Detail

When 22-year-old Suhardi Hashim, now 52 and Chief Engineer at SP Services, was offered a place at Singapore Polytechnic (SP) in 1995, he saw it as his chance to pursue a long-held dream of becoming an engineer. However, just days before his term began, Mr Suhardi, as the eldest of four siblings, faced a difficult decision. With his father, the family's sole breadwinner, recently laid off from his job as a lorry driver, Mr Suhardi chose to work as a technician at PUB. This ensured his family's income, though it meant delaying his studies. The session coincided with SP Group's renewed commitment to contribute $1.35 million to the Engineering Learning Award, benefiting 450 ITE students from low-income families. Mr Suhardi, who began his journey at ITE in 1993, found the experience eye-opening. "ITE allowed me to realise my interests and skills in technical knowledge, especially in the field of engineering," he said, noting that despite unencouraging secondary school academic achievements, an ITE internship provided an alternative path.  His perseverance continued as he pursued part-time studies at SP in 1996. Years later, encouraged by his mother, he enrolled at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and finally earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in 2019, at the age of 46. 

[Berita Harian]