One-time govt funding in 2024 for more ITE graduates to upskill; alumni say good move since 'diploma not cheap'
SINGAPORE — In a one-time arrangement this year, a new Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Progression Award would be extended to two more groups of Singaporean ITE graduates, to encourage them to upskill by taking up diploma courses.
This was detailed in an information sheet distributed to the media by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday (March 1), to elaborate on what was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget 2024 statement on Feb 16.
For the one-off funding support, the two selected groups are:
- Singaporean ITE graduates already enrolled in a diploma course as of March 1, 2024. Regardless of their age, they will receive a S$10,000 top-up to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account once they complete the diploma course
- Singaporean ITE graduates aged 31 who enrol in a diploma course in 2024. They will be the beneficiaries of the ITE Progression Award, which offers two top-ups
Those who qualify will have to be taking courses where the diploma is issued by institutions funded by MOE, which may be one of the following:
- Full-time and part-time diploma studies offered by the polytechnics here
- Full-time diploma studies offered by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LaSalle College of the Arts
- Technical, technical engineer, and work-study diplomas offered by ITE
A recap of the Budget 2024 announcement: The ITE Progression Award will be launched this year for ITE graduates aged 30 and below, to encourage and support them in their upskilling efforts earlier through diploma courses and to secure better progression prospects in their chosen professions.
What it offers:
- A S$5,000 top-up to the ITE graduates’ Post-Secondary Education Account when they enrol in a diploma programme. This education account is parked under the Post-Secondary Education Scheme that helps eligible citizens pay for their post-secondary education
- A S$10,000 top-up to the ITE graduates’ CPF Ordinary Account upon attaining their diploma. CPF is the national social security scheme for citizens and permanent residents to save for retirement, where some of the money can be used for education and housing needs
Speaking in Parliament on Friday while presenting the budget for his ministry, Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing said that taking a diploma course to enhance one’s skill sets could help ITE graduates secure a better starting pay and a “better lifetime earning trajectory through their improved skills and competencies”.
On the growing gap that ITE graduates face in their starting salaries, compared to graduates from polytechnics and autonomous universities, MOE said: “This gap can be narrowed when ITE graduates upgrade their skills earlier, such as by pursuing a diploma education, to secure more job opportunities over a longer period of time.
“Many ITE graduates want to upskill, but face a longer upgrading pathway as compared to their peers. In addition to the upfront costs of a diploma education, they might need to balance upskilling efforts with work and other commitments.”
The ITE Progression Award thus helps with alleviating the financial costs of obtaining a diploma, while also boosting the graduates’ savings for longer-term goals such as home ownership or retirement, it added.
Mr Ethan Leong, 22, is an ITE alumnus who will benefit from the one-time arrangement.
He graduated in 2021 with a National ITE Certificate (Nitec) in infocomm technology and is now pursuing a diploma course in creative direction for fashion at the LaSalle College of the Arts, which he would complete later this year.
Noting that diploma-holders have an edge over Nitec and Higher Nitec certificate-holders, he told TODAY: “Definitely their chances of getting a job are higher, the wage is a fraction higher and there is more room for career progression.”
His parents are covering the cost of his diploma studies, which comes up to around S$5,000 a year after government subsidies.
Commenting on the latest funding support, Mr Leong said: “This is good news. I would say it’s quite a nice initiative and a good package, a boost for those still thinking about pursuing their studies after ITE.
“Back then, there wasn’t this (benefit), but I still pushed (ahead) and continued my studies.
“As time goes by, the Government is pushing out better packages for the younger crowd to upskill and improve themselves with all these incentives.”
Another beneficiary will be final-year polytechnic student Andrea Lee who will graduate in May. She told TODAY that the news was a “pleasant surprise”.
“I think monetary incentives are always an encouragement, so I’m sure people will start considering going for further studies.”
The 22-year-old has been doing a diploma course in product and industrial design at Temasek Polytechnic, after graduating from ITE in 2020 with a Nitec in product design.
She receives about S$2,000 yearly through a bursary award disbursed by the Government, which helps to offset part of the school fees for the diploma course. Her parents pay for the rest of the fees.
“I think the wage and career prospects were definitely what I thought about when deciding to further my studies after ITE.
“I was in a Nitec course, so I only had two years of experience doing design and it didn’t feel like it was enough, but it was definitely a stepping stone for me when I entered polytechnic,” she added.
For 23-year-old full-time national serviceman Keane Ko, the ITE Progression Award is a very attractive initiative, though he wished that it had been introduced earlier since he narrowly missed the time frame and will not be a beneficiary.
He took the aerospace technology course at ITE and went on to pursue a diploma in digital and precision engineering, which he completed last year.
Among his motivations for furthering his studies was what a polytechnic graduate could command in terms of salary compared to an ITE graduate, and the deeper theoretical knowledge he could gain into his industry of interest through the diploma studies.
“I would say the Government is heading towards the right direction, because the cost of a diploma is not cheap,” Mr Ko said.
“(Coming) from a not-high-income family, I feel like school fees is a big consideration because many students are taking loans and you have to pay back when you finish your studies. You go to work and then you slowly pay back your school fees, kind of like your school debt.”
Like Mr Leong, his parents were helping to pay for his diploma studies. Mr Ko supplemented this by working during his polytechnic’s semester breaks and on the weekends during his school term.
Recalling how he felt when he heard of the recently announced benefits, he said: “When Mr Lawrence Wong (announced) that when you go to polytechnic after ITE, you get a S$10,000 increase in your CPF (after getting your diploma), I wished I was born in a different time.”
For Mr Muhammad Hirzi Chahrul, 28, a senior marketing professional who graduated from ITE in 2014, the ITE Progression Award would have helped and motivated students to “make a better decision in pursuing their education journey” if it had been introduced in his time.
After getting a Nitec in social media and web development at ITE, he went on to pursue a diploma in visual communication and media design at Singapore Polytechnic.
Mr Hirzi believes that financial concerns may be a possible reason why some people do not consider pursuing further studies after graduating from ITE.
When he enrolled for his diploma course, he applied for financial assistance and managed to cover 100 per cent of his polytechnic school fees through a subsidy by Malay-Muslim self-help group Yayasan Mendaki.
That “helped a lot”, he said, because his father had been the sole breadwinner in their family of five at that point in time.
“(Furthering your studies) does improve your wages and narrow the gap a little… so we won’t think that we are so far behind our peers who have already had much progress ahead of us,” he added.
“I would highly suggest to those who still have the passion to study, to take as much opportunity to upgrade themselves even further. There are financial support (options) out there, if cost is one major barrier.”
MOE said that the estimated cost of the ITE Progression Award is expected to be about S$105 million a year, which may grow if the take-up is higher.
Based on current enrolment numbers and past enrolment trends, about 1,500 ITE graduates, who would not otherwise have qualified for this award, could benefit from the one-off arrangement to receive the top-ups over the next few years, it added.
The number of ITE graduates every year has remained fairly stable at about 13,000 over the past five years.
Based on historical enrolment data, the ministry is expecting more than 7,000 eligible ITE graduates from different graduating cohorts to enrol in an eligible diploma each year.
Overall, around one in two ITE graduates obtain at least a diploma within 10 years of graduation, it said.
