NTUC Sec-Gen visits SCALE

To explore how the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) can collaborate with NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE), Mr Chan Chun Sing, NTUC Secretary-General and Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, visited the School on 27 October. He was accompanied by the heads of e2i, an initiative of NTUC which focuses on career guidance, professional development, and job matching services. e2i is one of the industry partners involved in SCALE’s courses.

Dean of SCALE Professor Wei Kwok Kee and Vice Dean (Executive Development Programmes) Mr Lim Swee Cheang gave an overview of the School and some new programmes which will be set up in the near future. Two programmes highlighted were the PME (Professionals, Managers and Executives) Cooperative Programme, an initiative involving both training and job placement to help PMEs who have been displaced, as well as Professional Training on Workplace Safety and Health, a suite of professional courses for safety officers. Associate Professor Ben Leong and Associate Professor Damith C Rajapakse from NUS Computing also gave a presentation on an e-learning platform used by computing students which could be a viable option for SCALE.

Mr Chan then engaged in a discussion on SCALE’s business model and processes, as well as the capacity, demand and speed to market of SCALE’s courses and modules. Potential and current challenges the School might face as well as the different ways to approach them were also touched on.

SCALE was launched on 17 June this year with the aim to provide opportunities for working adults to upscale their skills and knowledge, to help the workforce to remain relevant and competitive, and to support the manpower needs of Singapore.