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‘Chance to advance’ the great attraction of shipping industry

SINGAPORE — Being a diploma holder did not stop Mr Muhammad Isa Sanusi from being promoted to a leadership position at rig-building company Keppel FELS.

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SINGAPORE — Being a diploma holder did not stop Mr Muhammad Isa Sanusi from being promoted to a leadership position at rig-building company Keppel FELS.

As a superintendent, he oversaw 20 employees. Before long, his company offered him a scholarship so he could pursue a degree. Today, he has been seconded to Bintan to manage a yard, with 500 workers under his watch.

Said Mr Muhammad: “Being able to pursue a degree is definitely an added value ... but how we are assessed here is also based on our performance and quality of work.”

The opportunity to advance regardless of one’s starting point was singled out by Senior Minister of State (Education and Law) Indranee Rajah during a visit to Keppel Offshore and Marine yesterday. “There’s a mixture of reasons why people are attracted to (this industry), but the common denominator appeared to be that when they came here, they felt there was a chance for them to progress,” she said.

“Almost all of them that we spoke to are doing some form of further training or further education.”

Ms Indranee currently heads the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review committee, which is looking at how to better integrate studies with practical training, as well as improving career progression based on skills.

After speaking with employees yesterday, Ms Indranee noted that theories learned in school are not always applied during poly or ITE internships. “That’s the part where I think we can make a real difference, where there is a closer nexus between your curriculum and your practical training, so at the end of it … your internship is meaningful,” she said.

Currently, her committee is looking into how poly and ITE internships can be improved, including whether internships should be longer or introducing a model that would allow students to work on some days of the week and study on the other days. For a start, it is looking to pilot a new internship model across a few industries, such as the marine, early childhood, and nursing sectors. The internship structure might, however, vary across industries based on their needs, said Ms Indranee.

Keppel Offshore and Marine Managing Director (Marine & Technology) Michael Chia said about 14 per cent of more than 200 interns join them each year as full-time staff. To improve the internship process, he suggested longer internships of at least six months so that students can gain enough substantial experience.

Mr Chia added that his company needs staff with different skills and strengths and it is important that progression opportunities be made available to retain them.

“You don’t just need brains, you need brawn as well,” he said.

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