22/02/2016

Local Workforce To Deepen Skills In Cutting-Edge Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

WDA collaborates with five strategic partners to help local enterprises transform in this effort

More than 400 Singaporeans will have opportunities to deepen their skills in advanced manufacturing techniques through a new series of customised masterclasses.

Developed by both local and international experts, the Advanced Manufacturing Series is targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as multinational corporations (MNCs). The series allows SMEs and MNCs to enhance their capabilities in emerging technologies, as well as develop a future-ready workforce. It also enables Singaporeans to deepen their skills in cutting-edge technologies, which will enable them to remain relevant amid the rapid changes in the manufacturing sector.

The Advanced Manufacturing Series, which kicks off this month, is a collaboration between WDA and five strategic partners. The signatories to the “Future Skills for Advanced Manufacturing” Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are:

• WDA
• Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC), under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
• Centre for Optical and Laser Engineering (COLE), under Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
• Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), under A*STAR
• Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)
• Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP), under NTU

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA, said: “Singapore’s manufacturing sector faces intensive global competition. At the same time, the emergence of new technologies is redefining the ways in which products are designed and made. To stay competitive, it is critical that the industry is an early adopter of such game-changing technologies. The Advanced Manufacturing Series seeks to help companies adopt manpower-lean technologies, strengthen their capabilities and equip their workforce with the skills to be future-ready.”

The MOU signing was held at ARTC and witnessed by Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Trade & Industry and Ministry of Education. The signing reflects the need to continually provide the workforce with avenues to deepen their existing skills and acquire new ones. This is in line with the national SkillsFuture movement to provide Singaporeans with opportunities to embrace lifelong learning in order to stay relevant amid dynamic workplace demands.

More than 400 Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) from various manufacturing industries, such as Precision Engineering, Aerospace, Marine & Offshore Engineering and Oil & Gas, will benefit from the series over a one-year period.