13/11/2020

Kwong Wai Shui Hospital, Singapore Institute Of Technology And SkillsFuture Singapore Form Strategic Alliance In Establishing Ecosystem To Support Workplace Learning And Training In The Community Care Sector

This collaboration will upskill and reskill the community care workforce and strengthen the leadership core in this sector

At a visit to the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) today, Minister for Education Mr Lawrence Wong announced the appointment of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital (KWSH) as the first SkillsFuture Queen Bee partnership for the Community Care sector. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was inked between KWSH, SIT and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to support KWSH in skills and talent development, and through this, enhance the standard of care in the sector.

The National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning at SIT (NACE@SIT) – the first workplace learning centre in an Autonomous University – was also officially launched today with the unveiling of ’The Learning Enterprise’ commemorative book. NACE@SIT will deliver workplace learning projects and develop a community of learning organisations that will support enterprises, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES), in building their workplace learning systems and capabilities. 

Championing KWSH as a SkillsFuture Queen Bee in Community Care

The SkillsFuture Queen Bee partnership with KWSH aims to reach out to 100 enterprises in the Community Care sector to build up their capabilities over the next three years. KWSH will galvanise other partners to pilot projects in healthcare innovation, process improvement, technology adoption and workplace learning, as well as support the expansion of job roles and the deepening of skills in the sector. For a start, KWSH will share expertise in areas such as AI wound solution, Lean transformation and community care skills training.

• Technology and Process Innovation Projects: Using an integrated approach of enterprise change management, KWSH will work with Community Care Organisations (CCOs) to identify common issues and develop solutions for technology and process improvement. KWSH will also facilitate collaborations between CCOs and value chain partners to increase enterprise productivity and accelerate technology adoption.

• Skills Training Workshops: Through its Community Training Institute (CTI), KWSH will deliver masterclasses to leaders and professionals within the CCOs and their value chain partners, on business environment analysis, strategy development and monitoring of effectiveness. KWSH will also conduct workshops covering topics relevant to CCOs, such as digitalisation, change management, agile thinking and digital transformation, to strengthen their service delivery model.

• Skills Training Plans and Placement Programmes: KWSH will work with CCOs to identify skills gaps, and develop training plans and solutions to strengthen their capabilities and uplift care standards. KWSH will also support partners to develop, train and place programmes for in-demand job roles such as Healthcare Assistants. This will increase employment opportunities and enhance career progression in the Community Care sector.

As part of the MOU, NACE@SIT will also tap on SIT’s network and experience in applied learning and best-in-class practices, to support KWSH in identifying skills gaps in the sector and training for the Community Care sector.

Dr Ow Chee Chung, CEO, KWSH, said, “Through this strategic partnership with SSG and NACE@SIT, we are able to sharpen, as well as deepen, the courses and training available at KWSH CTI. In addition, with this mandate and the resources from our collaboration, we will be able to reach out to more CCOs, thereby enhancing the skills of the sector and improving our standard of care.”

Launch of NACE@SIT

NACE@SIT is an extension of the NACE eco-system to establish more centres to build up workplace learning capabilities of enterprises and SMEs. NACE@SIT will focus on the community care sector as one of its priority sectors¹. Over the next five years, the initiative aims to benefit 700 enterprises in three ways:

• Leverage SIT’s SkillsFuture Work-Study programmes to provide training and mentorship to participating students and enterprises, as well as build up the workplace learning capability of enterprises.

• Drive workplace solutions by implementing workplace learning practices for enterprise transformation. NACE@SIT will partner international workplace learning experts to impart best-in-class training practices and provide certification of trainers.

• Share best practices and success stories of workplace learning journeys through fostering a community of learning organisations.

The Centre will also develop customised solutions to strengthen in-house training systems to support talent attraction, development and retention.

“As a University of Applied Learning, SIT strives to champion workplace learning as an integral component of the work-learn continuum. Through NACE@SIT, the first workplace learning centre in an Autonomous University, we hope to help organisations like KWSH build workplace competencies and facilitate employees’ learning at their work environment. SIT will continue to expand our suite of integrated industry solutions to build a strong skills ecosystem and workplace learning culture in organisations,” said Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT.

“The strategic partnerships with KWSH as a SkillsFuture Queen Bee and with NACE@SIT are part of the next bound of SkillsFuture. We aim to drive up employer participation in skills and workforce development. We also aim to strengthen workplace training capabilities, which is an important enabler. We envisage that these partnerships that we have signed today will help to transform the Community Care sector and deepen skills in the workforce,” said Mr Ong Tze Chin, Chief Executive, SSG.

Launch of Commemorative Book – ‘The Learning Enterprise’

Commemorating the launch of NACE@SIT was the unveiling of a book, ‘The Learning Enterprise’, which documents the learning journey of SIT with the first four local companies pioneering in workplace learning and Lean transformation. The book illustrates how the four companies – National Heart Centre Singapore, Four Seasons Catering, Shalom Movers and KWSH – improve their processes and build a culture of continuous learning by introducing Lean Thinking philosophies and engaging employees in co-creating solutions for long-term productivity gains. Please refer to Annex A for more details.

“This book aims to share best practices and organisational transformational strategies, which we have developed with our partner organisations, with the intent to build new capabilities in innovations and work process improvements,” said Mr Arthur Poh, Director, NACE@SIT. The Centre hopes to publish case studies on the workplace learning journeys of its partner organisations every year, to provide better insights and perspectives on workplace learning. “Leveraging SIT’s expertise, NACE@SIT will foster best-in-class workplace learning andragogy to benefit organisations in Singapore,” he added.

Donation to establish Sing Lun Scholarship at SIT

The event also commemorated a $1 million donation from Mr Patrick Lee Kwok Kie, Chairman of Sing Lun Holdings Pte Ltd, President of Yangzheng Foundation, and Chairman of KWSH’s Board of Directors, in support of the new Sing Lun Scholarship.

Mr Lee’s gift will enable SIT to award two Sing Lun Scholarships in Academic Year 2021/22, and at least six scholarships annually from the following academic years. Valued at $10,000 each, the endowed Sing Lun Scholarship aims to nurture academically outstanding undergraduates at SIT, who have also made significant contributions to SIT or the community beyond their academic studies. Scholarship recipients are encouraged to volunteer for at least 12 days during the academic year, and to continue to participate in meaningful community projects in the key areas of need.

“SIT is thankful for the unwavering support from Mr Patrick Lee Kwok Kie, who has set up the endowed Yangzheng Foundation Bursary to help SIT’s financially-disadvantaged undergraduates since 2013. His philanthropic leadership will greatly benefit our students, and support SIT’s projects and community initiatives,” added Professor Tan Thiam Soon.

¹ Priority sectors are community care, energy, transport maintenance, logistics and food innovation.