199 Young Engineers Graduate From Inaugural Leadership Programme by NTUC & IES Equipping Engineers With Skills to Take Up Leadership

Singapore, November 27, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​​​The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its U Associate, The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), today mark a significant milestone with 199 participants graduating from the inaugural Young Engineers Leadership (YEL) Programme. NTUC Secretary-General Mr Chan Chun Sing also hosted a dialogue session with the graduands and industry professionals present at the ceremony. His dialogue focused on the importance of giving engineers opportunities for exposure, perspectives, networking and cross-pollination of ideas with other sectors to gear them towards leading Singaporeans into its next phase of nation-building.

Strong growth in Singapore over the past many years has opened up new opportunities for the engineering sector. The country’s vision of a Smart Nation can only be achieved with a strong pipeline of engineering expertise leading the various initiatives, including public–private partnerships such as the push towards driverless vehicles in Singapore. The YEL Programme is designed to nurture young engineers into leaders by giving them exposure beyond their existing jobs and equipping them to take charge of the opportunities present.

"IES is excited to see the first fruits of the YEL Programme, a programme that we had initiated to groom young engineering talents into next-generation leaders. The year-long course has equipped the participants with a powerful combination of advanced technology management knowledge and strategic leadership skills, placing them well to take up leadership roles across various sectors,"

Er. Chong Kee Sen, President of IES

“Top engineering talents provide a distinct advantage for any organisation or country. Through the YEL Programme, we wish to equip Singaporean engineers with the right technical management and leadership skills so that they emerge as future-ready and globally competitive PMEs,” said Mr Vivek Kumar, Director of NTUC U Associate and Future Leaders Programme. “With 21 U Associate partners, we have now established a fast-growing ecosystem of industry associations that can tap on each other’s strengths to further enhance programmes for their members.” (Please refer to Annex A for more information on the 21 U Associate partners)

About the Young Engineers Leadership Programme

The YEL Programme, which was launched in 2014, is a year-long initiative of ten modules developed to strengthen young engineers’ competencies in the areas of technical, leadership and soft skills. It also leveraged the knowledge and insights of the speakers who bring real and valuable operational experience into each module.

In order to keep the modules work-place ready and the trainees at the cutting-edge of business and technology, each YEL Programme module also included a closed-door dialogue with a C-suite leader. A total of ten C-level executives from diverse industries participated in the first YEL Programme, including Mr Joachim Ackermann, Managing Director, Customer Solutions & Innovations at Google Asia Pacific; Mr Tan Pheng Hock, President and CEO, ST Engineering Ltd and Mr Mock Pak Lum, Chief Technology Officer, StarHub Ltd.

“IES is excited to see the first fruits of the YEL Programme, a programme that we had initiated to groom young engineering talents into next-generation leaders. The year-long course has equipped the participants with a powerful combination of advanced technology management knowledge and strategic leadership skills, placing them well to take up leadership roles across various sectors,” said Er. Chong Kee Sen, President of IES. “IES will continue to work with NTUC U Associate to strengthen the employability of engineers and make available engineers of leadership calibre to support the demands of the industry and to enable continued progress for Singapore.”

Feedback from YEL Programme participants

Over 90% per cent of the trainees have rated the programme positively in the employability survey developed with e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), a strong indicator of their increased confidence in their individual employability. (Please refer to Annex B for quotes from an employer and graduand on the YEL Programme)

Mr Gilbert Tan, Chief Executive Officer of e2i said, “Employability is a key priority for engineers and the inaugural YEL Programme course has proven its effectiveness in facilitating the aspirations of young engineers to move their career forward and upwards. They are confident that the YEL Programme course will not just open up near-term career advancement opportunities for them but also place them in advantageous position to take up leadership roles in the future.”

Moving forward, enrolment has already begun for the second run of the YEL Programme. NTUC U Associate and IES have also started working together to develop the next phase of the Engineers Progression Pathway – the Advanced Engineering Leaders (AEL) Programme. Focus group discussions are already in progress with industry leaders and practitioners to identify the right learning and development gaps to equip mid-career engineers for continued career growth.

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About National Trades Union Congress

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions in the industrial, service and public sectors in Singapore. NTUC's objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and workers remain employable for life; to enhance the social status and well-being of workers; and to build a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. NTUC's vision is to be an inclusive labour movement for all collars, ages and nationalities. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement, which comprises 60 affiliated unions, one affiliated taxi association, 11 social enterprises, five related organisations and over 888,000 members. For more details, visit www.ntuc.org.sg.

About NTUC U Associate Programme

The NTUC U Associate Programme is a key initiative by the Labour Movement to reach out to Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) through professional associations and bring them the U Advantage of the Labour Movement. Launched in March 2011, the programme comprises of an ecosystem of associations across various sectors including Financial, Human Resource, Project Management, Marketing, Engineering and more. NTUC and its U Associates work with a sectorial focus to develop career and skills progression plans for our PMEs in these sectors. Through these alliances, we prepare our PMEs to be future-ready and future-proof and open up greater opportunities for both the associations and PMEs. NTUC U Associates empower the PMEs across four key areas – Protection, Progression, Placement and Privileges (4Ps). Please see attached Annex A for list of U Associates.

About The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES)

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) was formally established in July 1966 as the national society of engineers in Singapore. IES is the premier engineering institution in Singapore and is called upon by the Government to provide feedback on professional engineering matters.

IES is well represented among the faculty members of the major engineering institutions of higher learning in Singapore. Through close collaboration with the local universities and polytechnics, IES organises courses, seminars and talks for engineers and IES members to advance the continuous development of engineers.

The Institution maintains close links with professional organisations of engineers regionally and throughout the world. These include organisations in Australia, China, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. The Institution also represents Singapore in the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations (AFEO) and the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) in promoting goodwill, fellowship and exchange of knowledge among all engineers in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region.

Through its Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB), IES obtained full signatory status in the Washington Accord (WA) in June 2006. The entry grants IES the authority to represent Singapore, the first country within the ASEAN region which has obtained full signatory status in the WA, to vet education systems under the WA mutual recognition framework.

For more information, visit www.ies.o​rg.sg.

Jean Chew
Assistant Director
Corporate Communications Department
​National Trades Union Congress
DID: 6213 8193
HP: 9877 2343
​Email: jean_chew@ntuc.org.sg

Desmond Teo
Publications Manager
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
DID: 6461 1229
​Email: desmond@iesnet.org.sg

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