So far, 60 ITE staff members and students in total have been trained under the refurbishment programme, said an ITE spokesman. The course will be extended to all students as a separate elective by April 2024.
The course also aims to train 720 ITE students and more than 1,000 members of the public under a separate SkillsFuture programme over three years, to help them find jobs in the sustainability field. It will also bolster the electronics manufacturer’s refurbishment capabilities.
Students will be trained to assess the condition of used gadgets, erase data, and decide which devices are fit for refurbishment and which should be scrapped for parts for use elsewhere, Lenovo country general manager Nigel Lee told The Straits Times.
With the help of digital simulators, students will learn how to judge which parts should be removed and what components can be added to a used device to help it run smoothly, he added.
The programme with ITE aims to train a workforce that is adept at refurbishing, which Mr Lee believes will be crucial to sustainability efforts in the manufacturing sector.
Refurbishment helps to extend the lifespan of devices, resulting in less electronic waste.
ITE chief executive Low Khah Gek said: “This partnership between ITE, Lenovo and AMD is forward-thinking, with clarity of purpose on sustainability, decarbonisation and technological innovation.”
Students in the programme will also be trained to maintain devices and troubleshoot common issues and will be recognised as Lenovo-certified technicians.
Devices for refurbishment typically come from customer trade-ins or corporate clients who use Lenovo devices on a subscription basis, said Mr Lee. “These customers normally use the laptops for up to five years,” he added, “but if you refurbish it, the devices can last three more years or longer, depending on the software.”