SingPost signs MOU with NTUC Club and UTES to provide youths with early access to logistics industry
Singapore, 10 May 2022 – Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) today entered into an agreement with NTUC’s junior membership arm, nEbO, and Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) to provide youths with early access to the logistics industry.
The three-year collaboration will see SingPost setting up built-for-purpose programmes for members of nEbO, a community for students and youths aged 12 to 25 years managed by NTUC Club, to gain insights and hands-on experience into the logistic industry. The programmes include six networking and career workshops, 30 internship placements, and six curated learning journeys over the next three years.
The partnership was initiated by Mr Thuvinder Singh, General Secretary of Union of Telecoms Employees Singapore, who saw the synergy between nEbO and SingPost on the back of a separate three-year collaboration inked last year between NTUC Club, SATS, and the Air Transport Executive Staff Union. Mr Thuvinder was instrumental in leading the discussions between SingPost and NTUC Club that led to the formalisation of the partnership through an MOU today.
The partnership was forged today through a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by key representatives from SingPost, NTUC Club and UTES. The signing was witnessed by NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, who also interacted with several ITE students currently participating in SingPost’s apprenticeship programme, which was introduced earlier this year.
NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Ng Chee Meng said, “NTUC’s initial research study suggests that a top concern of youth is career prospects and opportunities. As such, this partnership between SingPost, NTUC Club and UTES is a good way to be alongside our youths and address their concern by providing them with early access into the logistics industry in Singapore. This will hopefully add value to our youths and help them transition into the workforce. I hope more youths will come to know of NTUC's efforts to engage and be alongside them."
On the SingPost-ITE Work Study Programme, ITE student Iffah Firzanah Binte Fadil, 19 said, “The opportunity to gain a first-hand understanding of the logistics sector is exciting and stressful. Besides learning the ropes of survival as a working adult, I got to network with leaders in the company and build meaningful connections which will better enable my learning and adapt to work cultures within the industry.”
Added ITE student Nurinsyirah Binte Muhammad Hamri, 19, “With the inclusion of nEbO’s collaboration with SingPost, I am looking forward to embark on a series of Work-Ready, World-Ready and Life-Ready programmes to upskill myself further in various skills and values.”
The NTUC-SingPost collaboration will also enable SingPost to tap into NTUC Club’s youth base via nEbO as a talent pool, to attract the right candidates to join the logistics sector, an industry that serves as an enabler and core to many other industries.
SingPost Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Vincent Phang is confident this MOU will help to attract younger talents into the logistics field.
“We have an exciting road ahead of us as we transform the landscape of logistics and introducing game-changing technologies in our bid to develop urban logistics solutions and become a key regional player. Our business is about making every delivery count for people and planet, not just delivering mail, and that means we need to attract the right talent profile to join us in our journey ahead,” said Mr Phang.
UTES General Secretary, Mr Thuvinder Singh said, “This collaboration synergises us with a sense of purpose, a partnership that will allow Singpost to expand its current local workforce by leveraging on the wide pool of talents at nEbO. We must start early, to create opportunities for our younger people to experience integrated learning and understand the industry’s business and its employment possibilities.”
Renewing the Company Training Committee MOU
SingPost is also renewing its Company Training Committee (CTC) with UTES for another three years after a very successful first term. The first MOU was signed in May 2019 by SingPost, UTES and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), with SingPost as one of the first few unionised companies in the Trade and Connectivity sector to form the CTC.
Since the formation of the CTC, SingPost has provided 10,000 training places for its employees, benefitting more than 1,500 employees. The training sessions include not only digital training workshops to equip employees for a more automated, digitalised and complex the future of logistics, but also broader programmes like first aid and defensive driving courses. The wide-ranging training initiatives and programmes continue to be important to the organisation in its transformation journey as they continue to provide opportunities for employees to upskill and reskill.
SingPost Group CEO Mr Vincent Phang said he is pleased with the outcomes from the first MOU. He said: “We are heartened that many of our employees have undertaken these training courses despite having to cope with the challenges of COVID-19 over the last two years. As we enter the new normal, we will continue to commit to the training and upskilling of our employees, so they are better equipped and skilled to excel in their roles.”
UTES General Secretary Mr Thuvinder Singh added, “With concerted efforts through our CTC platform, we hope to expand the postal service industry on one hand and upgrade skillsets of workers for the jobs of tomorrow, on the other.”
The CTC will continue to review SingPost’s current training plans, identify skill gaps, plan for reskilling and career progression for its workers, and develop and implement new training programmes so as to accelerate the company’s business transformation.
A new feature of the renewed MOU is SingPost’s onboarding to NTUC’s LHUB GO, Singapore’s largest subscription-based online learning platform that offers on-demand access to over 75,000 bite-sized online courses. SingPost staff in select roles will have access to the platform and will be encouraged to complete relevant training courses available at their own time and for their own professional development.