NTUC LearningHub To Innovate And Grow Under New Leadership Team

SINGAPORE –
Media OutReach – 3 June 2022 – NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB), Singapore’s leading Continuing Education and Training provider, announced today that former labour chief Mr Lim Swee Say will assume the role of Chairman to lead NTUC LHUB’s ongoing initiatives in upskilling and uplifting the Singapore workforce.

Mr Lim will succeed Mr Eugene Wong, whose role as the previous Chairman had been pivotal in NTUC LHUB’s business continuity and growth during the period of leadership transition after the sudden passing of the company’s late CEO Kwek Kok Kwong in 2020. Under Mr Wong’s leadership and guidance, NTUC LHUB achieved a record of over 520,000 training places in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic to help workers tide through this challenging period. He also led NTUC LHUB in several key initiatives during the circuit breaker period in 2020, most notably augmenting the company’s training capabilities to support the Enhanced Training Support Package (ETSP) and SGUnited Skills (SGUS) programme. Mr Wong will continue to serve NTUC LHUB in his new appointment as Deputy Chairman.

Mr Lim is currently a trustee and Advisor of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Chairman of the NTUC-Administration & Research Unit Board of Trustees. He continues to be an Advisor to NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Ltd and the Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Labour Foundation.

As a strong advocate for workers’ training and skills upgrading, Mr Lim through the years as an active tripartite leader, has always applied his mind wholeheartedly in search of ways to help workers stay employable.

His past work at NTUC includes initiating the Skills Redevelopment Programme in 1996 to equip workers with transferable and certifiable skills to help them transit into new jobs and sectors, as well as the establishment of the Employment and Employable Institute (e2i) in 2008 to help workers upgrade their skills and secure jobs amid the Global Financial Crisis. Mr Lim also drove the NTUC-initiated Progressive Wage Model in 2012, to help low-wage workers progress up the skills, career, productivity and wage ladder in a mutually reinforcing manner.

In addition, during his appointment as Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim oversaw the expansion of the Professional Conversion Programme, to help mid-career Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) to re-skill and move into sectors with better career prospects. He stepped down from the Cabinet in 2018 and retired from politics as a Member of Parliament in 2020.

Mr Lim says, “Firstly, I would like to show my utmost appreciation and respect to Brother Eugene Wong for his critical leadership in helming NTUC LHUB in the last two years. Having been part of the labour movement since 1996, I strongly believe that helping workers acquire better skills, secure better jobs and pursue better careers is a journey with no end. I look forward to working and innovating with the LHUB team, led by our recently appointed CEO Jeremy Ong, as well as our tripartite partners to achieve the best possible and most sustainable outcomes for our workers.”

NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Ng Chee Meng says, “As a former labour chief, Swee Say has paved the way for championing our workers’ needs and interests through his contributions over the years. With a heart for our workers, he also brings with him a wealth of experience, leadership prowess and an impeccable track record during his time in the Labour Movement and public service. There is no better appointment right now to strengthen our workers’ compact through upskilling initiatives for every segment of our workforce.”

NTUC LearningHub’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jeremy Ong says, “It is a great honour to be working with Brother Swee Say on NTUC LHUB’s journey to revolutionise the future of learning. He is known to advocate for workers’ lifelong employability, as the best form of welfare and worker protection. I believe Brother Swee Say is well-positioned to lead NTUC LHUB in helping our workers remain relevant and competitive through skills training in this digital age, as the way to uplift and improve the lives of the Singapore workforce.”