Talent Development Alliance formed to tap into workforce training in China market

SINGAPORE: Singapore has formed a Talent Development Alliance (TDA) to help the country’s companies gain a stronger foothold in the China market through education and training.

Driven by IE Singapore, the alliance is the first of its kind in the industry in Singapore with seven institutions from the public and private sectors — Civil Service College, ITE Education Services, Nanyang Polytechnic, NTUC LearningHub, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Wednesday.

The alliance aims to tap on the key capabilities of the institutions to provide a holistic suite of courses addressing China’s needs.

They range from leadership training and diplomas to vocational and technical skills training, and the courses will first be piloted in Guangdong.

IE Singapore said as China’s economy continues to move from one that’s driven by investments to one that’s based on consumption, demand in the education and training sectors will grow exponentially.

China’s workforce will need skills upgrading and higher education to support this development.

Singapore companies, with their forte in the services sector, as well as in education and training, can leverage these developments to contribute to China’s growth.

The demand for blue collar workers’ training is also rising in China and the country has targeted to train another 3.5 million technicians and one million senior technicians between 2011 and 2021.

— CNA/ck/ac