Opening Address by Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State, Ministry of Education at the National Workplace Learning Conference 2024, Sands Expo and Convention Centre

Introduction

1. Good afternoon everyone. It is my pleasure to join you at the third National Workplace Learning Conference.

2. This year's theme, "Harnessing Local and Global Partnerships for Workplace Learning Excellence", reflects our collective commitment to bring workplace learning to greater heights. I know Workplace Learning is not a new concept, and I know most of you have been championing and driving progress in this space. For us to be able to continue to accelerate the growth, I think we have to work collectively. So the word "Collective" matters a lot here. I am happy to see so many dedicated local and international professionals who are united by this common goal.

Workplace Learning as a Key Enabler for Enterprises

3. Workforce and skills development have become a key priority for companies to stay competitive and relevant, as they have to continually adapt their business models and processes with technological changes and seize opportunities that many of these new technologies bring.

1. It is a win-win relationship. When employers invest in employees' training, they can become more productive, innovative and resilient.
2. While these longer-term benefits are well-known to companies and many of you in this room, we know that the short-term opportunity cost of training can deter or slow down action. I hear that feedback a lot, especially from our SMEs. SMEs face different degrees of manpower challenges in sending their employees for external training.

4. We hope that workplace learning can address this tension, as learning is brought into the workplace as an alternative to external classroom learning. Workers can upskill on-the-job while completing their daily tasks.

1. Research shows that 70% of our learning comes from working on-the-job or experiences gained at the workplace, 20% from coaching and mentoring and only 10% from formal classroom training.
2. Hands-on experiences make it easier for our workers to contextualise the knowledge and skills required to complete their work tasks.

5. Local research also found that companies with strong workplace learning practices saw greater productivity growth and employee retention. Take ST Logistics as an example.

1. ST Logistics established a Company Training Committee that aligned learning programmes with their strategic goals, forming over 65 Citizen Development Communities of Practice and embarking on various projects.
2. The company has seen an increase in skills attainment rate from 76% in 2023 to 92% in 2024.
3. Together with other initiatives, ST Logistics saw a boost in productivity and enhanced employee engagement. Employee retention rates has also improved by 5% in the last two years.

Supporting Enterprises to Develop Workplace Learning Capabilities

6. NACE, the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning, was set up in 2018 to drive workplace learning adoption in Singapore.

1. NACE offers training programmes in the key components of workplace learning such as developing on-the-job training blueprints and conducting skills gap analysis. It also offers unique-to-the-company consultancy services for them to build workplace learning systems that is customised for the company.
2. Since its inception, NACE has empowered about 3,000 enterprises and trained over 16,000 employees, enhancing their capabilities in workplace learning design, skills-gap analysis, and mentorship.

7. Prince's Landscape is one of the companies that has benefited from NACE's support and also incorporated the National Workplace Learning Framework in its day-to-day operations.

1. The company champions continuous skills development for its more than 400 employees through training plans, data dashboards to track their development processes, and mentorship from senior management.
   1. In particular, the company recognises that leaders play an integral role as learning facilitators and supported them to undergo qualifications such as the Workplace Learning Facilitators Certification.
   2. This focus on leadership development ensures a robust pipeline of skilled learning facilitators to drive continuous learning within the company. It is not good enough to just have upskilling and continuous learning for employees on the ground, but also the managers and leaders of the company also need to facilitate in order to achieve a sustainable pace of workplace learning.
2. I am delighted to share that Prince's Landscape is one of the eleven organisations who will be receiving the National Workplace Learning Certification Award today. How about a round of applause for these companies!
   1. These companies are recognised for their excellence and commitment in creating high-quality workplace learning cultures.
   2. They have invested in employee competencies not just for operational efficiency, but as a key business imperative.
   3. I would like to encourage all companies to follow them, and to incorporate workplace learning practices within your organisation.

8. Last year, NACE introduced the Workplace Learning: READY (WpL: READY) Mark. This certifies companies with basic workplace learning capabilities.

1. Once certified, companies can benefit from the Workplace Skills Recognition Programme. Instead of sending workers for external training, they can recognise the skills acquired on-the-job, and fast-track the attainment of Workforce Skills Qualifications certifications.
2. To-date, more than 110 enterprises across over 20 sectors have registered in the programme. 15 enterprises have successfully attained the Workplace Learning: READY Mark, with 4 more expected to be certified by the end of this year and I certainly hope that the pace will pick up in the years to come.

9. As change often needs to start from the top, NACE is further launching two new training programmes targeted at business leaders and managers to accelerate the adoption of workplace learning.

1. These new programmes are developed based on insights from past winners who were awarded the National Workplace Learning Certification Award.
2. They will empower you to become champions of learning and equip you with the tools and strategies to foster a vibrant learning culture within your company.

Building Local and Global Partnerships in Workplace Learning

10. It is encouraging to see how NACE has grown over the years.

1. When Nanyang Polytechnic spearheaded this effort in 2018, we learnt from European countries like Germany and Switzerland who have deeply integrated vocational education systems with extensive apprenticeship programmes. We adapted the German and Swiss methodologies for our local companies.
2. In the last five years, we have set up more NACE centres – one in each of the five Polytechnics, Singapore Institute of Technology and the Institute for Adult Learning.
   1. For example, Grab. Grab is a SkillsFuture Queen Bee company. It partners NACE to offer mentorship and coaching workshops for SMEs in the Food Services Sector.
   2. Such sectoral support from experienced network partners can be particularly helpful for SMEs in identifying their skills needs.
3. NACE has also deepened ties with industry intermediaries such as Skills Development Partners and our SkillsFuture Queen Bees.

11. Today, I am proud to witness NACE's formation of the Alliance of Workplace Learning Expert Organisations (AWE), comprising the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training, IHK Exportakademie, and the International Professional University of Technology in Tokyo.

1. The Alliance allows NACE to share Singapore's experience and best practices, while continuing to learn from overseas examples, and through joint conferences, seminars and overseas learning trips, we hope to be able to learn and share much more.
2. Insights that are gained by NACE through the Alliance could be incorporated into NACE's training programmes and consultancy in the future, benefitting even more local companies.

Conclusion

12. Workplace learning is a fundamental shift in how we approach skills development and business growth. We are on this journey to scale up workplace learning in Singapore together and to create a culture among companies where learning is more seamlessly integrated into work.

13. I would like to once again congratulate the recipients of the National Workplace Learning Certification Award on your efforts in incorporating learning into the workplace.

14. And for all companies in this room and out there: Regardless of where you are in the journey to incorporate learning into your workplaces, I encourage you to tap on the support offered by NACE and other ecosystem partners to develop and improve your workplace learning practices.

15. I wish everyone a fruitful conference ahead. Thank you.