More PMEs are joining the Labour Movement to register an all-time high of 171,500 Union Members. With an increasing proportion of PMEs going to NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) for help, these trends affirm the Labour Movement’s drive to increase efforts to assist them. According to NTUC’s e2i, a co-organiser of the Summit, the proportion of PMEs going to NTUC’s e2i for assistance in job placements and enhancing their employability has increased. They made up 34% of jobseekers who sought employment services at e2i in 2012; up from 31% in 2011 and 21% in 2010 (see Annex A for programmes by e2i).
An online poll conducted by NTUC Membership in December 2012 of over 1,500 PMEs found that the majority of PMEs surveyed seek reliable and expert advice on climbing the career ladder and value soft skills.
In view of these findings and to do more for PMEs, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will launch the first-ever Future Leaders Summit and a month-long learning festival to aid them in career planning, learning and development. At the Summit, over 25 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), industry experts and entrepreneurs will join leaders from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to share insights, future industry trends and affirm the Labour Movement’s support for PMEs in their learning and development needs.
With the theme “Inspiring the CEO in U”, the Summit is the first multi-sector learning platform organised by NTUC, spanning various industries and featuring household names such as CEO of NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Limited, Seah Kian Peng, Chairman of Changi Airport Group, Liew Mun Leong, and other leading figures in the business arena such as Mohamed Ismail Gafoor (Founder, PropNex), Douglas Foo (Founder, Sakae Holdings Ltd), Violet Lim (Founder, Lunch Actually Group), Chan Chong Beng (Chairman Goodrich Global Pte Ltd), Adam Khoo (Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group), Steve Melhuish (Founder, PropertyGuru Group). Over 1,000 PMEs are expected to attend the Summit which takes place between 15 and 16 June 2013.
The Future Leaders Summit 2013 will also kick-off a month-long learning festival with courses and programmes organised by management institutions such as Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), Next U, Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) and Kezzar Social Learning Pte Ltd.
Next U, (the executive education arm of NTUC LearningHub) is a co-organiser of the learning festival. For keen participants, Next U provides courses leading to industry-recognised certifications like PMP (Project Management Professional). These courses serve to update their personal work effectiveness and skills sets in leadership, people management and business topics like Business Analytics. Moving forward, Next U will be introducing various training delivery modes to make upgrading more accessible, innovative and fun for busy PMEs - e.g. live virtual classes, overseas learning journeys, e-learning courses, mobile learning to enable learning from any location and on any device.
NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, Heng Chee How said “Thirty years ago, PMEs formed a small percentage of our workforce. Today they form one-third and by 2030 they will form two-thirds. Moreover, as the workplace evolves, the NTUC as a social partner and as part of nation-building feels it is important to help our workers keep on top of evolving trends and help them ride the crest of the wave, helping to keep our workers ahead of the curve. So, these two days of the Future Leaders Summit are part of our sustained effort to support our PMEs’ own aspirations and efforts.”
