SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 15 October2020 - The Healthcare Academy -- a collaboration by NTUCLearningHub (NTUC LHUB), Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU) and NTUC's Employabilityand Employment Institute (e2i) -- today announced partnerships with Ngee Ann Polytechnicand Republic Polytechnic to leverage the expertise of each institution to enhancethe quality of training and expand the nation's healthcare and community carecompetencies. These competencies will directly address skills gaps and talentneeds arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the evolving health needsof Singaporeans as the healthcare industry continues its long-term shifttowards preventive and community care. This will be done through well-rounded,collaborative training programmes offered as part of the Government's SGUnitedSkills (SGUS) Programme.

Thecollaboration is also driven by a desire to upskill healthcare employees andexpand their competencies, as more pressure is placed on the sector for caredelivery and medical support[1].This initiative also supports the nation's plan to build a pipeline of talent, whomay not have prior healthcare industry experience, to join the sector [2].

Participantswill be able to select from three tracks including Basic Care Assistant andHealthcare Assistant offered by Healthcare Academy and Ngee Ann Polytechnic'sSchool of Health Sciences and School of Humanities & Social Sciences, and CommunityCare Workforce -- which includes care coordinators, health coaches and casemanagers -- by Healthcare Academy and Republic Polytechnic's School of Sports,Health and Leisure. These tracks were specially chosen to address bothimmediate and longer term needs of the communitycare sector.

In eachof the three tracks, the modules and real-world practicum are curated to form asix-month-long programme. The fundamental skills acquired will enableparticipants to take on new roles in the healthcare sector, even if they havehad no prior experience.

In addition, designed with the goal ofimproving the employability of participants, the SGUS Programme encompasses careeradvisory and employment facilitation efforts from NTUC LHUB to assist traineesin their job search in the healthcare sector.

"We are excited to partner Healthcare Academyto meet the nation's growing demand for healthcare services. Ngee AnnPolytechnic has been grooming compassionate and competent professionals for thesector through our School of Health Sciences since 2005. Together with ourSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, our programmes will offer additional multi-disciplinaryskills in a blended learning environment most suited for adult learners. Thelaunch of the SGUnited Skills Programme targeted at mid-career professionalswill allow them to acquire expertise in key areas such as infection control,wellness and counselling, to help build a strong talent pool and a sustainablehealthcare system," says Mr Clarence Ti, Principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Mr Yeo Li Pheow, Principal/ CEO, Republic Polytechnic, says, "We arepleased to collaborate with Healthcare Academy in delivering professionaltraining for our healthcare workforce. Republic Polytechnic is well-positionedto support the increased need for healthcare and community care professionals,with our range of Pre-employment Training (PET) and Continuing Education andTraining (CET) programmes that nurture a skilled healthcare workforce at anystage of their career. The SGUnited Skills Programme in Community Care andHealth will enable healthcare professionals to upskill and expand theircompetencies in delivering high quality community care outcomes, while alsoallowing mid-career entrants to contribute towards Singapore's evolvinghealthcare needs." 

"The Healthcare Academy was established to support the continuouslearning and career aspirations of healthcare employees, especially throughchanging times. This collaboration with like-minded partners such as Ngee AnnPolytechnic and Republic Polytechnic will help bolster existing efforts byHealthcare Academy to groom more healthcare employees and help sustainSingapore's world-class healthcare system. Through the three distincthealthcare tracks, we hope to generate more healthcare employees to thrive in agrowing sector with numerous career opportunities," says Deputy Chairman ofHealthcare Academy and CEO of NTUC LHUB, Kwek Kok Kwong.

"The HealthcareAcademy endeavours to fulfil the healthcare sector's skills  development needs for healthcare employees inthis era of industry transformation. In the last 3 years, we have offeredseveral customised programmes for our healthcare employees. We are now rollingout programmes to train Singaporeans from other industry sectors to be wellequipped with the skills, knowledge and competency to work in varioushealthcare institutions with the support of Skillsfuture Singapore (SSG) ande2i as well as in collaboration with Republic Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU) is indeed heartened to see thegrowth of the Healthcare Academy especially in supporting SGUS effort. Weinvite more Singaporeans to take up jobs in the healthcare sector for bettercareer opportunity and job security through our employment and employabilityefforts," says Chairman of Healthcare Academy and President of HSEU, KThanaletchimi.

Interestedparticipants may apply for the programme via https://bit.ly/sgunitedskills.

About Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Ngee Ann Polytechnic started in 1963 and is today one of Singapore'sleading institutions of higher learning with over 14,000 enrolled students inover 30 disciplines. It seeks to develop students with a passion for learning,values for life, and competencies to thrive in a global workplace. 

https://www.np.edu.sg

AboutRepublic Polytechnic

The firsteducational institution in Singapore to leverage the Problem-based Learningapproach for all its diploma programmes, Republic Polytechnic (RP) has sevenschools and one academic centre offering 37 full-time diplomas in AppliedScience, Engineering, Management and Communication, Hospitality, Infocomm,Sports, Health & Leisure, and Technology for the Arts.

RP iscommitted to nurturing professionals with strong problem-solving capabilitiesthrough an innovative and entrepreneurial learning environment, based on aholistic and industry-relevant curriculum. RP's Academy For ContinuingEducation also offers a comprehensive suite of lifelong learning programmes toprovide adult learners with skills upgrading opportunities.

For moreinformation, visit https://www.rp.edu.sg

About HealthcareAcademy

HealthcareAcademy is a collaboration among Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU),Employability and Employment Institute (e2i) and NTUC LearningHub (LHUB).Healthcare Academy endeavours to:

• Supportcontinuous learning for healthcare workers, especially those affected byindustry restructuring, job re-design and technological disruptions
• Provideemployment opportunities for displaced workers from other sectors to work inthe healthcare sector through robust job matching process
• Equiphealthcare workers with relevant adaptive skills, technology skills andtechnical skills, to be future ready for business transformation

HealthcareAcademy was birth forth in August 2018 when we envisage the need for healthcareworkers to be more agile and adaptive to the changes brought on bytechnological disruption and demographic changes. We started our journey byaddressing one very fundamental change element which is the mind, helpingworkers to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. We developed ourfirst programme to help workers develop a positive mindset for the workplace.Since then, we have learned and grew, and more products and solutions have beenadded to our offerings.

About NTUCLearningHub

NTUC LearningHub is the leading ContinuingEducation and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform thelifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, wehave been working employers and individual learners to provide learning solutionsin areas such as Cybersecurity, Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability& Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security,Human Resources and Foreign Worker Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 21,000organisations and achieved over 2.5 million training places across more than500 courses with a pool of over 400 certified trainers. As a Total LearningSolutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships and offer awide range of relevant end-to-end training solutions and work constantly toimprove our training quality and delivery. In 2020, we have accelerated ourforay into online learning with our Virtual Live Classes and, through workingwith best-in-class partners such as IBM, DuPont Sustainable Solutions and GO1,asynchronous online courses. 

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.