NTUC LHUB, UOB’s Innovation Accelerator The Finlab, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC U SME Announce Partnership To Digitalise 500 Companies by 2021 Through ‘Reboot’ Programme

The programme brings together subject matter expertise of the partners to build the digital competencies of Singapore’s workforce

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach -
9 March 2021 – NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB), NTUC U
SME, United Overseas Bank (UOB)’s innovation accelerator The FinLab, and Ngee
Ann Polytechnic today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to officially
launch the SME Digital Reboot programme. The programme aims to help 500 companies
nationwide deepen their digital capabilities by the end of 2022, in order for
them to stay relevant and competitive in a transformed business landscape.

 

NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB), United Overseas Bank (UOB)’s
innovation accelerator The FinLab, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC U SME today
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to officially launch the SME Digital
Reboot programme.

 

 

Trainees of the
SME Digital Reboot programme learning compare the prices of groceries online
using Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

 

While the SME Digital Reboot programme is applicable to
companies of all sizes, the outreach efforts for which will focus strongly on
Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Employing more than two-third of Singapore’s
workforce, SMEs contribute an estimated half of Singapore’s Gross Domestic
Product. Many SMEs think of digital transformation as an exclusive measure that
only larger companies can afford as they are unaware of the assistance
available to drive digital transformation in their own SMEs. The SME Digital
Reboot programme aims to create a mindset shift for SME employers, push for
upskilling of SME employees, and help SMEs create sustainable business tools for
them to adapt to changes. Through a pilot programme, 40 companies have
benefitted from the ‘reboot’, turning digital disruption to digital assistance
in their businesses.

The SME Digital Reboot programme, which is led by NTUC LHUB,
helps to synergise the unique strengths of key partners to uplift companies to
keep pace with the age of digitalization. This will be done through an
end-to-end solution covering needs assessment, curated training programmes and
workplace learning sessions.

Firstly, NTUC U SME will leverage their broad network of
SMEs and associations to boost outreach efforts. Secondly, with The FinLab’s
expertise in supporting ASEAN SMEs with their business transformation journeys,
the organisation will provide companies access to a range of digital resources
and tools on The FinLab Online designed to help them understand their business
needs and to determine a sustainable digitalisation strategy. Thirdly, NTUC
LHUB and NP will provide training across five tracks including Digital
Communication and Collaboration, Workflow Automation, Process Automation, Data
Processes and Visualisation, and Digital Marketing. Lastly, to ensure that the
learning can be applied effectively, the programme includes on-ground
implementation support through workplace learning sessions by NP lecturers,
graduates and students (Annex A).

 

A key group benefitting from the pilot is the Association of
Employment Agencies Singapore (AEAS), the only industry association
representing employment agencies in Singapore. AEAS members are made up of manpower-lean
employment agencies where staff training absenteeism is seen as manpower costs
incurred. Under the programme, AEAS members would be offered employment
advisory for training, training courses for workers and the right tools to
kickstart their digital transformation. Having benefited as one of the early adopters
of the SME Digital Reboot programme, AEAS signed a MOU with NTUC U SME today as
a pledge to help more of their members kickstart their digital transformation
through this programme.

 

Quotes by Key Representatives of SME Digital Reboot
Programme

Ng Chee
Meng, Secretary-General of NTUC

“NTUC, LHUB
and our unions will continue to partner with our employers to transform their
workforce as technology is fast evolving the workplace and business operations.
As the road to digitalisation gathers pace, I am confident that with SME
Digital Reboot programme’s launch, our SME employers will have a positive
mindset shift and gain confidence in investing in their workers, upskill their
digital skills to remain relevant and keep pace with the times. Simultaneously,
we will accelerate our SMEs’ and companies’ transformation by building digital
competencies which are vital in driving Singapore’s transformed business
landscape.”

Eugene
Wong, Chairman of NTUC LHUB

“SMEs are key engines of our economy, yet 40% of SMEs
surveyed cited the lack of support and expertise as barriers to digitalisation.
As the digital wave sweeps over Singapore, it is crucial for SMEs to
effectively reboot their businesses to stay competitive and drive Singapore’s
growth. Transformation is a continuous journey, and NTUC LHUB is committed to
helping SMEs build future skills that align with industrial changes. The
strategic partnership with The FinLab and Ngee Ann Polytechnic to roll out a
structured SME Digital Reboot program will empower organisations to take the
first step in their digital transformation strategy by building in-demand
skills to navigate towards digital success. NTUC LHUB endeavours to continue
expanding our ecosystem of partners to transform workers for a transformed
future.”

Yeo Wan
Ling, Director NTUC U SME

“NTUC U SME
is committed to providing targeted assistance to our partner SMEs, to help
their workers upskill and their company transform digitally to adapt in the post-COVID-19
world. SMEs are one of the key pillars of Singapore economy employing a large
portion of Singapore’s workforce. With the added boost from the recent
Singapore Budget 2021, I hope to engage more companies and associations like
the Employment Agencies (Singapore) to help them innovate and enhance their
productivity.”

Janet
Young, Co-founder and Director, The FinLab

“COVID-19
has made digital transformation imperative and therein lies the critical need
to help SMEs not only to weather the immediate impact on their businesses but
to thrive in a transformed world. To do that, we are tapping the experience of
NTUC LHUB, NTUC U SME and Ngee Ann Polytechnic together with UOB’s expertise
and The FinLab’s suite of digital resources and community of industry experts
to provide SMEs the guidance they need to digitalise sustainably. Drawing on
UOB’s extensive SME network in Singapore and ASEAN, we will continue to broaden
our reach to help more companies benefit through the SME Digital Reboot
programme.”

Clarence
Ti, Principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP)

“We are
honoured to be part of this programme to provide a one-stop solution to help
SMEs successfully digitalise and transform. By combining training, consultancy
and solutioning, this programme takes a holistic approach which we believe will
greatly benefit SMEs. To ensure an effective implementation of digital
solutions, NP has adapted the training pedagogy in the form of use-case
playbooks and best practices. NP is also looking forward to offering
post-training consultation and guidance to help SMEs roll out their digital
solutions smoothly. Being part of the SME digitalisation journey not only
presents a great opportunity for our staff, students and alumni to contribute
our expertise, but also allows us to build up additional use cases to further
enhance our training programmes in this area.”

Companies are encouraged to leverage the available
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) Funding to enroll into the programme. For more information, please visit: https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/digital-reboot-digitalise-your-business-today/

 

Chinese
Names and Terms 中文名称与词汇

 

Term	Translation
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)	全国职工总会 (职总）
The FinLab	大华银行（UOB）创新实验室FinLab
Ngee Ann Polytechnic	义安理工学院
NTUC U SME	职总U中小企业协作平台
NTUC LearningHub	职总恒习
SME Digital Reboot	中小企业数码重启
Clarence Ti Principal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic	郑文辉 义安理工学院校长