Singapore, 30 October 2015 (Friday) – The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Singapore Management University (SMU) today jointly celebrated the graduation of 60 participants who form the pioneer graduating cohort of two Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) programmes offered by SMU’s Centre for Professional Studies (CPS) – the Human Resource (HR) Graduate Certification Programme, and the Executive Certificate in Leadership and People Management (LPM) programme.  SMU is WDA’s first and only local university partner to offer WSQ programmes in both areas.

The HR Graduate Certification Programme has been offered by SMU since 2013 to equip HR professionals and people managers with HR competencies such as Talent Management & Succession Planning, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Rewards (Compensation and Benefits), Performance Evaluation & Management, and Strategic HR.  The 12-day programme, which was mapped to HR WSQ in April 2014, comprises six modules, each lasting two days.

The Executive Certificate in LPM programme, which SMU co-organises with Mercer, serves to equip business leaders with skills to better engage people and teams, and develop personal effectiveness and executive presence.  The 18-day programme, which was mapped to LPM WSQ, has been offered since January 2015 and comprises six modules, each lasting three days.

The graduates, who come from more than 50 companies, received their graduation certificates from WDA’s Chief Executive, Mr Ng Cher Pong, at SMU today before an audience of about 250 business executives, colleagues, friends and family members.  The audience also benefited from a panel discussion, featuring senior business and HR leaders drawn from diverse industries, on the topic ‘Leading the Future: Developing People for Mastery and Excellence’.

One of the graduates who received her certification today was Ms Wynne Chia, Leader, Global Talent Development, Human Resource, MasterCard.  “I’m really glad I took the plunge.  The SMU HR Graduate Certification Programme provided me with a firm understanding of the challenges and opportunities that the HR field is facing.  As a result of the course, I am now more confident when conversing with colleagues and bosses on HR matters; the training has also enhanced my professional credibility.  I’m very pleased with what the course has enabled me to do in my job!” she said.

In order to graduate, participants must complete all six modules of the rigorous HR WSQ or LPM WSQ programmes, and pass all the assessments within the given duration – two years for the HR Graduate Certification Programme, and three years for Executive Certificate in LPM programme.

Professor Annie Koh, Vice President of Business Development and Academic Director of SMU CPS, said, “With WDA’s strong support, SMU is delighted to graduate this pioneer batch of 60 business executives from the HR and LPM programmes. Developing leaders and grooming a pipeline of future talents require long-term commitment.  In these volatile times where there is an over emphasis on short-term goals, my hope is for our graduates to be bold, but not reckless, in using their newly acquired knowledge and skills to innovate and nurture in-house champions. They will also be in a better position to look after the people placed in their charge when the going gets tough, without losing sight of their companies’ visions and their personal aspirations.”

To the graduates, she advised, “As your new journey begins, I hope that your hunger for learning will never stop, and that you will continuously bring positive impact, wherever you may be working!”

[Photos: SMU Prof Annie Koh (L) and WDA CE Mr Ng Cher Pong (R) addressing the graduates.]

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA, said: “Leaders and HR professionals are pivotal to the success of the national SkillsFuture movement.  They play an increasingly important role in ensuring that businesses have the right skills and talents, and continue to grow and build on these resources. To be effective in their roles, leaders and HR professionals need to embrace lifelong learning, deepen their skills and acquire professional recognition.  The SMU programmes offer upskilling opportunities in the fields of HR and LPM.  The strong industry response is testament to the high quality of the programmes, and there is scope to build on the partnership between WDA and SMU to benefit even more Singaporeans.”

SkillsFuture aims to create and nurture a vibrant learning environment where individuals are empowered to take ownership for acquiring and deepening skills throughout their careers.  WDA will continue to work in close partnership with training partners such as SMU to ensure continued provision of quality training and to have a steady pipeline of HR professionals and people managers to meet the manpower needs of the sector.

A total of 245 HR and business professionals (unique headcounts) have benefitted from more than 500 training places since the inception of these programmes by SMU CPS, and more than 1,000 WSQ Statements of Attainments have been issued to date.

Enclosures:

• More information on the HR WSQ: http://www.wda.gov.sg/content/wdawebsite/L207-AboutWSQ/L301-WSQIndustryFramework-HumanResource.html

• More information on the LPM WSQ: http://www.wda.gov.sg/content/wdawebsite/L207-AboutWSQ/L301-WSQIndustryFramework-LeadershipandPeopleManagement.html

• More information on the HR Graduate Certificate Programme and Executive Certificate in Leadership and People Management Programme: http://cps.smu.edu.sg/programmes/

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