SINGAPORE (Sept 12): Singtel has earmarked $45 million, over the span of three years, to deepen the digital skills of its 12,600 employees in Singapore, to enable them to thrive in the digital economy.
The signing ceremony today at Singtel8@George saw Singtel and the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) ink a three-year Memorandum of Understanding on the formation of a Company Training Committee (CTC) to implement the ACT initiative.
The ACT initiative 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.
Ng Chee Meng, Secretary-General of NTUC, who witnessed the signing of the MOU as a special guest, says, “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.”
Singtel’s chief human resources officer Aileen Tan says, ““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.”
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.
Recent efforts include digital learning app called CURIOUS to help employees on their digital learning journeys, as well as giving all full-time staff two days of leave each year to attend SkillsFuture courses. In the past year, over 600 employees have undergone skills conversion to take on new roles through initiatives like the Professional Conversion Programme and Company-Led Training programmes, with another 1,000 employees expected to do so by early 2020.
