When Mr Bambang Hendrawan visited the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) headquarters in Singapore in 2015, he was impressed by what he saw. Apart from the usual work labs, the ITE campus in Ang Mo Kio has commercial hair salons, florists and cafes which are open to the public, where students practise their craft in a real-life setting.

Some of the commercial facilities are helmed by established industry names who use the space to mentor and train students.

The experience gave Mr Bambang, vice-director for general administration and finance at Batam Polytechnic, inspiration on how vocational education could be marketed. “At Batam Polytechnic, one of our challenges is attracting students here. Some people still have the perception that vocational education is very technical,” he said.

ITE’s innovative teaching methods and partnerships with industry players offered a refreshing view of technical education that highlighted the importance of skills training, he added.  

As more shipping companies set up facilities in the Batam-Bintan-Karimum area, the industry realised there was an urgent need to train students and equip them with the skills to fill jobs. The first step was to set up a shipbuilding and design programme in Batam Polytechnic. A request was made to work together with Singapore partners to develop the diploma programme.

Mr Bambang’s two-day trip to Singapore was part of a week-long leadership training programme organised by Temasek Foundation International and ITE Education Services to develop technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Batam. Temasek Foundation International funds and supports programmes that build capabilities in areas such as education, public administration and healthcare, while ITE Education Services is the consulting arm of ITE.

The programme ran for seven weeks in 2015.  Apart from the week-long leadership training, it also covered curriculum design, development and assessment, and technical training. More than 40 teachers and specialists were equipped with the know-how to develop a shipbuilding course in Batam, and could share their knowledge with other trainers back home.

A year later in 2016, the polytechnic took in its first batch of 60 students – a mix of fresh students and working adults who wanted to enhance their skills – under its new shipbuilding diploma programme.

Mr Cahyo Budi Utomo, a mechanical engineering lecturer at Batam Polytechnic, said that the polytechnic aims to provide quality vocational education.

The trip to Singapore to observe how ITE runs its programmes drove home for Mr Cahyo the importance of internships, on-the-job training, and support from the industry.

Like Singapore’s ITE, Batam Polytechnic has a strong emphasis on job attachments. It is compulsory for full-time students to complete a six-month stint with a shipbuilding company.

Mr Cahyo added: “There are some things students will learn and understand only when they are out in the working world. This is why it’s so important to have industry partners supporting the polytechnic’s programmes, creating internship opportunities and mentoring them when they are out in the field.”