Building A Responsive Vocational Technical Education System Seminar on “Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Oslo, Norway Building A Responsive Vocational Technical Education System - The Singapore Experience Dr Law Song Seng Director & Chief Executive Officer Institute of Technical Education, Singapore 13 - 14 Sep 2006

PRESENTATION OUTLINE Part I - Development of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Singapore Before Formation of ITE (1964 – 1992) Part II - ITE Today: Strategic Responses to Transform VTE in a Global Economy (1992 – 2006) 2

LOCATION OF SINGAPORE South-east Asia China Singapore 3 Myanmar Hong Kong Laos South China Sea Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Brunei Malaysia Island city state Total land area – 700 square kilometres Total population – 4.35 million 2005 Per Capita Gross National Income – US$26,700 Singapore Indonesia South-east Asia 3 Building A Responsive Vocational Technical Education System - The Singapore Experience

Development of VTE Before Formation of ITE Part I - Development of VTE Before Formation of ITE (1964 – 1992) Introduction When Singapore attained self-governance in 1959 and subsequently independence in 1965, it became apparent that the traditional trading, commerce and service sectors alone could not provide sufficient jobs for the growing number of school leavers. The plan for Singapore was to diversify and accelerate its economic growth through industrialisation. The need to formalise a national system of training to support the manpower needs of industrialisation became critical. To support its economic strategy during the early industrialisation phase from 1960s to 1970s, the Government concentrated on the provision of primary and secondary education, including technical education and training, to lay the foundation for skills upgrading. From the 1980s onwards, it sought to improve the quality of primary and secondary education to strengthen this foundation. Attention to tertiary education only picked up from the 1980s.

PHASES OF SINGAPORE’S DEVELOPMENT 1960s-70s 1980s-90s 2000s Independence & Early Industrialisation Economic Restructuring (1980s) Newly-Industrialised Economy (1990s) Globalised and Diversified Economy Factor-Driven Economy Investment-Driven Economy Innovation-Driven Economy Labour Intensive Development of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Singapore’s Economic Development The VTE system in Singapore has evolved through several significant phases of development, in line with economic changes and the manpower development strategies of Singapore. Singapore has gone through the following three key phases of economic development (SPRING Singapore): 1960s -1970s : Factor-Driven Economy (Labour Intensive) 1980s - 1990s : Investment-Driven Economy (Capital Intensive) 2000s : Innovation-Driven Economy (Knowledge Intensive) Capital Intensive Knowledge Intensive 5 Building A Responsive Vocational Technical Education System - The Singapore Experience

LABOUR-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1960s - 1970s) Independence & Early Industrialisation Singapore’s Economic and Manpower Strategies Create employment through industrialisation Attract foreign investment for export-oriented and labour-intensive manufacturing Ensure workforce has basic skills to support labour-intensive manufacturing activities (eg. ship repairing, turning and fitting, sheet metal work, radio & TV maintenance and repair) 6

LABOUR-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1960s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR LABOUR-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1960s) Basic Skills Training for Early Industrialisation 1964 : Setting up of First Vocational Institute within the School System (Balestier Trade School was reorganised into Singapore Vocational Institute) 1968 : Formation of Technical Education Department (TED) under Ministry of Education (MOE) 1969 : Transfer of Apprenticeship Schemes from Ministry of Labour to TED Balestier Trade School Singapore Vocational Institute Visit to Industry by TED’s Director Metal Fabrication and Metal Machining at Singapore Vocational Institute (SVI) Precision Engineering course open to girls at Pasir Panjang VI 7

LABOUR-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1970s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR LABOUR-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1970s) Structured Pre-Employment Skills Training for Rapid Industrialisation 1973 : Formation of Industrial Training Board (ITB) under MOE 1973 : Implementation of National Trade Certificate (NTC) at 3 levels: semi-skilled (NTC-3), skilled (NTC-2) and master craftsman (NTC-1) [Wide range of courses to support emerging industries (eg. Electrical and Electronics, Metal and Mechanical Engineering, Heavy-duty Diesel and Motor Vehicle Mechanics)] 1972 - 1975 : Setting up of Joint Government Training Centres (GTC) by Economic Development Board (EDB) (eg. Tata-GTC, Rollei-GTC and Philips-GTC) Fashion Arts & Tailoring at Baharuddin VI Mechanical Servicing at Geylang Serai VI Motor Vehicle Mechanics at Singapore VI Heavy-duty Diesel Mechanics at Bukit Merah VI Tata-Government Training Centre 8

CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s-1990s) Economic Restructuring (1980s) Singapore’s Economic and Manpower Strategies (1980s) Restructure economy into higher value-added, high technology and more capital-intensive industries (Eg. Petrochemicals, electronics, aerospace, information technology, as well as manufacturing services like testing, financing, warehousing and purchasing) Ensure the workforce has the skills to support the move towards more capital-intensive industries 9

CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s) Mass Skills Training and Workforce Development 1979 : Amalgamation of ITB with Adult Education Board to form Vocational & Industrial Training Board (VITB) under MOE [Expanded range of higher-level NTC-2 Courses (eg. Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, Precision Engineering)] 1981 : Introduction of Business Courses [Certificate in Business Studies (CBS)] 1981 : Setting up of Centre of Vocational Training within VITB to build expertise in curriculum development, training of trainers and instructional media development Vocational & Industrial Training Board (VITB) Electrical Engineering (ITC) Electronics Instrumentation (NTC) Mechanical Engineering (ITC) Mechanical Drafting (NTC) CBS (Secretarial Practice) 10

CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s) Mass Skills Training and Workforce Development 1983 - 1987 : Introduction of new national training programmes aimed at mature workers with little education or training 1990 : Introduction of New Apprenticeship System to strengthen institutional training component 1983 Basic Education for Skills Training (BEST) 1986 Modular Skills Training Scheme (MOST) 1987 Worker Improvement through Secondary Education (WISE) Apprenticeship off-the-job training at Precision Optics Centre BEST Class in Mathematics MOST Course in Electrical Engineering 11

CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1980s-1990s) Newly-Industrialised Economy (1990s) Singapore’s Economic & Manpower Strategies (1990s) Emphasis on both the manufacturing and service sectors; encouragement of local enterprises to diversify, upgrade and develop into strong export-oriented companies; and promotion of regional investments Develop manpower needed for the push to high-technology and knowledge-intensive products and services 12

CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1990s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (1990s) Upgrading Vocational Education and Training for Capital-Intensive Economy 1992 : New education policy of minimum 10 years’ general education 1992 : Upgrading of VTE to post-secondary level through the formation of Institute of Technical Education (ITE) (A network of 10 ITE Training Institutes) under MOE 1990s : Expansion of Polytechnic education (Increase from 2 Polytechnics to 5 by 2002) Inauguration Ceremony of the ITE ( 31 Mar 1992) New ITE Headquarters (1995) New ITE Bishan Institute (1994) Temasek Polytechnic (1990) Nanyang Polytechnic (1992) Republic Polytechnic (2002) 13

KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (2000s) Globalised and Diversified Economy Singapore’s Economic & Manpower Strategies (2000s) Vision to be a globalised, entrepreneurial and diversified economy Shift towards higher-value manufacturing and growing importance of the services sector [New growth sectors: eg. biomedical sciences, infocomm, creative media, (including film production, publishing, digital media, animation and games), integrated resorts and high-value engineering] Promotion of Innovation and Enterprise at all levels Positioning Singapore as a global education hub and developing a first-class education 14

KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (2000s) VTE STRATEGIES FOR KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE ECONOMY (2000s) Transforming VTE in a Global Economy 2002 : Launch of New National ITE Certificate (Nitec) System 2005 : Regrouping of ITE Institutes into Mega Regional Campuses under the “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Governance Model 2005 : Opening of First Regional Campus - ITE College East 2005 - 2009 : Positioning ITE as a Global Leader in VTE Nitec Certifications for the New Economy Official Opening of ITE College East by Prime Minister (Mar 06) ITE College East First International VTE Conference held in Singapore (17-18 Aug 2006) 15

Part II - ITE Today (1992 – 2006)

ITE - UNIQUE CHALLENGES Focusing on career-based vocational and technical education Catering to lower 25% - 30% of secondary school cohort Responding to dynamic changes and challenges impacting VTE 17

THE ITE HEARTBEAT Mission Vision Values To create opportunities for school leavers and adult learners to acquire skills, knowledge and values for lifelong learning in a global economy Vision A Global Leader in Technical Education Values Integrity Teamwork Excellence Care 18

ITE AS A POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION Universities Degree National University of Singapore Nanyang Technological University Singapore Management University University Junior Colleges Polytechnics Institute of Technical Education Diploma Nanyang Ngee Ann Republic Singapore Temasek Master Nitec Other Training Providers/Labour Market General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) Higher Nitec Post-Secondary MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Nitec (25%) (40%) (25%) (10%) Secondary Secondary Special ( 4 Years ) Secondary Express ( 4 Years ) Secondary Normal ( 4 / 5 Years ) Primary Primary ( 6 Years ) 19

UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE ITE-VTE SYSTEM Responsive “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Governance Model Unique “Hands-on, Minds-on, Hearts-on” College Education Practice-Oriented Curriculum Model Process-Oriented Pedagogic Model Integrated Communications and Marketing of VTE Creative Rebranding of ITE 20

RESPONSIVE “ONE ITE SYSTEM, THREE COLLEGES” GOVERNANCE MODEL Yishun New ITE College Central (2011) New ITE College West (2009) ITE College West (Main Campus) Ang Mo Kio Bukit Batok Bishan Tampines ITE Headquarters Clementi ITE College West (Balestier Main Campus) ITE College East (2005) Bedok Dover ITE College Central (MacPherson Main Campus) ITE Headquarters Legend College Development Plan ITE Headquarters ITE College East ITE College West ITE College Central Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Route – Simei Ave (2005) – Choa Chu Kang (2009) – Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 (2011) ITE College East ITE College Central (Main Campus) 21

UNIQUE “HANDS-ON, MINDS-ON, HEARTS-ON” COLLEGE EDUCATION Bio-Chemical Technology Nursing “MINDS-ON” HOLISTIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENT “HEARTS-ON” Robotics Digital Media Design Community Service ITE SAFE Home Project Education Outcomes Market-relevant, Enterprising and Adaptable Graduates for a Global Economy Lifelong Learners for Lifelong Employability Successful Graduates 22

PRACTICE-ORIENTED CURRICULUM MODEL Core 8 Modules Core 80% Electives 5% Life Skills 15% Electives 2 Modules (Specialisation or outside Specialisation) Life Skills Modules 7 Modules (Examples: Communication, Thinking & Problem-Solving, Sports and Wellness, Career Development & Planning, Customer Service) The curriculum of a typical course comprises 70% practical training and 30% theoretical lessons 23

PROCESS-ORIENTED PEDAGOGIC MODEL EXPLORE PRACTISE PERFORM PLAN LEARNER Technical, Methodological & Social Competencies PEPP MODEL 24

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING OF VTE Ministers’ Endorsements Prime Minister’s Visit WorldSkills Singapore (with President) The New Paper (2 Feb 05) > Experience ITE Programme Roadshows Media Strategy Marketing to Schools 25

CREATIVE REBRANDING OF ITE First Campaign (1998 - 2000): “Make Things Happen’’ Second Campaign (2001 - 2003): “ITE - A Force Behind The Knowledge-Based Economy” Third Campaign (2004 - 2006): “Thinking Hands Create Success” 26

Thank You