I have often shared about my meaningful journey as a SPRING Singapore SkillsFuture SME Mentor. The initiative aims to enhance SMEs’ capabilities in learning & development and to build up their value proposition as employers of choice offering good career development and growth opportunities.
As such, was absolutely delighted when SPRING Singapore invited me to be part of the panel discussion held during the seminar held yesterday. As an architect for business culture, the topic of placing people at the core of a business naturally resonates with me.
The seminar was held at the Regent Hotel and I was heartened by the presence of 400 business leaders and representatives from SMEs, Institutes of Higher Learning and associations.
My fellow panelists were Ms Lim Hee Joo from Wah Son Engineering and Mr Sherwin Siregar and Alex Chua from atlas Sound & Vision and it was delightfully moderated by Ms Christophane Foo from SPRING Singapore. I shared on what may stop some SMEs from investing in people and how we could influence SME top management to change their mindset about people development.
Following the discussion, the business leaders and representatives had the opportunity to network with the more than 50 SME mentors who were present at the event. Presently, there are 116 mentors with vast HR and business experience in a wide range of industries for SMEs to connect with.
To-date, fifty SMEs have completed or are about to complete the nine-month mentoring programme. So glad to see two of our clients Kith Café and Aries Fresh featured in the Hall of Fame as the early adopters of the programme. Another 55 firms are set to participate in this initiative.
Read HRMAsia article on the seminar: SMEs prioritising employee development
