Removing the fear to learn is crucial in upskilling: panel
எஸ். வெங்கடேஷ்வரன்
WHETHER you are a small and medium-sized enterprise or multinational corporation, demystifying learning processes and removing the fear to learn is crucial when it comes to upgrading the skills of employees, said panellists at the SkillsFuture Forum on Tuesday (Jul 5).
Terms like machine learning or artificial intelligence can sound complicated and induce fear, especially among older workers, said Manohar Khiatani, the senior executive director of CapitaLand Investment. “You have to remove the fear, break it down into very small parts and get people to attend these courses,” he said.
Agreeing, Tan Ru-Ding, managing director of Flexmech Engineering, noted that buzzwords like Industry 4.0, Internet of Things and digitalisation can come across as intimidating to some. “If you really strip it bare, and just get down to the essence of it, it’s not that difficult,” he said. “I do think it is easier than what we think.”
Rather than impose on workers to take up difficult courses or subjects, panellists suggested employers should consider micro-courses and tap on the low hanging fruits first.
Noting the high level of support that businesses receive from the government and society, Khiatani cautioned the dangers of over-investing, and highlighted the need to “invest in the right things”.
Echoing this point, Ang Wan May, managing partner of Egon Zehnder, said that a key factor for organisational growth is creating a “culture of learning” and to practise providing constant feedback at all levels.
“At Egon Zehnder, we have performance appraisals where the key questions are ‘Who have you been apprenticing?’ or ‘What have you been learning?’ It’s a key indicator of whether we are doing our jobs well,” she noted.
Why invest in training?
Training staff puts them in a better place when contributing to the organisation, increases their value proposition and in turn attracts others to join in the future, noted Tan Kok Yam, chief executive of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). “If you don’t invest in the first place, then you are not even in the game to talk about a return on investment.”
For Flexmech’s Tan, he often has to deal with questions on what happens when a skilled person leaves a company. “What happens if you don’t train them and they stay? Isn’t that worse?,” he said. “People at my company, they stay for a long time, and if they don’t improve, we will be stuck in the dark ages.”
He coined the term “GRIP” which stands for - Grow or Rest in Peace - a phrase he often uses with his staff, he noted. “If you are not growing, you are actually sliding backwards.”
Corroborating upskilling with Singapore’s success, Khiatani pointed out that it’s not about infrastructure investments, but rather the maximisation of human capital that has led to it. “You cannot just be growing in a straight line, you got to achieve quantum leaps at times to be a successful company.”
Curiosity may kill the cat, but not your career
As a global management consulting company, Egon Zehnder has brought over 2,000 global CEOs into their roles. And based on their own hiring processes, Ang noted that curiosity is at the root of candidates’ potential.
Asking questions on the external environment with external curiosity and developing an inner self-awareness with internal curiosity, especially for organisational leaders, gives information and feedback to keep an organisation constantly learning, she added. “There are many other components of potential, but we see this as the biggest one.”
Linking this with the importance of workplace attachments or internships, SSG’s Tan noted that the workplace is dynamic and not as consistent as with classroom education. “The workplace changes, and you’ve got to learn. There are people around you to get feedback, so you’ve got to ask questions,” he said.
3 hands to clap
There are 3 aspects to the public-private partnership in the ongoing learning journey of Singaporean workers - enterprise, individual, and government, said SSG’s Tan.
The government looks across the industry, works with institutes of higher learning, and has the funding to activate private sector providers - to provide the “supply” of opportunities.
“The role of the enterprise is crucial, because if you don’t have the ability to aggregate, to make that link between what is your business transformation plan and how do you want to grow your business…then it’s difficult for the supply side to also figure out how to help,” he said.
As for individuals, there is a need to acknowledge the situation that very few workers spend their entire lifetime at a single company. As such, they need to take charge of their own career development, SSG’s Tan pointed out.
“The system can improve as a whole, and in good time, by using active feedback from different parties, and working together to do the aggregation and activation,” he added.
SkillsFuture Festival 2022 - What’s coming up
The SkillsFuture Forum, organised by SSG and supported by The Business Times and SPH Media, kicks off this year’s SkillsFuture Festival which runs till Aug 14 - featuring over 100 events such as roadshows and workshops, for working adults, businesses, students and the general public.
Participants can look forward to events such as CodeFuture with Apple which features jobs and training opportunities in iOS mobile development, and a Jobs and Skills Roadshow with the National Trade Union Congress where they will be exposed to various employment and training opportunities.
The festival, which includes online, hybrid and physical activities to cater to different learning interests and needs, aims to reach out to over 180,000 people and 2,000 enterprises. A full list of the events and more information are available at www.skillsfuturefestival.sg
Here are some of the upcoming events:
SkillsFuture Festival Enterprise Series (Hybrid event, Jul 5-Aug 14): Comprises masterclasses, seminars, panel discussions and networking sessions focusing on growth opportunities, for enterprises to upskill their workforce and augment their business capabilities.
SkillsFuture Festival Professional Series (Hybrid event, Jul 5-Aug 14): Aims to equip working professionals with information on technology, sustainability, and personal development to build skills knowledge and enhance their employability.
SkillsFuture Roadshow (Physical event, Jul 8-10): Held at Suntec City, it provides information on in-demand sectors, career and training opportunities, as well as various SkillsFuture initiatives for upskilling.
SSG x WSG Jobs & Skills Fair (Physical event, Aug 5-7): Held at Compass One, the event features information to help individuals gain career advice and identify their skills and training needs. Individuals can attend walk-in interviews with potential employers, receive one-to-one skills and training advisory, and speak to training providers on suitable courses and learn more about the various support programmes.
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