27 October 2019
Mr Chua Kah Sheng was one of 14 graduates this year from the Singapore Institute of Technology who were part of the SkillsFuture Work-Study Degree Programme.
In his final year of university, Mr Chua attended school for only half a day each week. The other four days were spent at the Defence Science and Technology Agency, where he was doing a year-long internship in data analytics.
Mr Chua, who received a bachelor’s degree with honours in information and communications technology (software engineering), now works as a data analytics engineer at DSTA.
The scheme, which was until recently known as the Earn and Learn Programme, is a key part of a national drive to send the signal that job experience is as important as, if not sometimes more vital than, holding a degree that may be irrelevant to the needs of workplaces.
Mr Chua told the media: “The experience and skills I picked up during my internship were applicable to my school modules as well. I am able to better think from the user’s perspective… I think the key takeaway from this experience would be the skills I’ve learnt — technical and soft.”