SP Group and SIT partner to upskill and reskill SP employees over the next 3 years

SP employees will be able to take up a full-time undergraduate degree in electrical power engineering, where they apply existing practices from the workplace, and hone their skills through actual work exposure through SIT’s applied learning pedagogy.

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and SP Group (SP) have signed a memorandum of understanding sealing a three-year partnership that will focus on the upskilling and reskilling of SP's employees.

This partnership comes as part of a collaborated effort to "enhance the capabilities of the power engineering workforce in Singapore," both said in a joint press release on Friday (15 July 2022), following the signing at the Energy Innovation 2022, organised by the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

"As Singapore advances towards a sustainable energy future and its Smart Nation ambitions, it is crucial that local talents gain knowledge and skills to adapt and thrive in the evolving energy sector. To grow the engineering talent pipeline and skillset for the energy sector, the SIT-SP partnership seeks to provide continuous skills upgrading pathways for SP employees through a full-time undergraduate degree in electrical power engineering."

About the undergraduate degree in electrical power engineering

As part of the undergraduate degree, students will undergo an Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP) and Capstone Projects, which put theory into practice in real-work situations. SIT and SP will provide students with workplace learning opportunities and innovation projects that address the emerging needs of the energy industry.

As a start, a pioneer cohort of SP employees will undertake the programme at SIT, starting in September 2022. The degree programme, jointly offered by SIT and Newcastle University, has been customised to provide students with a holistic approach to learning while experiencing hands-on industry-focused activities.

As part of this pioneer cohort in September 2022, five SP employees will be onboarded as full-time students, where they will get to apply existing practices from the workplace, and hone their skills through actual work exposure through SIT’s applied learning pedagogy. SP will be sponsoring their studies as they pursue their career aspirations and grow their engineering capabilities. 

"This MOU is an extension of the ongoing partnership between SIT and SP over the past few years – which currently includes SP’s investment in Singapore’s first experimental, multi-energy microgrid at SIT’s future campus in the Punggol Digital District, signaling a long-term commitment of both organisations’ collective efforts to advance the energy sector in Singapore," the press release stated.

Commenting on the partnership, Professor Chua Kee Chaing, SIT President, said: “This MOU underscores SIT’s shared commitment with SP to upskill and reskill different generations of power engineers, to cater to new industry demands. As the demands of tomorrow continue to evolve, it calls for closer academia-industry partnerships with industry leaders like SP, and a work-study approach to better train work-ready professionals.”

Stanley Huang, Group Chief Executive Officer, SP Group, added: "We are pleased to launch the work-study programme with SIT, to help our workers upskill and adapt to the changing energy landscape. It enables them to pursue an engineering degree course full-time, while continuing in work roles during the course of their study and applying the knowledge they gain. This is part of SP Group’s commitment to continuously develop our workforce for the needs of our industry and support our workers in contributing effectively."

Concluding the commentary, Ngiam Shih Chun, Chief Executive, EMA, shared: "As Singapore advances our energy transition towards a more sustainable future, we will need to ensure that workers are equipped with relevant skillsets to take on new opportunities. EMA is supportive of such academia-industry partnerships in building up Singapore’s manpower capabilities for the energy sector.

"We are heartened to note SP Group’s strong emphasis and commitment to upskilling its employees. We hope this collaboration between SIT and SP Group will be the first of many such partnerships to come, to build a future-ready workforce that will propel Singapore’s energy sector forward."

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