Good afternoon,
My name is Desmond Tan. I have been looking forward to this graduation ceremony ever since I completed my diploma course in 2019. It is a great honour for me to be standing on this podium to deliver the valedictory speech today. To be frank, I was flabbergasted when I first received the invitation from SIPMM to share my learning experience and joyful moment with everyone but at the same time felt honoured and proud to do so.
Times had been rough and challenging especially for the past few years when we had to brace through the pandemic, economic downturn, and many uncertainties but fortunately, we managed to hold the ground, stayed strong and not succumb to these negative impacts. I believe everyone here shares the same sentiment as I do.
For the past nine years, I was working for a steel piping and structures fabrication company in Singapore, supporting the quality and safety management. Then I was given a secondary task to be the person in charge of materials sourcing, purchasing and inventory management. As I did not have any prior experience and the necessary knowledge to this new job scope, I had difficulties and setbacks in getting positive results. Yes, the work was challenging and daunting, but I was determined to overcome it as I strongly believe that this would be beneficial to my career advancement.
Then when I least expected, an opportunity came knocking on my door. A friend introduced to me SIPMM which offers part-time diploma courses. Initially, I hesitated in enrolling because it has been ages since I graduated from ITE in 2000. The thought of picking up the book again and must spend time juggling between work and studies put me into fear. Will I be able to make it? Is it a waste of time and money? What if I fail? Those were my worries back then. But after thinking through and received encouragement from my wife, I stopped doubting myself and decided to go for it. With the aid of the SkillsFuture credits, I signed up for the Diploma in Procurement and Supply Management course at SIPMM.
During the course, I realised that I developed great interest and enthusiasm to understand more on how the procurement and supply chain works. The information I acquired from the course are essential and provided great help in my job. This proved that I made the right decision in joining SIPMM which I will never regret.
I could vividly remember those days which I had to rush to my SIPMM classes on time after a long day at work while taking quick bites on some breads to ease my hunger along the way and spent the weekends doing research on course projects. It was tiring but I felt that it was worth my time and effort invested as the learning process at SIPMM from experienced lecturers has enhanced my knowledge in the basics, fundamentals and operational strategies of various businesses covering the Procurement and Supply Chain segment. I am very sure many of you would share a similar experience as I did.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our lecturers Professor Poh, Mr Alex Loo and Mr Choo who are experienced and professional. They are patient, committed, selflessness and thoughtful to share their experience and provided guidance to us throughout the course. We spent quality time on role-playing scenarios covering the procurement and supply chain area in which the companies are currently practicing for their businesses. This helped us understand better and easier for us to remember too. The lessons were fun, informative and interactive which kept everyone in the class enthusiastic. When it came to working on the projects, Professor Poh was very helpful in guiding us so that we can focus on doing the right things rather than spending time correcting our wrongs.
Once again, Thank you Professor Poh, Mr Alex Loo, and Mr Choo. Without your help and guidance, I don’t think I will be able to achieve an outstanding result. I would also like to specially thank my wife and friends who supported and gave me encouragement throughout my course duration.
Dear fellow graduands, our road to learning does not ends here. Do stay positive, do not doubt yourself and continue to gain knowledge as you grow. Grab hold of every possible learning opportunity that may cross your path and bring out the full potential in you.
Last but not least, congratulations to all graduands and I wish all of us every success in our future endeavours.
Thank you.
