National Day Rally 2014: Poly grad rose to become shipyard CEO

18 Aug 2014

The Straits Times, 18 August 2014 - SP graduate Mr Abu Bakar was highlighted by PM Lee during his National Day Rally as an example of how deep skills is more important than a degree. Mr Abu Bakar joined Keppel Shipyard in 1990 as a diploma holder and started out as an assistant safety officer. He slowly moved up the ranks, working in areas such as production and marketing. Today, he is the CEO of Nakilat-Keppel Offshore and Marine, a shipyard in Qatar. Mr Abu Bakar cites the training scheme at Keppel that entrusted him with more responsibilities along the way and how Keppel sponsored his Executive Masters in Business Administration course. He also opined how employer support and training is more important than a degree for employees to upgrade themselves and develop skills to do their jobs better. Similar story was reported in Straits Times Online, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian, Channel News Asia, Today, Today Online and ChannelNewsAsia.com