In 1973, when the mobile phone was not yet a thing and computers were still rare and blocky curiosities, Mr Lee Voon Phaw decided to study to become an electrical engineer at Ngee Ann Technical College, the predecessor of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Today, his diploma programme no longer exists, a relic of an earlier time in Singapore’s industrial development, when engineers were kings of the job market.

Mr Lee, now 70, is one of seven polytechnic graduates The Straits Times spoke to who went through polytechnic diploma programmes that have since been discontinued.

These courses – spanning applied drama, informatics, digital media design, outdoor and adventure learning, and more – trained Singapore’s first wave of theatre educators, semiconductor makers and IT workers.

Each programme’s rise and fall trace the path of an industry, from the birth, peak and decline of Singapore’s video game sector to how white-collar work has gradually displaced blue-collar jobs in Singapore.

When Mr Lee and his wife, Ms Connie Lim, also 70, started pursuing their diplomas, their school was not yet a polytechnic. In 1973, they were the new kids on the block at Ngee Ann Technical College, which was renamed Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 1982.

Mr Lee’s diploma in electrical and electronic engineering was later reconstituted into a more specialised programme in 1981. In contrast, Ms Lim’s business studies programme, which started accepting students in 1969, has the rare distinction of being one of the country’s longest-running diploma programmes.

How did they pick their courses? “Back in 1973, the most important consideration was bread and butter. We did not consider our own interests,” says Mr Lee, who attended secondary school in Sarawak. “Engineering meant good opportunities, so I did engineering....