Elvis Lee, a regional procurement manager of IKEA Southeast Asia, has nothing but praises for his alma mater, PSB Institute for Productivity Training (now known as PSB Academy), which has its beginnings tracing back to 1964.
“The Diploma in Business Administration has helped to open bigger doors of opportunities and develop my confidence, with the knowledge that I acquired from the programme,” he said.
After graduating from the Institute with a diploma in 1997, Elvis has benefited from his academic achievement as well as better exposure and experience by advancing to a better position and pay increment in his former company.
He recounted, “The knowledge and skillset that I learnt from the course, such as financial analysis skills, help me to better understand and interpret profits and losses (P&L) statements, balance sheets, and risk assessment on evaluating vendors for selection. I also benefited from the soft skills that I acquired, such as handling conflicts and mastering the art of stakeholder management.”
Upon looking back, Elvis was excited that he could be part of the student body in the Institute during the 1990s. At that time, he decided to pursue higher education because he believed in lifelong learning and wanted to add value to himself by staying competitive through learning new skills and adapting to new technologies and environments. He found the Institute to be well-positioned for working adults who wanted to pursue further studies on a part-time basis in Singapore.
Although there was no modern technology such as Teams meetings, mobile connectivity, social media platforms or remote working environments back in the days, he and his schoolmates were still able to learn in a fun, down-to-earth way by making efforts to meet face-to-face to work together on assignments. “Those were pleasurable moments of teamwork and togetherness,” he reminisced.
Elvis was pleased to find the curriculum offered by the Institute well planned and organised, as well as relevant to most of the things he encountered in real life. He also found that some lecturers were well equipped with practical life experiences to share, which made his studies more fun and meaningful.
“It’s a very systematic and structural way of studying, from which I cultivated self-discipline while balancing my work and study schedules,” he said. “All the skills and knowledge I acquired are still relevant and meaningful today, and they serve as a strong foundation for my career.”
About 14 years after his graduation, Elvis started working with IKEA and rose through the ranks. He felt that the foundation he gained in the school has helped him to have a good balance of business sense and financial analytical view when dealing with a financial assessment of vendor and business plans for IKEA. He is currently responsible for the Southeast Asian and Mexican markets, mainly focusing on indirect material and services procurement and overseeing a team of procurement managers who are based in various countries.
Some of the things that Elvis missed the most during his studies with the Institute include socialising, networking, having project time to work together with various team members, and the opportunities for work exchange experience. He said, “I love to see this great initiative that PSB Academy has offered to me continue to benefit many more working adults, as it is a good educational platform for those who are willing and eager to make changes in their lives.”
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