Detail

In this article, the writer explores the history and evolution of polytechnic diplomas in Singapore by telling the stories of former students whose courses no longer exist. It begins with a graduate who studied electrical and electronic engineering at Ngee Ann Technical College in the early 1970s — before it became NP — and notes that this diploma has since been restructured or phased out as industry needs changed. Across Singapore’s polytechnics, many diploma programmes that once trained students for the first waves of Singapore’s theatre, semiconductor and IT industries have disappeared. For example, diplomas in areas like Informatics at NYP no longer accept students because the skills they once taught have been absorbed into other disciplines or replaced by new technology-centric courses. Similarly, NYP’s Digital Media Design Diploma took in its last cohort in 2008 before evolving into other game-related and media courses as the local video game sector rose and later declined. At SP, earlier Engineering and Built Environment programmes have been rebranded over time — for instance, electronics and communications engineering was changed in the 1990s to reflect shifts in technology. Other specialised diplomas, such as Applied Drama and Psychology at SP, stopped accepting new students in the early 2020s and were consolidated into broader media and design diplomas because their graduate outcomes were too vague relative to job market demands. The writer explains that these changes are largely due to shifting industry landscapes and labour market trends: as Singapore’s economy evolved, so did the skills needed from graduates. Courses that once served nascent industries were phased out when demand shrank or merged into broader, more sustainable diplomas. At the same time, polytechnics have introduced new programmes and adjusted curricula to better match current workforce needs, with engineering traditionally making up a large portion of all diplomas but with rapid growth in information, AI and creative technology fields.

[The Straits Times]