To remain a relevant voice for all working people, the Labour Movement has to evolve with the changing economic and social landscape. Besides ensuring our unions remain strong and continue to add value to industrial relations and help our workers in their skills upgrading and lifelong learning, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is also reaching out to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) and non-unionised workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To continue to serve a new generation of workers who are looking for professional development and network opportunities, NTUC launched the U Associate Programme in 2011 as a key strategic effort to engage professional associations and support more PMEs.
The NTUC U Associate Programme comprises an ecosystem of associations across various sectors including Finance, Human Resource, Project Management, Marketing, Engineering and more. As partners, we work together with a sectoral focus to develop career and skills progression plans for our PMEs in these sectors. Through these alliances, we help prepare our professionals to be future-ready and open up opportunities for both the associations and PMEs.
U Associate doubles number of partners
Today at the second U Associate Convention, the Labour Movement announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with another four professional associations doubling the total number of U Associate partners to 26 from just 12 since the last Convention held in January 2015.
The four new associations are: Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore) (APACS) and Singapore Association of Administrative Professionals (SAAP).
The inclusion of DMAS and IEEE strengthens the marketing and engineering pillars of the U Associate network ecosystem. With APACS (healthcare) and SAAP (administration) coming on board, the U Associate Programme has now grown to cover 16 professional sectors which also includes human resource, finance, information technology and others.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by NTUC President Mary Liew, NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing as well as our new U Associate partners’ executive councils. Others present include current U Associate partners and union leaders.
Launch of U Associate Leaders’ Circle
NTUC has also launched the U Associate Leaders’ Circle (UALC), a leadership group convened by the Labour Movement. Comprising top leaders of the different U Associate partners, the voluntary leadership body will meet quarterly with the NTUC Secretary-General to engage in issues affecting their industry via a roundtable dialogue discussion. The first session for this year will be held in April with the topic likely to focus on post-Budget 2016.
Representing a wide array of professions, the UALC is the first of its kind to promote greater collaboration among the top leaders across these professional associations, thereby forming a unique ecosystem to support our PMEs in the future. This also helps strengthen the bond between the NTUC and the professional associations.
Moving forward, NTUC will work with the UALC to ascertain skill gaps in the market and develop sectoral progression programmes, embarking on cross-sector collaborations where appropriate. UALC will also act as a consultative partner to the Labour Movement in relation to matters concerning the PMEs.
"We are concerned for our PMEs and want them to be future-ready. That is why the Labour Movement is growing our U Associate ecosystem so that we can collaborate across sectors and create forward-looking skills progression pathways which are designed and delivered by practitioners,” said Mr Vivek Kumar, Director, NTUC U Associate and U Future Leaders.
U Associate Convention 2016
Following the successful inaugural event in 2015, U Associate Convention 2016 was held today in the NTUC Auditorium at One Marina Boulevard. The Convention was attended by some 500 participants comprising of thought leaders, professionals, management partners and members of our U Associate partners.
Invited keynote speakers included Mr Scott Anthony, Managing Partner of Innosight, and Mr Peter Ho, CEO of HOPE Technik. NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing also engaged participants in a closed-door dialogue.
Centered on the theme “Disruptive Innovation”, the Convention reinforced the need for PMEs to push boundaries by changing their current norms, innovating with new solutions and impacting the environment around them.
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Additional quotes from our union and new U Associate partners:
Ms K Thanaletchimi, President of Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU)“With PMEs joining the unions, the U Associate programme will allow us to partner these professional bodies to provide relevant continuous education and greater career opportunities for our members. We can also work with these associations to create awareness of their profession and the jobs that they offer, especially to our younger members who may be uncertain of their career directions and pathways.”
Ms Abigail Lee, President of Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore) (APACS), 2016-2018“The partnership between APACS and NTUC is a win-win proposition for both parties. On one hand, APACS members can gain access to the rich resources and connectivity of the U Associate ecosystem while the latter can gainfully tap on the expertise of our members who are highly trained and specialised in their various fields of psychological therapy, thereby increasing awareness, personal and corporate development and training.”
Ms Lisa Watson, Chairman of Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS)“DMAS is delighted to be part of the U Associate ecosystem. This partnership enhances the benefits of DMAS membership significantly by opening the door to a values-exchange platform designed to educate, create opportunities for and enhance the employability of PMEs within and beyond the Marketing cluster.”
Ms Regina Tan, President of Singapore Association of Administrative Professionals (SAAP), 2015-2016“SAAP is excited to be invited as the strategic partner of NTUC. The collaboration provides an opportunity for administrative professionals to enhance their skills through a specially-designed comprehensive course and to position themselves in the modern administrative management.”
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