Singtel is investing S$45 million over three years to deepen the digital skills of its 12,600 employees in Singapore and enable them to thrive in the digital economy. The initiative, dubbed ACT, aims to Accelerate employee learning and skills development, empower employees to Co-create their skills pathways and Transform employee roles to ensure they remain relevant in the digital economy.
Singtel’s Group Chief Human Resources Officer Ms Aileen Tan said, “With technology and our industry evolving so quickly, constant re-skilling and retraining is critical. The ACT initiative is designed to help our employees deepen their digital capabilities as we accelerate our digital transformation efforts. This includes programmes that encourage them to embrace continuous learning and actively manage their professional development in anticipation of longer career spans. This will ensure we have an agile, future-ready workforce that can meet the demands of the new economy.”
At a signing ceremony Thursday, Singtel and the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) inked a three-year Memorandum of Understanding on the formation of a Company Training Committee (CTC) to implement the ACT initiative.
Mr Ng Chee Meng, Secretary-General of NTUC, who witnessed the signing of the MOU as Special Guest, said, “Technology, media and telecommunications companies are driving digital innovation and transformation, but they are not immune to the challenges brought about by Industry 4.0. In this vein, I’m encouraged that Singtel is the first telco to partner the Labour Movement in setting up a CTC to help their workers be future-ready with new or different skillsets. With continued commitment from our tripartite partners, I’m confident that we can achieve three big ‘Wins’: Win for Singapore’s economy, Win for our businesses, and importantly, Win for our workers.”
Mr Thuvinder Singh, UTES General Secretary, said, “At UTES, we regularly walk the ground to understand the impact of technology on our employees’ careers and we have also worked closely with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) on various training platforms. Through this CTC, UTES will work closely with Singtel in adopting the 3Cs approach – Commitment, Constant Collaboration and Cohesiveness – to train and prepare employees for jobs of the future. Technology may advance at an unrelenting pace, but as long as employees, union and management keep a positive mindset and embrace change, we can progress and thrive in this transformation journey!”
The signing ceremony took place at Singtel@8George, officially opened as a facility for Singtel employees to come together to learn, ideate and innovate. Since embarking on its digital transformation in 2012, Singtel has digitalised its core consumer and enterprise businesses as well as developed new growth drivers in the areas of digital marketing and cyber security. It is also building out a regional digital ecosystem in mobile financial services and gaming, and leveraging analytics and artificial intelligence to improve customer service and customer engagement. By early 2020, some 3,000 Singtel staff are set to benefit from a customised SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme aimed at strengthening their digital skills.
