Singapore’s famed resort isle aims to equip its people with future-ready industry skills
Singapore’s popular resort island Sentosa recently took a pro-active step towards ensuring that its workforce is ready for the challenges posed by the tourism sector in the 21st century.
Management firm Sentosa Development Corporate (SDC) signed a historic partnership with the National Trades Union Congress’ Learning Hub (NTUC-LHUB) to upskill up to 15,000 employees in the tourism and hospitality sectors across the island, including from notable industry partners like Resorts World Sentosa.
This landmark initiative was formalised via a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and aims to foster lifelong learning, as well as employee empowerment through skills education for a rapidly evolving industry.
The joint targeted programmes were unveiled during the inaugural Sentosa Learning Festival (SLF) before an audience of almost 1,000 participants. Slated to be held annually, the SLF provides employees with a platform to explore increasingly relevant topics and collaborate on innovative solutions for the future of tourism.
A pioneering framework
This dynamic learning programme is built upon the One Sentosa Transformation and Equipping Platform (1-STEP), an innovative skills training framework meant to drive the island’s transformation into a global tourism destination.
As such, its focus is on emergent capabilities, including customer experience, wellness and regenerative tourism, sustainability, as well as data and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the contemporary workplace. With these skills in hand, the workforce will meet today’s demands and drive the tourism industry forward in the future.
SDC assistant chief executive for corporate and sustainability Lee Cheh Hsien said of the initiative: “The dynamic tourism sector today is constantly evolving, driven by key trends and shifting challenges such as sustainability, digital transformation, and changing consumer expectations. Recognising this, it was crucial to ensure our workforce at Sentosa is future-ready and equipped with the right skills to navigate these emerging demands.”