CapitaLand lauded as champion of employee skills development in real estate sector with win at SkillsFuture Employer Award 2018
Singapore, 31 July 2018 - CapitaLand is the only real estate company to win the SkillsFuture Employer Award by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) at the awards ceremony held this evening. CapitaLand was recognised for its strong commitment to employee development and for being a strong advocate of lifelong learning in its workplace, in support of Singapore’s manpower objectives.
Billed as Singapore’s highest skills award for employers, the accolade was presented by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob who is also the Patron for the awards. It honours exemplary employers who develop their employees’ skills and chart skills-based career pathways for their employees.
Mr Tan Seng Chai, Group Chief People Officer of CapitaLand Group said: “We recognise that CapitaLand is only as successful as our people. CapitaLand’s vibrant, motivated and qualified workforce has given our company a competitive edge to be future ready. To chart the future of real estate and elevate CapitaLand into its next phase of growth, CapitaLand needs to remain at the forefront of innovation in our field, leveraging technology and big data. Leveraging our own training resources with external partners and programmes, we are in a unique position to tailor relevant and effective training for our staff. Our global footprint also offers international opportunities for our staff, and allows us to train and retain our talents within our global network.”
“We are encouraged by this recognition and we remain guided by our credo of 'Building People. Building Communities.', to uphold our dedication towards developing our employees and inculcating a strong spirit of lifelong learning within the organisation.”
In 2017, the company achieved a 95% participation rate from its employees for training in Singapore and the average learning hours per employee was almost 50 hours.
To continually encourage employees to keep themselves well-trained, four key thrusts guide CapitaLand’s employee development strategy:
1. Foster a culture and commitment to advocate lifelong learning
CapitaLand has two in-house learning institutes, CapitaLand Institute of Management and Business (CLIMB), and Ascott Centre for Excellence (ACE), the global hospitality training centre of its serviced residence unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) to support the Group’s growing learning and development needs. ACE is also the only private training institute run by a hospitality company that is approved by SSG, specialising in training for the Hotel and Accommodation Services Sector.
Every year, a learning festival is organised to deepen the lifelong learning culture at CapitaLand. In 2017, the festival was themed ‘Be Future-Ready’ with external speakers sharing the importance of skills upgrading and offering opportunities for staff to sign up for training programmes from SSG, NTUC LearningHub, the National Library Board and more.
2. Develop quality education and training programmes that respond to future needs
CapitaLand launched a S$10-million innovation partnership with Singapore’s Economic Development Board in 2017 to build a future-ready workforce and new proptech capabilities. Named CapitaLand ELEVATE, it is focused on developing CapitaLand’s employees in areas such as data analytics, digital marketing and digital product management. CapitaLand has also sent employees to attend the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace training programme, a national initiative that equips Singaporeans with the mindset and functional skills to prepare them for the digital economy.
Ms Rena Ho, an executive with the Strategic Retail Alliance team, CapitaLand Retail, attended the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme in June 2018. She said: “With the SkillsFuture course, I was able to merge my new understanding of the latest technology developments with my retail experience. The retail landscape is changing rapidly and the course has helped me understand the ways of integrating the online and offline worlds together to deliver delight to our shoppers, and help our retailers grow their business.”
CapitaLand leverages its global footprint to offer its employees opportunities for international exposure. The Ascott Global Exchange Programme (TAGEX) allows employees to embark on short-term overseas stints to augment their skills and competencies needed in a global environment, and learn best practices from the hospitality industry.
3. Structured employee career development based on skills and mastery
ACE runs the Serviced Residence Management Programme yearly to identify and train staff with the potential to be serviced residence managers in the future. Since 2012, 50% of participants in the programme from Ascott’s operations in Singapore have become Residence Managers or Assistant Residence Managers. To promote skills development, CapitaLand also has a structured ‘On-the-Job Training Blueprint’ for employees in serviced residences. All new hires in Guest Service, Housekeeping and Engineering go through a structured on-the-job training before being confirmed.
New hires through CapitaLand’s Graduate Development Programme and Ascott Management Associate Programme are also put through a systematic training programme covering different functions and business units, and with an overseas attachment to groom them for future leadership roles.
4. Help individuals make well-informed choices in education, training and careers
CLIMB and ACE also provide employees with clear learning roadmaps in areas such as leadership development, digital literacy, project development and more, to ensure greater mastery of their roles.
CapitaLand has been recognised as an attractive and well-regarded employer, especially in the property and real estate sector. In 2017, CapitaLand was the top real estate company in the Forbes Global 2000: Top regarded companies. CapitaLand also clinched the Randstad SEA Employer Brand Award as the most attractive employer in Singapore’s property and real estate sector. Amongst fresh graduates, CapitaLand is also ranked as the most popular graduate employer in the property and real estate sector by gradsingapore for three consecutive years.