Speech at The Official Opening of Human Capital (Singapore)
Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, 15 Hoe Chiang Road, Tower Fifteen, Level 23
Mrs Fang Ai Lian
Chairman, Governing Board Of Human Capital (Singapore)
Mdm Ho Geok Choo,
Chief Executive Officer, Human Capital (Singapore)
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
1. Good morning. In April last year, I announced the appointment of a national Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centre1 to raise the quality and professionalism of human resources (HR) practitioners and advocates. Today, I am glad to be here for the official opening of Human Capital (Singapore) or HCS.
The Role of HR in Raising Productivity
2. CET has been identified by both the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) and the new National Productivity and Continuing Education Council as a critical means for workers and enterprises in Singapore to improve their productivity. Good HR management plays an important role in raising productivity. An organisation’s work environment, systems and practices can either contribute to or deflate employee motivation, morale and even retention. Creating a conducive work environment with the right systems and processes that optimises employee skills will motivate staff and encourage conducive work attitude.
3. HR professionals need to create the right reward and recognition system – one that recognises not just individuals’ results and performances, but also their contribution to the whole organisation, and across departments. To do so, HR professionals must develop a strong understanding of business fundamentals; technical skills to assess gaps, formulate and implement HR strategies; and the soft skills to communicate and forge relationships. Only then can they improve talent management and effectively develop leadership capabilities in their companies.
4. In short, HR professionals will also need to develop T-shaped skills, just like other management colleagues. It is imperative that they accord priority to their own upgrading needs to stay relevant and be effective in their roles.
Progress Report on HCS’ HR WSQ Training
5. In the past one year, HCS has actively helped HR professionals up-skill themselves via training using the Human Resource Workforce Skills Qualification (HR WSQ) framework. Since October 2008, close to 3,000 HR WSQ training places have been taken up, with more than 2,200 professionals already trained. Almost half of these 2,200 professionals received their training at HCS.
Communities of Practice (CoP)
6. I am encouraged by the good progress so far, and to know that HCS will be introducing Communities of Practice (CoP) to further promote the adoption of best practices amongst the HR fraternity. This free-exchange platform will help HR practitioners stay engaged and keep up-to-date with the latest developments. Such strategic HR conversations can translate into actionable goals and effective practices at their respective workplaces.
7. In addition, HCS’ successful inaugural “Chief People Officer Post-Graduate Programme” will bring the benefits of HR CET to corporate leaders and executives as well.
HR is for Every Employee
8. I am also pleased to learn that some 40 companies are providing HR WSQ training to help their employees build broad, cross functional skills.
9. Take Ms Elise Goh as an example. She is a Senior Accounts Executive with the PAP Community Foundation. She was among a pool of staff selected to attend HCS’s HR WSQ courses. When Ms Goh was promoted to the position of Accountant, she quickly realised the relevance the course has to her job. With her newly acquired people management skills, she is more effective in supervising her subordinates, monitoring their performance and motivating them to excel at their jobs.
10. Job seekers can also stand to benefit from undergoing HR WSQ training. Take Mr Yow Yin Chee for example. He was laid off in 2008 as a Regional Sales Manager. When he met with some difficulties in his job search, he decided to sign up for a HR WSQ course to understand how interviewers shortlist and assess applicants. Mr Yow’s effort paid off and he is now a General Manager with a trading company.
Conclusion
11. I would like to encourage more organisations to proactively recognise and develop their HR professionals. The contributions of these professionals are critical to the organisation’s drive to become more productive and competitive. Finally, join me in congratulating HCS on its opening.
12. Thank you.
1The HR CET Centre was previously called The Singapore Human Capital Centre Pte Ltd.