Diploma and ITE graduates: One race to the top |
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Should ITE grads and diploma holders be given the opportunity to work their way through to becoming the CEO or board of directors of a company? Should the SAF admit ITE grads and diploma holders into its ranks of commissioned officers? Would there be a diploma holding General in the future? Should the paper qualifications be a requirement to helm a team of people? To be admitted into Parliament? To undertake jobs that have tremendous responsibility and sharp, informed decision making?  This whole ASPIRE team set forth by the Prime Minister and the increased reminder not to be obsessed with paper qualifications, is such an important piece of work for this country that I sincerely hope that it will not become a watered down effort. The most disappointing situation is when all these efforts only bring about a mere increase of the glass ceiling by a few inches. I do not want to see lip service by the very mega organisations whose action are pivotal to setting examples for the rest of the country. It is too easy to tell the whole world that employees are “given opportunities to climb the corporate ladder”. The question is: how high is the skilled and ambitious individual allowed to climb? Is this climbing rewarded by salary? I hope I’m not painting a gloomy and unrealistic picture here. Paper qualifications is and must continue to be a significant deciding factor of your pay grade and rank. It does demonstrate a fair amount of dedication and a quantifiable benchmark of skill. If a person is ambitious and driven enough, he/she should go out and get the qualifications needed. What I’m saying is, if this country is serious about real shift in attitudes for diploma and ITE graduands, they should remove these glass ceilings and create rejuvenated energy for the climbing workers to move as high and as fast as they can! It is exciting to realise that you may have the ability to qualify for the position of a CEO or director! I remember a scene in the 80s movie “Back To The Future II”, when Marty tells a cleaning boy that he would be voted Mayor in the future! Isn’t that an exciting ambition?  The position of Member of Parliament has no educational qualification requirement set to it and gives a big morale boost to an aspiring MP to realise that it is possible for him/her to sit in the country’s highest body of decision making. I find it very disheartening that for so many decades, organisations and corporations create two career ladders: one for the degree holder, and one for the others. Why should workers be discriminated this way? Why can’t it be just one race to the top? And by top, it should be the -very- top. This article first appeared on Five Stars And A Moon. It is reproduced with permission. |
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