Temasek commits S$150 million to workforce upskilling, education
The beneficiaries are workers in at-risk groups, as well as students from disadvantaged backgrounds
TEMASEK has contributed S$150 million as a community gift for Singapore’s workforce development. The funds will go towards upskilling workers in vulnerable groups, as well as scholarships and fellowships.
The investment company will work with industry players, unions and training providers to come up with job-redesign solutions and to fill training gaps.
Dilhan Pillay, executive director and chief executive of Temasek, said: “The world is changing rapidly. Technology is coming and upending ways of doing things, but we cannot have people being left behind… We will focus on at-risk groups – in particular seniors, persons with disabilities and neuro-diverse individuals – with programmes designed to allow them to develop skills or reskill themselves.”
The community gift also includes funds for scholarships for post-secondary-school students, undergraduates and postgraduate students, so they can pursue programmes, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem).
Pillay said: “When we focus on things like Stem, we want to give people a core learning capability. The future is very much based on technology orientation… Getting a generation of students who are digital-first engaged in areas where the digital world is present is quite important.”
Scholarship applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds will be prioritised. Post-secondary students in polytechnics will also be eligible to apply, along with those from junior colleges and International Baccalaureate schools, because Temasek “believes in a more inclusive meritocracy”, Pillay added.
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Temasek aims to fund its first batch of scholarship students in the academic year 2025-2026.
The last focus area of the community gift is fellowships. Temasek aims to bring industry experts to Singapore to guide companies and develop an ecosystem for the exchange of knowledge and expertise.
Lim Boon Heng, chairman of Temasek, said: “With the changes going on in the world, our own local companies, such as the small and medium-sized enterprises, will have to restructure. For that, they will need people with the knowledge to guide them… With the help of such experts, (companies) can identify the things they need, and then work together.”
To sustain efforts over the long term, 4 per cent of the principal amount will be distributed annually.
Community Day celebrations
The community gift was announced on Tuesday (Jun 25), on the company’s annual Community Day, which was first observed in 2008. Temasek marks its 50th anniversary this year.
Community Day, the day of its founding, is about giving back to the community. New beneficiaries are identified every year, and efforts focus on connecting people, uplifting communities, protecting the planet and advancing capabilities.
Referring to the four pillars of focus for Community Day, Pillay said: “(This) is a more holistic approach, which is reflective of the activities that we’ve been doing, and have been involved in, in the last 20 years.”
This year, more than 500 staff volunteers from Temasek, Temasek Trust, Temasek Foundation, Temasek Trust Asset Management and Stewardship Asia Centre took part in the Community Day activities, along with 16 community partners.
One initiative focused on preparing youths for jobs. Temasek partnered its portfolio companies – CapitaLand Investment, Singapore Airlines and SMRT – to design learning journeys for students from NorthLight School. The aim is to provide insights into the various industry sectors and to showcase the skill sets needed for these students’ chosen vocations.
NorthLight School caters to students who are less academically inclined through a more hands-on approach to learning.
A CapitaLand Investment spokesperson said: “Through an experiential learning journey at Raffles City Singapore and lyf Funan Singapore, the students gained first-hand exposure to the operations of our properties and valuable insights beyond an academic setting.”
Pillay said Temasek hoped to give the students “a sense of optimism about the kind of things they can do” when they finally join the workforce.
Temasek also teamed up with Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore, which provides horse-riding sessions to persons with disabilities.
Other Community Day initiatives included the distribution of care packs, the painting of a mural in the void deck of a Housing and Development Board rental block, spring-cleaning the homes of seniors living in one-room flats, and organising tree-planting sessions and edible garden workshops.
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