MR TONY Kam's O-level results were not good enough to get him into a pre-university course - but his career turned out pretty well after all.

He enrolled in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and graduated in 1976 with what was then called an Industrial Technician Certificate.

His first job paid $1,000 a month, but he now makes 20 times that much as country manager for technology products at software firm Oracle.

His story of determination was highlighted yesterday by Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in a speech at the ITE graduation ceremony.

He pointed out that the first job for many an ITE graduate is 'just the start of a journey of continuous learning'.

Mr Kam, 50, is an apt example. After leaving the ITE, he worked as a customer engineer at IBM, earning about $1,000 a month. He then moved to the company's sales department. After 19 years with IBM, he left to become an account director at Sun Microsystems.

During that time, he also earned a marketing diploma from the Marketing Institute of Singapore and a certification in management from the Singapore Institute of Management.

Said Mr Kam, who now manages a nine-man sales team at Oracle: 'Papers are important, but you can't beat experience.'