By Geraldine Peters and Ryan Chan
Building the physical landscape of tomorrow’s Singapore in a land scarce nation is a big challenge, but NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing is confident that the engineers of Singapore will rise to the challenge.
Speaking as Guest-Of-Honour at the Engineers and Sustainable Development Forum 2015, SG Chan shared that one of the major tasks of the Labour Movement beyond upping workers’ technical skills is to put programmes in place to help them rise up to the highest leadership positions possible in their respective organisations.
Attended by some 400 people on 4 June 2015 at the NTUC Centre, the Forum saw the unveiling of the Progression Pathways scheme, geared at nurturing young talent as well as mid-career and senior engineers for leadership roles.
The scheme is jointly developed by NTUC and U Associate partner The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES).
Engineers Progression Pathway
Aimed at all engineers at different stages of their careers, the scheme will provide a three-tier career progression pathway comprising the Young Engineers Leadership Programme (YEL), the Advanced Engineering Leadership Programme (AEL) and the Global Engineering Leadership Programme (GEL).
YEL is targeted at nurturing young talents in the Engineering Industry through career development platforms as well as providing continuous engagement and networking opportunities. Launched in August last year, the year-long programme has proved successful for some 250 Engineers
AEL will equip mid-career engineers with a customised programme of the soft skills required for career advancement while GEL will allow l senior engineers the opportunity to attain C-Suite positions in the industry.
“With this scheme, IES and NTUC hope to create long term career development for engineers, raise standards in the engineering field and groom a strong pipeline of engineering leaders,” said IES President Er Chong Kee Sen.
Facing the Challenges Ahead
SG Chan noted that leadership skills are important in helping these engineers stay future-ready for the challenges that come.
“We have our engineers to thank for where we are at today. It is why we must not only continue to do well, but also inspire a new generation of engineers to come forward to work towards SG100.
“NTUC will work very closely with IES to make sure that we continue to attract young, bright students to come into the engineering faculty so we can have continue to have a new generation of engineers who dare to dream and bring us to even greater heights when we get there,” he said.
Doing More for PMEs
With an estimated 1.2 million Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) in Singapore expected to become the majority of the entire workforce in less than 20 years, there are plans to give focus to PMEs in other sectors, such as Financial Planning and Workplace Safety and Health.
NTUC will continue look to leverage on the technical expertise of its U Associate partners like the Institute of Advertising, Singapore and Singapore Human Resources Institute to do more for PMEs.
Mr Vivek Kumar, Director of NTUC U Associate and Future Leaders Programme, said: “This is a crucial step in the right direction on our journey to equip Singapore’s PMEs in all sectors with the necessary skills to ensure their future-readiness to take on the ever-changing challenges in the global economy.”
Source: NTUC This Week
