include:
Place Initiative:
• Enhanced “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Governance between Headquarters and Colleges, with clear accountability
• Elevated and consolidated 10 Technical Institutes to Three Colleges of the Future to create more vibrant and multi-disciplinary learning. First College, ITE College East, opened in 2005 and the second, ITE College West, commenced in 2010. The third, ITE College Central, is targeted for completion by 2013
• Authentic learning facilities and state-of-the-art Centres of Technology in partnership with global corporations [e.g. ABB (Sweden), IBM, Microsoft, HP, Medical Education Technologies Inc (Florida), Toon Boon (Canada]
Product Initiative:
• Holistic “Hands-on, Minds-on, Hearts-on” Education Philosophy to develop “work-ready, world-ready” graduates with entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility
• Global Education Programme for 25 % of students, to enhance students’ global exposure
• Joint Certifications with global industry partners for enhanced education opportunities
• New Niche Diploma Courses with Overseas Partners (France and Germany) for progression
People Initiative:
• Total System Capability to enhance staff professional capabilities in current and new areas, and across domains and disciplines, through industry projects and consultancy works
Promotion Initiative:
• Organised International VTE Conferences to share VTE trends and best practices (2006, 2009)
• Expanded global linkages
• Third Branding Campaign – “Thinking Hands Create Success”

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Societal prejudice and misconception against VTE and ITE was an obstacle encountered by ITE in its transformation journey. For an Asian population which traditionally holds “scholastic success” and “white-collar” jobs in higher esteem, a long period of time is required to alter the weight of negative public perception and gain the acceptance of parents. To enhance parents’ perception of VTE, ITE organises structured programmes to reach out to parents of graduating students. Through collaboration with secondary schools, regular Parents’ Seminars are also organised to engage parents with ITE students and staff and help them experience ITE’s vibrant learning environment.

At the same time, there exist misconceptions about ITE and information gaps which hinder appreciation of rapid advancements made by ITE. To resolve this, ITE reaches out to the public through branding campaigns, road shows at shopping malls, and media engagements to publicise student and graduate success stories. The three-pronged strategies of branding, media publicity and stakeholder engagement turned around ITE’s Public Perception Index, from 34% (1997) to 60% (2009).

Another obstacle was our intake of unmotivated poorest-performing secondary school leavers. The quality of “raw material” ITE had to work with is a constant challenge. As these students are often demoralized with low self-esteem and self-worth when they join ITE, we require passionate Lecturers who put their heart and soul, with almost missionary zeal, to rekindle students’ motivation by showing them that they are in a school that cares for them. Winning their trust and motivating them is a long process that can take up to six months, even as lessons get underway. After 10 years of prior schooling, students who join ITE have no pretensions about their strengths in academic studies. The challenge then was to transform the delivery of VTE and design appropriate curricula and pedagogy to appeal to them as kinesthetic or experiential learners who are better off with developing hands-on skills. This is why many of them blossom at ITE, which provides real-life hands-on learning – hospital wards and ambulance simulators, media and networking labs, spa and beauty salons, kitchens and restaurants – all authentic environments students will see in the work place. For many, that is their first taste of success after many years of under-achievement. Here, they discover their marketable skills and latent talents as electricians, hair stylists, nurses, etc. and begin to excel and develop new-found confidence. That is what makes many ITE Lecturers want to stay on to witness this transformation. It is every teacher’s ultimate quest to make that crucial difference for his/her student and uplift their confidence.

The other obstacle lies in our difficulty in attracting talent to join ITE given the low public image of ITE. In 1992, ITE had only one staff with PhD and 10 with Masters Degrees. Today, these numbers have swelled to 15 PhDs and 345 Master Degree holders. The turnaround in recruitment and the greatly enhanced staffing profile is not fortuitous. It is a direct result of ITE’s successful transformation of the VTE system, delivery and quality.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The strategic blueprints that reinvented VTE and turned around public acceptance of ITE are funded by the State. Being a public education institution under MOE, ITE is allocated an Annual Operating Budget [SS$311 million in 2009], of which 95% is made up of government grant and the remaining 5% from self-generated revenue. The state budget allocated to ITE is based on student headcount computed at piece-rate basis or training cost per student. ITE’s Annual Revenue, about S$12 million, is generated from fees collected from enrolment, tests and examinations, and customised courses and consultancy services. Separate Development Funds are given mainly for capital expenditure and development of new programmes, based on justification.

The Singapore Government’s annual investment in ITE is around 0.12% of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product. The state has invested heavily in Singapore’s VTE, with investment in ITE having grown more than two-fold from 1995 to 2009 – a clear demonstration of the strong Government commitment towards ITE and its 15-year Transformation Plan.

Specific resources required for ITE’s Transformation Plan include:

• Place Transformation.
Resources comprise capital expenditure for the 10-year Physical Development Plan amounting to S$312 million and the building of three new ITE mega-Colleges at a combined cost of almost S$1 billion. Investment in for e-learning and e-administration systems was $54.3 million, and $6.8 million respectively.

• Promotion (Image) Transformation.
Since 2003, MOE has allocated a separate budget of S$820,000 annually for the branding and promotion of ITE and VTE. ITE has embarked on four branding campaigns to reposition ITE and VTE, and turnaround public perception:
o “ITE – Make Things Happen” (1998-2000)
o “ITE –A Force Behind the Knowledge-based Economy” (2001-2003)
o “Thinking Hands Create Success” (2004-2006)
o “We Make You Shine” (2007-2010)

• People Transformation.
With ITE courses being increasingly more advanced, innovative and technology-based, it was imperative for ITE to ensure that it possesses the right staff with the right skills to deliver these courses, as well as a strong Management team to provide focused academic and professional leadership. In line with this, ITE embarked on the following:
o ITE has dedicated considerable resources to training by investing an annual budget of S$8.5 million or 4.3% of total payroll to training and development needs of all staff. Each year, ITE creates 10,000 staff learning places and supports 100 learning hours per staff.
o On top of this, ITE has committed S$6.5 million to implement the Total System Capability (TSC) initiative from 2007 to 2012. TSC is a holistic approach in human capital development through strengthening staff’s domain and cross-domain capabilities in existing and emerging technology areas through undertaking of projects and consultancy, somewhat analogous to transforming a single-use common penknife to a multi-purpose, multi-functional Swiss Army knife.
o The quality and pool of graduate academic staff has increased tremendously, from only 15% in 1995, to 50% in 2010, and ultimately 70% by 2015, in line with ITE’s enhanced role as a post-secondary education institution.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The ITE Transformation is sustainable and transferrable.

Sustainability

Financial:
• As a public education institution, ITE and Vocational Education continue to receive strong state funding, a boost to our students, most of whom come from low-income families.

Regulatory:
• Singapore’s education policy requires every child to attend at least 10 years of education. The less academically-inclined are streamed into a Normal (Technical) Stream in secondary schools, in preparation for post-secondary vocational education at ITE. This ensures a continual pipeline of post-secondary students to the ITE track.

Economic:
• Singapore’s integrated manpower planning approach, where education institutions work closely with national manpower and economic planning agencies and the private sector to train manpower for industries, sometimes even ahead of time, results in close alignment between labour and education markets. Three-quarters of ITE graduates find relevant jobs in their trained areas.

Institutional:
• ITE has built a strong team of professional leaders and staff who are dedicated to the cause of VTE. Their commitment and passion are reflected in the ITE Care culture, especially the care and concern of staff for students.

• ITE’s relentless pursuit of organisational excellence, and learning through partnerships and benchmarking, have resulted in a world-class, high-performing ITE system (Singapore Quality Award in 2005), embedded with ISO quality management-certified processes.

• ITE’s future-oriented Strategic Planning Approach involving key stakeholders has ensured continued relevance to the needs of the economy and stakeholders.

• The improving perception of VTE has attracted better-qualified staff from industry to join ITE. From only 52% in 1992, almost all staff now have Diploma and higher qualifications, allowing ITE to increase higher value-add programmes and services.

Transferability

ITE has shared its transformation experience in delivery of VTE programmes and services with many institutions in Asia, Africa and beyond. ITE set up the Vietnam-Singapore Technical Training Centre, Ho Chi Minh City; Regional Vocational Training Centre, Jordan; and conducts training programmes for the Bintan, Batam and Karimun Special Economic Zone, Indonesia. Collaboration agreements have led to ITE providing technical training and consultancy assistance for Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. In response to numerous requests, ITE set up ITE Education Services, to provide professional consultancy to countries in various aspects of VTE – leadership and train-the-trainer programmes, curriculum development, skills testing and assessment.

ITE organised two International VTE Conferences in 2006 and 2009, with a third planned for 2012. The 2009 Conference – “VTE Forward: Perspectives & Practices” – attracted more than 360 participants from 23 countries, of which 35% were advanced countries. Annually, ITE receives numerous visit requests from foreign parties, including developed countries. The visitors include Presidents/Ministers/Politicians from Cambodia, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Panama, Qatar, Rwanda, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates; State Senators/Members of the House of Representatives from North Carolina, Parliamentarians from Denmark, TAFE Directors from Australia, and Senior Officials from APEC and the World Bank. After their visit to ITE, the North Carolina Delegation drafted an Addendum Report to propose recommendations for North Carolina’s Education System.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The downtrodden image of and low government priority for VTE remain a conundrum in many countries. A Harvard University report cited ITE as a world model in VTE, which has not only “dramatically improved the lives of its students, but also created a highly sustainable model for transforming poorly-performing educational institutions worldwide”.

ITE’s transformative delivery of VTE services to the nation was lauded by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as “A Singapore Success Story”, whilst former Education Minister described ITE as ”the Jewel in Singapore’s Education System”. This success hinges on the following:

• ITE’s transformation would never have taken off without Strong Government Support and foresight to heavily invest 0.12% of Singapore’s GDP in VTE for the poorest-performing students in school.

• The Visionary Leadership of the ITE Board and Management provided the essential drive and focus for ITE’s transformation plan to take flight. ITE’s transformation is carefully and systematically charted through a series of five-year Strategic Plans, each of which is consistently tracked and reviewed biannually.

• Passionate and Industry-relevant Staff: With a unique culture and focus on ITE Care Values, ITE had been successful in engaging the full support and commitment of staff, without whom it would have been impossible to bring the transformation plans to fruition.

• Through Organisational Learning and Innovation Frameworks, the Culture of Pervasive Learning and Innovation is well-entrenched in ITE’s DNA. Staff share and learn from one another, and seek continual and breakthrough improvements. At the highest level, Senior Management make regular benchmarking visits to world-class institutions overseas to seek and learn from the best, and establish partnerships with some.

• Symbiotic Industry Partnerships: Through multi-agency collaboration, long-term skills requirements for various occupation levels in key/emerging industry sectors are identified. Captains of industry are co-opted in Advisory Committees to advise on emerging industry trends, developments, and requirements. ITE leverages on the expertise, know-how and resources of industry partners (e.g. HP, IBM, Rolls-Royce, ABB, Eurocopter, Nokia, etc.) in key/emerging technologies, to enhance authentic learning for its students. This has enabled ITE to transform its courses and curricula to support employment at the front-end of the economy.

• Close Collaboration between ITE and Key Stakeholders (e.g. employers, industry, schools) on ITE’s programmes and strategic initiatives has ensured buy-in, commitment and market relevance of programmes and initiatives.

• Uniquely Integrated System of Planning where national manpower planning is closely aligned with national economic strategies. Planning agencies (e.g. Manpower Ministry, Economic Development Board) work closely to promote specific industries, identify critical manpower needs and project demands for future skills. These are then fed back to PSEIs for their own planning. In other countries, labour and education markets make these adjustments slowly, but Singapore believes that its manpower planning approach helps students to move faster into growing sectors, reduces oversupply in areas of declining demand more quickly, and targets public funds more efficiently for post-secondary education. The ability to successfully manage the supply and demand of education and skills is a major source of Singapore’s competitive advantage.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   The Institute of Technical Education, Singapore
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Sabrina Loi
Title:   Senior Divisional Director, Corporate Services  
Telephone/ Fax:   65-65902016
Institution's / Project's Website:   65-65902061
E-mail:   sabrina_loi@ite.edu.sg  
Address:   10 Dover Drive
Postal Code:   138683
City:   Singapore
State/Province:   Singapore
Country:   Singapore

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