SMEs to get help from #GetReadySG in finding new talent to drive digital transformation

Within a month of joining #GetReadySG - a joint national skills initiative by Microsoft and Generation - wellness solutions platform Calibrate welcomed 12 new additions into its software engineering team as an employer partner of the programme.

"We were growing fast as a company and had a lot of priorities to tackle, with one of these being manpower. We did not have the resources to recruit skilled people nor the time to train candidates," says Mr Bryan Se To Zhan Yuan, founder and CEO of Calibrate.

Launched in December 2020 as part of SGUnited's Jobs and Skills Package, the aim of #GetReadySG is to place up to 1,000 Singaporeans into in-demand technology roles across various industries over two years.

There has been a growing demand for digital skills as consumer preferences and business models become increasingly sophisticated in the uptake of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and cloud-based solutions.

Companies that are able to transform their businesses through technology will have a competitive edge, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be disadvantaged in a few aspects.

While recognising the need to transform in order to keep pace, a recent survey of 400 business owners conducted by Microsoft Singapore and the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) revealed high costs and the lack of skilled talent as top barriers to doing so.

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Such problems are particularly acute in growing sectors such as the health and wellness sphere, where consumers are used to dealing with physical products and offline services. Calibrate is a start-up which curates wellness solutions - from chiropractic treatments and physiotherapy to traditional Chinese medicine - and matches them with its users on a digital platform.

While currently focused on the pain-relief space, they are quickly onboarding other practitioners in the areas of nutrition, yoga and even sound therapy to expand their digital services into the health and wellness market.

As a growing tech start-up, Calibrate identified immediately with the challenges that SMEs face.

With the help of Generation, a global non-profit organisation that prepares individuals for employment and supports them with job placements,12 participants from #GetReadySG were selected to join Calibrate's technology team. Equipped with skills from Microsoft-branded training modules such as Azure Administrator and Azure Fundamentals, these new members were placed in various roles, including full stack developer, development operations engineer, UX designer, and business analyst.

"We joined #GetReadySG in May, when one of our team members, Vincent, linked us up with Generation. Vincent had graduated from this programme and made a successful transition from his earlier career as a nurse. He's enthusiastic and full of ideas. Hiring him was one of the best decisions we made. Our new team members are adjusting well and we're very pleased with how they are progressing and contributing to Calibrate in their new roles," says Mr Se To.

By providing an all-encompassing solution that addresses the manpower and resource pain points that SME employers are facing, #GetReadySG has made it more seamless and fuss-free for SMEs to go digital.

With Generation contributing their expertise as programme manager, SMEs will benefit from customised training, talent recruitment expertise, and administrative support throughout their participation in the programme.

"The tools provided by Generation in their training were cutting-edge and similar to the tech stack we use at Calibrate. Learning agile, backend with Java, frontend with React and cloud Azure, our new team members were able to switch to our tech stack with ease," adds Mr Se To.

Participants will also have the opportunity to upskill themselves through Microsoft-branded training modules and certifications such as Azure Fundamentals and Azure Data Fundamentals at a subsidised rate.

"As a leader in the technology sector, it is our responsibility to our local community to bridge the gap between skilling and employability by offering our resources and expertise to equip participants with future-ready skills and set them up for tech employment opportunities in the market," says Mr Kevin Wo, managing director at Microsoft Singapore.

In addition to providing the necessary technical knowledge, Generation supports participants on their learning journey and assimilation into the workplace with career-based coaching and mentoring, while working with employers on potential job placements for them upon completion of the programme.

Recruiting talents with ease

Participating employer partners will find relief from administrative processes such as auditing, salary disbursement and application for government funding, as the experienced team from Generation will fulfil this intermediary function, so SMEs can focus on growing their talent pipeline and most importantly on adding value to their business.

More than 20 Microsoft partners, including ComfortDelGro, NTT, Singapore Airlines, Standard Chartered Bank and TotaleBiz have joined #GetReadySG as employer partners and are offering job opportunities for experienced and aspiring technology talents from the programme. As for Calibrate, they have pulled ahead with their expanded technology team. Since joining the programme, the company has been able to take on projects of a larger scale and accelerate its research and product development process. Calibrate's clients are recognising improvements to the services and customer satisfaction has gone up as a result.

These new developments have given Calibrate increased confidence in its business and digital transformation journey.

"#GetReadySG has helped us immensely in building a reliable stream of candidates for our software engineering team. In a matter of months, we have managed to recruit the most passionate mid-career talents who have the aspirations - and the necessary skills - to succeed in our company. We're excited to see what the future holds for us as a company and our new team members, who are growing every day," says Mr Se To.

Join #GetReadySG as an employer partner. Visit www.singapore.generation.org/be-a-getreadysg-employer-partner/ or email getreadysg@generation.org to learn more.