J OI N T M E DI A RELEASE

IE partners ITE to bring students on overseas internships under Young Talent Programme

MR No.: 033/16 Singapore, Thursday, 21 July 2016

1. International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today, increasing opportunities for overseas internships for ITE students under the Young Talent Programme (YTP)- Market Immersion programme. Under the national SkillsFuture movement, this applies to all three ITE colleges – ITE College Central, ITE College East and ITE College West. The MOU comes on the back of IE Singapore’s partnership with polytechnics announced late last year. IE Singapore will now see an expanded network of ten educational institutional partners under the YTP, covering the universities, polytechnics and ITE. To date, YTP-Market Immersion has supported more than 2,000 students from universities and polytechnics in pursuing global experiences.

Expanding pipeline of Singapore talent with global experience 2. As Singapore companies expand overseas, it is crucial to nurture the talent pipeline to meet their manpower needs for overseas business operations. By promoting a global mind-set from young, Singaporeans can gain the necessary skills and experiences to thrive in their future careers.

3. Mr Tan Soon Kim, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, IE Singapore, said, “Singapore companies face talent shortages as they seek new markets overseas. Extending the YTP to ITE is an important move that opens up a wider pool of talent for companies. IE Singapore and ITE will collaborate to encourage Singapore companies to offer

International Enterprise Singapore is the government agency driving Singapore’s external economy. Joint Media Release 21 July 2016

meaningful overseas internships. We are hopeful that this programme would yield positive results for the students and expose them to the relevant skill-sets critical to seek out job opportunities in the future.”

4. IE Singapore and ITE hope to extend internships that allow students to utilise the relevant knowledge and skillsets in real-life work environments overseas. The YTP will help defray part of the living and travel expenses incurred by students when undertaking these overseas internships. It supports overseas internships of up to 24 weeks.

5. Mr Bruce Poh Geok Huat, Director and Chief Executive Officer, ITE, said, “ITE's aim is to develop work-ready and world-ready graduates. Annually, we send 30% of our students overseas for industrial attachments, student exchange and service learning programmes under our Global Education Programme. This partnership between ITE and IE Singapore to provide overseas internships for our students is a boost to our Global Education Programme. The opportunities to work in companies overseas will enhance the global perspectives and cross-cultural understanding of our students in their future careers.”

6. The YTP aims to support 200 ITE students annually. The pioneer batch of 40 students will start their YTP-Market Immersion programme between September to December 2016 in countries including China, Germany, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States. --End--

Note to Editor Please use ‘IE Singapore’ if an acronym for ‘International Enterprise Singapore’ is required. Unless otherwise stated, the use of statistics cited in our media releases, website or Statlink, should be attributed to IE Singapore.

For media enquiries and/or event photos, please contact: Ms Cheryl How Manager, Media Corporate Communications Group DID : (+65) 6433 4655 Email : [email protected]

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About International Enterprise Singapore

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is the government agency driving Singapore’s external economy. We spearhead the overseas growth of Singapore-based companies and

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Joint Media Release 21 July 2016

promote international trade. Our vision is a thriving business hub in Singapore with Globally Competitive Companies and leading international traders.

IE Singapore attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a thriving trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters.

Through our Global Company Partnership and Market Readiness Assistance, we also work with Singapore-based companies in their various stages of growth towards being globally competitive.

Our global network of overseas centres in over 35 locations provides the necessary connections in many developed and emerging markets. Visit www.iesingapore.com for more information.

About Institute of Technical Education

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is a post-secondary education institution established in 1992 under the Ministry of Education. As a principal provider of career and technical education, and a key developer of national occupational skills certification and standards, ITE's Mission is to create opportunities for students and adult learners to acquire skills, knowledge and values for employability and lifelong learning. ITE's Vision is to be A Trailblazer in Career and Technical Education. Our Values are Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence and Care. ITE comprises the ITE Headquarters and three ITE Colleges - College Central, College East and College West. For more information, visit www.ite.edu.sg.

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