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With 70 per cent of Singapore’s workforce working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the Labour Movement has been working with SME bosses and human resource (HR) managers to put in place good employment practices so that their workers are better taken care of. As digital technology has the potential to transform businesses, SMEs’ ability to evolve and stay relevant amid technological disruptions becomes key to the competitiveness and survival of the businesses and their workers. In this light, National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) U SME is urging and supporting SMEs to embark on their digitisation journey and strengthen their digital capabilities to enhance their competitiveness.
Building Digital Capability
While digital technology and innovation can help businesses create ideas and value in their products and services, some SMEs may not know what digital tools are available or may find the cost of adopting these technologies too high for them. Thus, to assist SMEs in adopting digital technology and enhancing their digital capabilities, U SME is working with Nanyang Polytechnic’s Customer Experience and Analytics Centre (CEAC) to help U SME’s partners on their digital transformation journey.
Together with lecturers from a multi-disciplinary team, students at CEAC will work with the SMEs to leverage digital technology and provide solutions to actual business challenges and issues faced by the SMEs. Through this industry collaboration, the SMEs will be provided with a range of business solutions in customer experience management, particularly focusing on social media, customer analytics and omnichannel interactions management. The students will help the SMEs analyse their digital footprint, monitor and manage their social media interactions; as well as plan and execute digital engagement strategies.
Through this collaboration, students will benefit from being able to apply what they have learned to real-world situations. They will also gain knowledge of running a business and learn about the challenges and constraints faced by SMEs. The collaboration will enrich the learning experience of these students who are in their final year of study and prepare them for the new job demands in this digital age.
As SMEs adopt new digital technologies, workers need to adapt and renew their skills to enhance their employability and future-proof themselves too. To help workers in this area, U SME will work with training providers such as the NTUC LearningHub to provide relevant training for them to stay abreast with the digital technological advancements.
“We are excited and look forward to working with Nanyang Polytechnic and helping our SMEs thrive in the digital age. The student projects will provide U SME partners with an avenue to adopt digital technology and improve their productivity. Ultimately, the collaborations between the Labour Movement’s expanding network and SMEs aim to benefit the enterprises so that together we can take better care of our workers,” said Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Assistant Director-General of NTUC who oversees U SME.
NTUC SME Symposium 2017
Coinciding with CEAC’s official opening, U SME held its SME Symposium 2017 for the third consecutive year today at Nanyang Polytechnic. The Symposium, which was attended by some 300 SME bosses and HR managers, including U SME partners, shared with business leaders insights and strategies that SMEs can embark on to address the global economic challenges such as manpower crunch, rising business cost and increasing competition. Leaders of home-grown companies that have successfully internationalised their businesses also shared their experiences and tips for expanding business overseas.
NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing also engaged participants in a closed-door dialogue in this morning’s session while Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade & Industry, was part of the second dialogue session in the afternoon. Other notable plenary speakers included Mr Alvin Yapp, Corporate Affairs Director, BusAds Pte Ltd; Mr Lim Tian Wee, Executive Director, Gryphone Tea Company; Mr Dennis Tay, Founder, NAIISE and Mr Joel Sng, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, honestbee.
Moving forward, as one of the appointed P-Max programme managers, U SME will continue to reach out to more SMEs and work with the SME bosses to assist them in recruiting, training, managing and retaining their newly-hired PMEs. U SME will also work with HR professionals to assist SMEs in tapping on existing Government schemes such as the Professional Conversion Programme to reskill their workers for tomorrow jobs. Through P-Max, SMEs will also receive help in establishing better communication channels between supervisors and staff, and adopting progressive HR practices for newly-hired PMEs.
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