Singtel staff to get 2 days off for SkillsFuture courses

Singapore

IN SUPPORT of the Singapore govern-ment's SkillsFuture initiative, Singtel will give its full-time staff two days of leave each year to attend SkillsFuture courses.

Singtel's group chief human resources officer Aileen Tan said: "We believe in the importance of equipping our staff with the necessary skills and capabilities to support our digital ventures and the govern-ment's efforts to transform Singapore into a Smart Nation."

According to Ms Tan, Singtel hopes that by giving its employees two days off to attend these courses, they will be encouraged to actively manage their own professional development.

And to help employees familiarise themselves with SkillsFuture courses and credits, Singtel has organised roadshows for them to attend talks, link up with relevant educational providers and register for courses.

Singtel will also organise an annual week-long Singtel Learning Fiesta where staff will get to hear from keynote speakers, as well as participate in 120 mini-workshops and lectures that cover a variety of leadership, technical, personal development and lifestyle topics.

More than 10,000 employees across Singtel and its subsidiary NCS are expected to benefit from the additional leave.

Introduced in 2015, the SkillsFuture initiative provides Singaporeans above the age of 25 with an initial S$500 of SkillsFuture credit that will allow them to register for courses to upgrade themselves or learn new skills.

The credit will be topped up at regular intervals and will not expire.

OCBC has similarly announced its support for the initiative in March this year by introducing the OCBC FutureReady programme.

The programme gives an additional S$500 of SkillsFuture credit to permanent non-executive staff as well as time off to attend selected courses during office hours.

The bank has also put together a catalogue shortlisting 120 courses to help employees navigate through the thousands of courses available in the SkillsFuture directory.

This article was first published on July 5, 2016.
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