Singapore, November 19, 2021 — The Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), an autonomous institute of Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) inked Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with eight enterprise partners in a signing ceremony today that are aimed at bolstering workforce learning capabilities.
Guest-of-Honour Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, graced the ceremony, held in conjunction with IAL’s Learning Enterprise Alliance (LEA) Awards Ceremony 2021, at Fairmont Singapore.
The MOUs seek to create an ecosystem that supports the use of workplace learning to drive enterprise transformation. The partnership agreement with each enterprise partner has been tailored according to the organisation’s needs and development plan and will last for an average of three years.
Seven of these enterprise partners span multiple industry sectors, including and not limited to community and facility management, engineering, health and security. These are Aegis Building & Engineering Pte Ltd, Ashtree International Pte Ltd, Certis CISCO Security Pte Ltd, National University Health System, SingHealth Community Hospitals, Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association and TS Group Pte Ltd.
Representing IAL as signatory to the MOUs, Professor Lee Wing On, IAL’s Executive Director, said, “Strengthening workforce capabilities has always been essential to business growth and overall industry transformation, but its significance had been magnified over the past two years in response to the pandemic. As a strong advocate and driver for enterprise transformation leveraging workplace learning, IAL is immensely excited to collaborate with our partners to identify areas and opportunities for growth and put forward solutions that address critical learning needs to achieve better business outcomes.”
Strengthening leadership capabilities and workplace learning capabilities in the aviation sector
IAL, together with SUSS, also signed an MOU with Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) to enhance the leadership and management capabilities of SIA’s pilots, a welcome initiative that supports the recovery of the travel and tourism industry.
The partnership will see the three parties co-develop aviation related postgraduate programmes, graduate courses and executive management programmes for SIA pilots. The quality of SIA’s trainers will also be elevated through the corporate WSQ Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance (ACLP) programme and efforts will be made to identify possibilities for the joint offering of courses or programmes to SIA and SUSS learners, and co-develop approaches and practices that enhance organisational and workplace learning through efforts in the likes of coaching and mentoring.
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President, said, “We are delighted to be part of this partnership. The pandemic has amplified the importance of the Continuing Education and Training (CET) agenda. The upgrading and deepening of skillsets are essential, if not mandatory, for individuals to maintain a competitive edge in the new normal. When we engage in a culture of collaborative learning, it enables us to broaden our thinking and allows us to innovate solutions by tapping and improving on the ideas of others. This creates an endless cycle of improvement and enables us to be future-proof and ready for challenges that come our way.”
Advancing workplace learning and transformation
19 new members were also inducted into the LEA this year. An initiative under the Centre for Workplace Learning and Performance (CWLP), the LEA initiative facilitates a vibrant culture of knowledge sharing between enterprises of diverse sectors and Training and Adult Education (TAE) practitioners. This helps to create new touchpoints for networking and collaboration in driving workplace learning among enterprises. Over 80 enterprises representing diverse industries are currently part of this growing network, following the initiative’s launch in 2018. The new LEA members submitted their project proposals on workplace learning and transformation between November 2020 to January 2021 and were selected through a blind judging exercise.
“We recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to workplace learning. As the business environment continues to evolve, enterprises can always learn best practices from each other and use those insights to drive workplace transformation in their respective organisations. From employee professionalism, operational efficiency, to job redesign and digitalisation, there is a multitude of benefits for enterprises as they get engaged with continuous learning and improving performance. At IAL, we want to continually provide all enterprises with the right support as they embark on this journey,” Professor Lee added.
To strengthen its workplace learning initiatives, IAL will also roll out the SUSS-IAL Graduate Certificate in Workplace Learning (SUSS-IAL Grad Cert WPL), which will include courses imbued with authentic case studies, real-life examples and substantive reflections and a work-learn component where learners undertake real consultancy projects. This programme is expected to begin in early 2022 and will target employees in enterprises who play a pivotal role in strengthening employee capability and performance, and experienced adult educators who are looking to expand their expertise in workplace learning to provide workplace learning consultancy and training to enterprises.
For more details, please refer to the following enclosures:
- Annex A - List and Profiles of MOU Enterprise Partners
- Annex B - List of New Learning Enterprise Alliance Members
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For media queries and interviews, please contact:
Ms Tan Sock Gim
Deputy Director, Knowledge & Communication Management
Institute for Adult Learning
Email: tan_sock_gim@ial.edu.sg
About the Institute for Adult Learning
The Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) is an autonomous institute of the Singapore University of Social Sciences. IAL works closely and supports Adult Education professionals, businesses, human resource developers and policy makers through its comprehensive suite of programmes and services on raising capabilities and catalysing innovations in Continuing Education and Training (CET). IAL also champions research in sustaining economic performance through skills, shaping employment as well as CET decisions, and develops innovations through learning technology and pedagogy to heighten adult learning. For more information, visit https://www.ial.edu.sg.