SMMWU and EM Services Form Committee to Look into Workers’ Training Needs

By Fawwaz Baktee

• SMMWU and EM Services formed a Company Training Committee to train 1,100 rank-and-file employees.
• SMMWU also signed training agreements with five other companies, pledging to set up CTCs that will collectively benefit 5,300 at its 60^th anniversary dinner.

Some 1,100 rank-and-file employees from EM Services will be supported with training to face current and future needs of facilities management.

Job types that will be impacted include those in property management, technicians and supervisors, administrative support, horticulture management, project management and operations support.

To achieve the training objectives for its workers, the company signed an agreement with the Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) to form a company training committee (CTC) on 29 November 2019 at the union’s 60^th anniversary dinner.

Among the rank-and-file employees who will benefit, 65 per cent are over the age of 40.

EM Services currently manages 60 per cent of Singapore’s townships.

Training Support

With the CTC, SMMWU and EM Services will focus on building workers’ adaptive, technology and technical skills. 

The union said that it will build on EM Services’ existing training plans, which have seen employees trained in Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the use of GOfm – an integrated system that digitalises the company’s work processes using big data.

The CTC will also see SMMWU and EM Services explore new training areas such as drone operations and data interpretation and analysis in the next three to five years.

SMMWU said it will leverage the ground to help workers understand how their jobs will evolve in tandem with technology.

Additionally, the union will tap on the expertise of NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and NTUC LearningHub to train the workers.

“To survive in today’s rapidly changing world where technologies disrupt everything and challenge existing business models, we have to adapt quickly. In a service industry like facility management, where human resource is our greatest asset, to adapt means to continuously upskill to be relevant to our customers. EM Services has been training its people all this while, and with the formation of the company training committee with SMMWU, the effort of training and learning will be further emphasised and intensified,” said EM Services CEO Tony Khoo.

Other Training Agreements

The anniversary event also saw SMMWU sign training agreements with five other companies, pledging to set up CTCs that will collectively benefit 5,300 workers.

The five companies are BHG Singapore, Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, Orchid Country Club, Aranda Country Club, Parkway Pantai and ST Engineering Land Systems.

SMMWU Secretary-General David Yeo said: “Industry 4.0 has brought about new opportunities and challenges for workers in every sector. SMMWU is committed to helping our workers upskill and build their capabilities, so they feel confident, competitive and relevant amidst this rapidly changing workscape. We look forward to partnering these six companies to achieve ‘win-win’ outcomes for both the businesses and workers.”

• What is a Company Training Committee?

A company training committee is an initiative implemented at company level between union leaders and company management.

Working together, the committee will assess skills development gaps in the company, articulate Worker 4.0 and training requirements for the company, drive company-based training programmes identified in the company's Worker 4.0 plan, and coordinate feedback for training improvements.