Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Principal & CEO of Ngee Ann Polytechnic,
Distinguished industry partners and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Introduction
1. Good morning and thank you very much for having me here today. In this room, we have different groups of people; academics, industry partners, government representatives. All of you have poured your energy into preparing each student for the world beyond the classroom. There is no SOP or playbook for this. This requires bespoke curation, mentorship, adjusting to the needs of the students, adjusting to the particularities of the workplace, the company culture and the real world. So, thank you very much for putting this together, for getting us to this point where we then have the confidence – in the relationships that we have built between academia and industry, between industry and government, and between government and academia.
Aligning Education with a Changing Economy
2. The Industry-In-Curriculum framework, launched in 2023, brings together industry partners to be an integral part of the academic experience – co-developing, co-delivering, and co-assessing learning for full-time diploma students. This allows the industry to have an increasing, pervasive influence on the NP curriculum and the NP experience.
3. Industry partnerships are important. They close the gap between what students learn and what the workplace needs. It gives opportunities for students to work on real-world projects with industry partners. Students graduate not just with qualifications, but also with relationships formed and an understanding of the workplace culture. We will have to continue to deepen these partnerships and think about how we can continue to work hand in hand to support the next generation of workers in building the skills, confidence, and adaptability for the future.
Workforce Transformation in an Age of AI
4. In his Budget 2026 speech, PM Wong announced the formation of a National AI Council to drive AI missions across advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare. Today, AI is the chief example of the disruptions that our students, are likely to face. It is not the only one, but it allows us to organise our thoughts around a clear problem set. And so, organisations will need to move thoughtfully and deliberately to be able to deal with this.
5. In practice, this means that you need to redesign roles, shift workers to higher-value tasks and internalise and understand what the data is already starting to show; that most of the value of AI comes not from the technology itself, but from the redesign of the work, the transformation of the business process and the alteration of operating models. The technological-driven transformation is ultimately a people-centric transformation.
6. The harder challenge for businesses in redesigning jobs and evolving how teams work is that this also requires a cultural change for many organisations. This takes time, and it takes intentionality. We have to understand how people experience change as they build new habits and confidence, and create the conditions for people to experiment, to learn, and sometimes to fail and try again. These will be increasingly important experiences and insights that students and interns going to you at the most junior level will need to understand to develop and grow into leaders within your organisations and take that culture forward. It's not about who adopts AI first, but who does it in a way that supports our people through the changing circumstances.
NP's SH1F+ as a Key Connector
7. This is why I am glad to see that NP has launched the Centre for Shaping Human-First Transformation, or SH1F+ [Pronounced "Shift"]. Its distinctive integrated approach will bring together of expertise in behavioural science, human-centred design, organisational development, and workplace wellbeing, helping organisations translate good intentions into real change on the ground.
8. We are already seeing this in action. Let me share a couple of examples. United Overseas Bank (UOB), worked with NP to conduct skills gap analysis, develop individual training plans, as well as deliver structured training and coaching to support around 500 employees transition into new growth roles in areas like sales, trade operations, and risk and compliance. It reflects the understanding that technological change is not a disruption to manage or mitigate, but an opportunity to invest in people, business processes and organisational transformation. And the feedback is positive. Most employees from the initial cohorts have successfully settled into their new roles, and UOB continues to support them with further upskilling in areas like AI and automation.
9. Another example is Murata Electronics Singapore, a global electronics manufacturer with operations across the region. With a new business direction, they needed a consistent way to develop talent for a new strategic role across six countries: Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Singapore. Very different markets with potentially different challenges, NP worked with them to build a shared framework of skills and expectations, giving Murata a common reference point for developing and growing talent consistently across the region.
Conclusion
10. These examples show what is possible when industry partners come together with academic faculty with a shared commitment to people and to progress. Such strong partnerships can create meaningful and lasting impact for companies, workers, and the wider economy. The organisations that lead will be those that pair new tools with a deep and long-standing value of investing in their people. This is where NP and partners like all of you here today play such an important role — the spirit of collaboration, a shared set of values and a commitment to grow together.
11. To all our industry partners, to all our educators, to all our faculty here today — thank you very much. The work that you do, shaping skills, designing jobs, and supporting our people through change, is what will keep Singapore's workforce ready for the future. Thank you all very much.