NTUC LearningHub reveals perception gap on learning between leaders and employees

Source: NTUC LearningHub. Infographic on the leadership gap uncovered by recent research.

Leaders today are expected to thrive in a dynamic and digitally driven workplace, while cultivating human-centric capabilities and competencies, said NTUC LearningHub. In research conducted by the organisation, over four in five business leaders (11% "very well", 72% "quite well") believe they demonstrate emotional intelligence well, whereas only half of employees believe their leaders possess the skill (2% "very well", 48% "quite well").

According to employees, emotional intelligence (31%) is in fact the top skill they believe their leaders are lacking, followed by effective communication (30%), and people development (30%).

Similarly, the majority of business leaders are confident in their ability to lead effectively and achieve organisational goals (13% "very confident", 73% "quite confident"). However, only half of employees are equally confident in their leaders’ capabilities (3% "very confident", 52% "quite confident").

This disconnect between the two groups is evident in how most business leaders believe they understand their employees’ needs (17% "very well", 72% "quite well") and meet their evolving expectations (11% "very well", 73% "quite well"). Yet, less than half of the employees share the same sentiment, where 46% agree leaders understand their needs “very well” or “quite well”, and 45% agree leaders meet their evolving expectations “very well” or “quite well”.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub’s Leadership and Coaching Report, which investigates the essential skills and competencies that future leaders must cultivate. The research also explored the role of coaching in driving individual and organisational growth across all levels and roles.

Based on a survey involving 150 business leaders and 300 full-time working professionals, the report also examines how organisations can develop and sustain strong leadership pipelines by leveraging people-centric approaches and emotional intelligence to build resilient, high-performing teams.

More than nine in ten business leaders (41% "very important", 51% "quite important"), as well as employees (32% "very important", 56% "quite important") view emotional intelligence as important in leadership.

Business leaders cited the ability to communicate more effectively (55%), make better decisions (55%), be more flexible and adaptable to changes (53%), build strong relationships with employees (51%), and motivate employees more effectively (50%) as the top reasons why they perceive emotional intelligence as important for leaders. While employees voiced similar sentiments, they also highlight the ability to better manage and resolve conflicts (65%) and react to challenges or highly pressurising situations calmly (58%) as other key reasons.

The perception divide also shows up in leadership styles where business leaders are most likely to apply democratic leadership (40%), followed by situational leadership (39%), and laissez-faire (hands-off) leadership (31%). Meanwhile, employees ranked situational leadership (44%) as their most preferred leadership style above democratic leadership (43%) and transformational leadership style (41%).

Business leaders have to contend with keeping their teams engaged and motivated (38%) as a consequence, managing relationships with employees (35%), and balancing performance with employee wellbeing (29%) in today’s workplace. This is also accompanied by other challenges cited such as developing future leaders (29%) and adapting to change and uncertainty (28%).

On the other hand, three in five business leaders (60%) acknowledge gaps in their leadership abilities and have identified areas for improvement. However, fewer than half of business leaders (44%) have participated in relevant training to enhance their leadership skills in the past year, with two in five (39%) rarely attending training. Lack of time (48%), high workload (47%), and lack of motivation (31%) are among the top challenges business leaders face when participating in leadership training programmes.

Paradoxically, roughly four in 10 business leaders (38%) express a desire for more frequent training to develop their leadership skills. Three in four business leaders (9% very effective, 67% quite effective) also believe that the leadership training they received was effective in developing their abilities.

Jeremy Ong, CEO, NTUC LearningHub said: “The apparent disconnect between leaders and employees highlights an urgent need for leadership to evolve in tandem with workforce expectations. As leadership expectations broaden beyond formal roles, organisations are looking to cultivate a culture where more employees feel empowered to take initiative, make decisions, and contribute to team direction.

"Technical skills alone are no longer enough today, as a more balanced and human-centric approach towards leadership has become a key competency that will enable leaders to adopt the right leadership approach, connect meaningfully with their team, sustain employee engagement, and ultimately drive organisational success. Therefore, it is important for leaders to continuously improve themselves through learning and development as a strategic imperative to bridge existing skills gaps and nurture future emotionally intelligent and visionary leaders.” Details

Download the Leadership and Coaching Report at www.ntuclearninghub.com/media/research-reports/2025/leadership-coaching

More information about the courses, training, and grants can be found at www.ntuclearninghub.com.

PwC Singapore launches initiatives for digital learning, SMEs

- To help individuals and organisations increase digital acumen and upskill, PwC Singapore is releasing a learning app to the public for free

- PwC also aims to provide support to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accelerate their digital adoption with dedicated digital advisory services, solutions and upskilling programmes

- Other initiatives include providing free virtual learning workshops for charities, social entrepreneurs and social service agencies

Source: PwC. Acquire more digital skills with PwC Singapore's free learning app.

In response to calls in Singapore's Fortitude Budget for more support for upskilling, digital adoption, and financial support for vulnerable communities, PwC Singapore has launched several new initiatives to support individuals and organisations through the COVID-19 pandemic. This move is part of PwC Singapore’s commitment to be part of the solution to support groups that have been impacted by COVID-19.

Yeoh Oon Jin, Executive Chairman, PwC Singapore, said: “We want to play our part in solving some of the important problems that people may be facing now. From preparing individuals for the digital future to supporting non-profit organisations that provide meals to vulnerable individuals and families, we hope that the actions that we are taking can help our community tide through the current situation and be ready for the new normal.”

The need for continuous upskilling and reskilling to become part of the “new normal” was highlighted in the Fortitude Budget. In response, PwC Singapore is making their learning app free for all from 8 June 2020. Digital Fitness for the World will allow users to assess their digital acumen, gain access to recommended learning materials to be more digitally-aware and also gain insight on business and economic issues relevant to our evolving environment.

Fang Eu-Lin, Leader of PwC’s Academy in Singapore, said, “The Digital Fitness App was first used by PwC to help upskill our people’s capabilities in a digital and evolving world. We have updated the app so that this can be made available for use by the whole community. We hope individuals will use the app to gain good knowledge and insights on digital topics, and find it a fun way to learn!”

In addition, PwC Singapore aims to help support SMEs to accelerate their digital adoption journeys with dedicated digital advisory services, solutions and upskilling tailored for the unique needs of this segment.

PwC Singapore has also launched complimentary virtual workshops specifically for charities, social entrepreneurs and social service agencies. The firm conducted a series of four virtual workshops - on digital strategy and transformation, data and analytics, digital marketing and social media, and digital trust and cybersecurity – aimed at helping them address the challenges and opportunities of digital disruption in the social and non-profit sectors. This is part of PwC Singapore’s ongoing skills-based volunteering efforts.

Details:



The Digital Fitness for the World app will be available from 8 June 2020 until 31 July 2020.

Download the Digital Fitness for the World app. Gain free access using the promotional code LRNALL.

Cognizant: training curriculums lag behind changing realities

Companies and higher education institutions (HEIs)* are training people for jobs that currently exist, but they need to train them as well for jobs that do not exist as yet.

This was the conclusion from Cognizant's Future of Learning report, based on a global survey of 601 top business executives at leading companies and 262 HEIs. The research aims to uncover insights into the changes these entities are making in their training and educational programmes, and the challenges they face in preparing tomorrow’s workforce.

Findings include:

Preparing the workforce for future jobs is a matter of survival for both businesses and HEIs

The majority of businesses (80%) and HEIs (72%) globally agree it is extremely important to prepare workers and students to work alongside emerging digital technologies. Businesses and HEIs in Singapore estimate that 60% and 55% of their total staff and students, respectively, will be prepared to handle new types of work driven by emerging digital technologies in the next five years. However, a 82% of Singaporean HEIs and 63% of businesses are presently unable to deliver.

Businesses are beginning to bear the burden of learning

Skills have become like mobile apps that need frequent upgrades. While 45% of businesses in Singapore currently update their learning content on an annual or biannual basis, 67% of HEIs only update their curriculum every two to six years. Globally, businesses are intent on speeding the pace of curriculum updates, with 75% planning to move to a one- to five-month or even continuous refresh schedule in the next five years. In contrast, only 30% of HEIs plan to increase update frequency, from today’s two- to six-year cycle to an annual one by 2023.

The work ahead means working together

Preparing the current and future workforce for the work ahead cannot take place in a vacuum. Three-quarters of both businesses and HEIs globally view collaboration as critical to successfully managing the transformative and disruptive impact of the new machine age. Singapore businesses appear less keen to collaborate with HEIs as opposed to educators – only 55% of businesses see collaboration as critical compared to 75% of HEIs.

Emerging technologies such as augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) will supercharge learning by focusing on “how to learn” over “what to learn”

New modes of education delivery will emerge, with Netflix-style, on-demand digital assets allowing for anytime, anywhere self-learning. AI-driven learning platforms will personalise learning, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) systems will become mainstream, with a 220% increase in the take-up of the technology by HEIs and businesses globally in in the next five years.

Source: Cognizant study. The top priorities for businesses (left) and HEIs (right) on preparing the workforce for the next five years.

Based on the insights, Cognizant has developed an industry solution for businesses and higher education institutions, which they define as a Future of Learning equation. It requires the following elements of change:

- More accurate skills identification to align with actual workplace needs.

- Overhauling the approach of curriculum and training to be more immersive and personalised.

- An environment supportive of self-learning, with access to multiple content sources like open educational resources.

Ultimately, the speed at which these elements are executed will determine their efficacy in preparing an aptly-skilled workforce, Cognizant said, suggesting that businesses and HEIs will need to engage in more flexible partnerships, quicker responses, different modes of delivery and new combined-skill programmes to reliably prepare people for what comes next.

Details:

Read the Future of Learning report (PDF)

*The term 'institutes of higher learning' (IHL) is often used as well.

GLG expands Singapore office

GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group), a platform for professional learning, has relocated and expanded its Singapore office. GLG connects thousands of clients to its membership of 500,000 subject-matter experts around the world and across fields for short- and long-term learning engagements.

"Our mission is to transform how the world's top professionals learn and share expertise by creating a variety of one-to-one learning opportunities," said GLG CEO Alexander Saint-Amand. "We are experiencing a rapid rate of expansion of our business in Singapore, among the fastest anywhere in the region. This new office facilitates that growth and helps us accomplish our mission here."

GLG will occupy 6,000 sq ft on the 19th floor of Samsung Hub in Singapore's central business district. The office can accommodate 64 employees.

"Singapore is a crucial hub for us because of its strategic location and its high concentration of industry-leading companies and professionals," said GLG Head of Asia-Pacific and Managing Director Evan Auyang.

"Singapore is an important market for us," added David Anderson, Head of GLG Southeast Asia. "With this new, larger office, we will continue to increase our capacity and focus on providing excellent service to our customers in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and across the Asia-Pacific region."

GLG's new Singapore office features activity-based working, which enhances flexibility by providing different types of private meeting and collaboration spaces, a café, standing tables, and phone booths. The company pioneered this approach with its New York, US office in 2014, and activity-based working is also featured in its Hong Kong hub.

US-headquartered GLG has 1,400 employees in 12 countries. Its Asia Pacific headquarters is in Hong Kong.

Here's why the skills you have are going to help you get one of tomorrow's jobs

Legrand shows how LinkedIn is making breakthroughs connecting present-day skillsets with emerging job requirements.

Olivier Legrand, MD, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn, says that many of us may already be partway towards meeting the requirements for the jobs which are most demand in the industry today, only we don't realise it.

In his keynote Job titles are out, skill sets are in during at the Singapore Computer Society's Tech³ Forum, Legrand said that LinkedIn is not just the platform to matchmake job seekers and employers, but also the company that will put members in touch with the right company, the right jobs and the right skills to acquire in order to stay relevant for the future.

Legrand spoke about LinkedIn's drive to offer more value to the approximately 3.3 billion workers and up to 50 million employers globally. against its 500 million members and 7 million active employers today. Some 30,000 schools are currently on the platform as well.

Legrand explained that there is an opportunity to help all stakeholders through analysing the skillsets that each member has and linking those skillsets with the skillsets actually required for new types of jobs. This is a completely different approach to the traditional focus of match-making members and employers by existing job titles. The company has been asking peers to endorse LinkedIn members for various skillsets for some time, and has amassed some 10 billion of these endorsements so far.

"The 10 billion skills endorsements actually shared by our members...allow us to have a unique view to have a skills taxonomy and what kinds of skills are needed to do the jobs," he said.

As an illustration, Legrand pointed to the crying need for data scientists and how few members currently have related job titles today. An analysis of data scientist-related jobs by skillset on LinkedIn reveals a list of skills that existing members may already possess, or possess to a significant degree, he said. Such insights allow employers to reach out to more people by disregarding their existing job titles, for LinkedIn to suggest new skills for the educational industry to offer, and for members to acquire, he said.

LinkedIn will be there every step of the way to empower members to take control of opportunities, he added. "We are investing in algorithms and machine learning to point you in the right direction," he confirmed.

In the case of data scientists, candidates need to have data knowledge, analytical skills and programming capability. There are 84,000 people on LinkedIn with the right job titles, but 576,000 who have at least five of the skillsets that data scientists are known to require. Casting the net further, Legrand said that 10 million individuals on LinkedIn have one or more of the 10 required skills.

"We're able to massively grow the talent pool about eight times through that exercise," he said. "We identified adjacencies in skills that would allow us to potentially invest in reskilling people who already have (what) it takes to be data scientists."

Legrand also shared the skills which are most in demand in Singapore, and noted that they are generally digital-related.

The skillsets most in demand in Singapore are mostly digital.

Legrand emphasised the importance of lifelong learning in a world where work requirements are continually evolving. "It's a reality," he said. "Your career path is not always a straight line. Stay open-minded, flexible and adaptable. The jobs of tomorrow will be different from those of today."

Legrand profiled Wui Liang Heng, Country Head, Singapore @ BankBazaar International, a fintech company focusing on mobile payments, as a prime example of a person who had undergone a mid-career switch because he believes in the new digital era. Heng made the effort to reach out on LinkedIn to people who were or had been in startups, which eventually led him to where he is today.

Legrand encouraged members in their pursuit of lifelong learning to emulate Heng, researching people on LinkedIn  and contacting them. The platform allows members to see what others are reading, liking and sharing in terms of professional content so that they can reach out in a meaningful way.

Legrand also spoke about best practices for creating a LinkedIn profile, using CEO of PerX Technologies Anna Gong's profile as an example. Some tips include:

- Add a summary with keywords, not buzzwords

- Add a photograph - the profile is is 21x more likely to be viewed by others

- Include your current position - the profile is 18x more likely to be viewed as a result

- List relevant skills – those with five or more skills are 17x more likely to be viewed by others

LinkedIn Asia Pacific has 13 offices in nine markets.

Held annually, the Tech³ Forum features luminary speakers and examines hot topics revolving around technology, talents and trends.

HelloTalk language learning app passes 1 million downloads

Source: HelloTalk app page
at the Play Store.

Social language learning mobile app developer HelloTalk has announced its iOS and Android language learning app, also called HelloTalk, has surpassed 1 million registered global users. 

The HelloTalk app is unique in that users teach each other their respective native languages across their mobile and tablet devices. HelloTalk also provides a variety of mechanisms whereby users can engage in real-time practice of the language they're learning with native speakers of that language.

HelloTalk's more than one million users hail from over 200 countries around the world, with 59% learning English, 9% learning Korean, 8% learning Japanese, 5% learning Spanish, 4% learning Chinese, and 15% learning a variety of other languages including French, Italian, Finnish, Russian, Arabic, German, and more. HelloTalk supports over 100 languages, which includes Navajo and Esperanto.

HelloTalk is a platform where users learn and practice languages and share culture with people around the world. With HelloTalk, you pick the language you want to learn, and instantaneously you're learning and practicing with native speakers of that language. HelloTalk isn't a course the user strictly follows; rather, they learn at a pace that best meets the way they learn. HelloTalk makes the process of learning a new language faster and more intuitive. 

Said Zackery Ngai, Founder and CEO of HelloTalk: "We're excited for HelloTalk's continued user base growth, and we look forward to HelloTalk supporting even more languages in the future. People have come to realise it's much easier learning a new language when they do so, and practice with, native language speakers in real-time, at their own pace. The HelloTalk experience is so much more natural and engaging than that provided by other language learning solutions."

HelloTalk is available for the iPhone and iPad here and at the Play Store here.

Universiti Putra Malaysia makes mark on academic world with free MOOC platform

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM's) latest public service to the Malaysian community and the world at large is a free online learning environment on various field of studies.

This new method of learning, incorporating video lectures, interactive forums, chats, quizzes, and e-assessments, is in line with the current National Higher Education Strategic Plan which emphasises life-long learning, e-learning, internationalisation and knowledge transfer, the university said. 

Students can register online for the Putra Massive Open Online Course (PutraMOOC), and complete a course in roughly seven to eight weeks. The Agriculture and Man course is already available, and Malay Arts is expected to be ready soon. 

In line with the national level MOOC initiative, UPM is also converting the “Islamic Civilization and Asian Civilization” (TITAS) course that is compulsory for all public universities as a MOOC course to benefit in-campus students as well as interested public communities.

ACCA sponsors MOOC on FutureLearn that exempts learners from F1 paper

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the first professional accountancy body to sponsor massive open online courses (MOOCs) on UK company FutureLearn’s social learning platform for professional recognition.

The global body for professional accountants will work with FutureLearn’s  university partners to make learning content in the fields of accountancy, finance and business, available to FutureLearn’s international learner base, online, free of charge.

Simon Nelson, Chief Executive of FutureLearn, said, “Our free online courses provide a valuable means of supplementing professional knowledge, and also reaching learners with career options they might not previously have considered. I’m pleased to welcome the ACCA as a world-renowned and trusted source of knowledge in business and finance; together we can provide essential knowledge to working accountants, and inspire the next generation of finance professionals.”

Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive of ACCA and alumnus of the University of Exeter, said, “This could be the start of professional training towards a prestigious and respected global qualification. But it doesn’t stop there – MOOCs can also be used by our ACCA members to meet their needs for continuing professional development throughout their careers.

“As the global body for professional accountants, we have led innovation in the profession, starting computer based exams way back in 1998. Access to the accountancy profession is important to ACCA; one of our core values is that of opportunity – enabling those with ability to become a finance professional, with or without a degree. Using the online technology that is now part of all our everyday lives means that this partnership is opportunity in action.”
 
Professor Robin Mason, Dean of the University of Exeter Business School said, “With two-thirds of our research rated as world-leading or of an internationally excellent standard, we are perfectly placed to deliver a course that is both engaging and informed by cutting edge thinking.”

The first MOOC to launch as a result of this collaboration will be called Discovering Business in Society, developed by academics at the University of Exeter. Launching on FutureLearn in September 2014, the course is aimed at anyone interested in learning the principles of business, including prospective undergraduate students, working professionals without a background in business and anyone interested in entering the finance profession and seeking a route to ACCA membership.

The course will receive professional accreditation from ACCA, granting exemption from paper F1 (Accountant in Business) of the ACCA Qualification. This will provide those learners who fully participate and pass the associated exam with the opportunity to continue on a journey to ACCA membership and a rewarding career in finance. Learners can sign up for the course now, at www.futurelearn.com/courses.

Free six-week MOOC on the Internet offered by Hasso Plattner Institute

A free six-week online course on the foundations of the Internet will be offered in English by Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) on its international learning platform at  http://www.openhpi.de. 

Institute Director Professor Christoph Meinel will be discussing the technical foundations of the "network of networks" starting March 31. The massive open online course (MOOC) entitled "Introduction to Internetworking with TCP/IP" is open to everyone, with free registration here. 
  
"Anyone who uses the Internet daily to order goods, read the news, or send e-mails should have the opportunity to understand the necessary technologies that make all of this possible," said Meinel. 

The course will cover the foundation of digital data transfer, the working principles of local networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), the TCP/IP reference model and Internet protocols (IP), as well as applications such as e-mail and audio/video communication. 

A video preview of Meinel's course can viewed here.

In preparation for the course, HPI increased the student capacity of the underlying software, and enhanced the display of content for mobile devices. A new community forum supports collaborative learning.