Diploma Courses that Train Broad-based Skills

Debated in Parliament on 11 May 2021.

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Dr Wan Rizal raised concerns about the employability of Polytechnic graduates during the pandemic and suggested a shift from specialised diplomas to broader, interdisciplinary skills.
Lawrence Wong explained that Polytechnics already review courses to enhance breadth and versatility, offering Common Entry Programmes and multidisciplinary projects to help students gain generalised skills.
He noted that specialised diplomas remain valuable for certain professions like nursing and early childhood education, but all students receive common modules in communication, design thinking, and cross-sector electives such as data analytics.
Polytechnics will continue to update their curriculum to ensure graduates possess adaptable skills for future workplace demands.

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Wan Rizal

Dr Wan Rizal asked the Minister for Education with regard to the drop in Polytechnic graduates employed within six months of graduation amid COVID-19 job market disruptions, whether the Ministry will consider to re-evaluate the current offerings of specialised diplomas and instead put greater emphasis on diplomas that offer broad skills that can be generalised across other disciplines.

Lawrence Wong

The Polytechnics review their course offerings regularly to ensure their courses are relevant to the needs of industry. This includes merging and streamlining courses over the recent years, to provide graduates with more breadth, versatility and career options. Over the past few years, the Polytechnics have also introduced Common Entry Programmes to allow students to pick up broad skills from a cluster of disciplines, before subsequently specialising.

There is still a role for some specialised diplomas, especially those that equip students with the necessary skills to join specific vocations or professions. Examples are the Nursing and Early Childhood Education courses, both of which enjoy strong industry demand.

Nevertheless, we recognise the need for all Polytechnic students to be equipped with a broader set of life skills regardless of the courses they are enrolled in. This is why the Polytechnics offer common modules in areas like communication and design thinking, and also provide opportunities for multidisciplinary learning. For example, all Year Three students in Ngee Ann Polytechnic work on projects in multidisciplinary teams with peers from at least two other academic schools. This helps students better appreciate the connections between different disciplines and their application to real-world contexts and problems. The Polytechnics have also introduced new electives for students to equip them in cross-sector skills, such as data analytics and data visualisation.

Our institutions will continue to refresh their curriculum and course offerings, to equip all graduates with the skills and attitudes needed to succeed in the future workplace. This is an area of emphasis in our on-going review of applied education and pathways.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Dr Wan Rizal raised concerns about the employability of Polytechnic graduates during the pandemic and suggested a shift from specialised diplomas to broader, interdisciplinary skills.
Lawrence Wong explained that Polytechnics already review courses to enhance breadth and versatility, offering Common Entry Programmes and multidisciplinary projects to help students gain generalised skills.
He noted that specialised diplomas remain valuable for certain professions like nursing and early childhood education, but all students receive common modules in communication, design thinking, and cross-sector electives such as data analytics.
Polytechnics will continue to update their curriculum to ensure graduates possess adaptable skills for future workplace demands.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Diploma Courses that Train Broad-based Skills

Debated in Parliament on 11 May 2021.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Dr Wan Rizal raised concerns about the employability of Polytechnic graduates during the pandemic and suggested a shift from specialised diplomas to broader, interdisciplinary skills.
Lawrence Wong explained that Polytechnics already review courses to enhance breadth and versatility, offering Common Entry Programmes and multidisciplinary projects to help students gain generalised skills.
He noted that specialised diplomas remain valuable for certain professions like nursing and early childhood education, but all students receive common modules in communication, design thinking, and cross-sector electives such as data analytics.
Polytechnics will continue to update their curriculum to ensure graduates possess adaptable skills for future workplace demands.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Wan Rizal

Lawrence Wong

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Dr Wan Rizal raised concerns about the employability of Polytechnic graduates during the pandemic and suggested a shift from specialised diplomas to broader, interdisciplinary skills.
Lawrence Wong explained that Polytechnics already review courses to enhance breadth and versatility, offering Common Entry Programmes and multidisciplinary projects to help students gain generalised skills.
He noted that specialised diplomas remain valuable for certain professions like nursing and early childhood education, but all students receive common modules in communication, design thinking, and cross-sector electives such as data analytics.
Polytechnics will continue to update their curriculum to ensure graduates possess adaptable skills for future workplace demands.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Diploma Courses that Train Broad-based Skills | PAPERCUTS

Diploma Courses that Train Broad-based Skills

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Wan Rizal

Lawrence Wong

Summary

Questions Identified

Diploma Courses that Train Broad-based Skills

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Wan Rizal

Lawrence Wong

Summary

Questions Identified