By Khoong Chan Meng, CEO, NUS-ISS
The global COVID-19 crisis presented challenges to many organisations – forever changing experiences and pushing businesses to ramp up on digital transformation, more than ever before. It has dawned on employers that ultimately skills development is the enabler of digital transformation. In the face of this cusp, NUS-ISS’ unwavering purpose of developing digital talent for 40 years has allowed us to approach the crisis from a position of strength as the bridge that takes organisations from skills to transformation.
A year before the pandemic struck, we had already started pivoting to online learning and implemented a variety of innovations in the way we delivered them to ensure that our students and participants continued getting the same excellent learning outcomes. This also meant that we were able to move all hundred plus learning programmes to online mode within a few weeks after the onset of the circuit breaker and kept learning journeys going, despite the crisis of a generation.
As the fourth industrial revolution continues to sweep across all businesses, new job roles and new demands for skills will emerge. The way industry professionals learn will likewise undergo transformation. The trajectory of learning will be increasingly holistic, bite-sized, just-in-time, any-time and any-where. Through our unique model of multiple learning pathways and blended learning – from stackable to certifiable pathways; online to face-to-face experiences, formal to social learning – it is our ingrained purpose to leave no talent behind and our steadfast commitment to provide an open platform for collaboration, with learning organisations and learning communities, to climb the next curve of digital excellence.
A year since the World Health Organisation announced the global pandemic, the expansion and transformation of our campus at 25 Heng Mui Keng Terrace is now complete. We convey our deepest appreciation to our staff, students and industry stakeholders for working tirelessly hand-in-hand with us in ensuring continuity of NUS-ISS operations throughout our complex construction project and the challenges of the pandemic. The refreshed home of NUS-ISS a learning and collaboration space that is both inspiring and conducive to live, work and play for our next generation of digital talent. This year also marks our 40th anniversary as we unveil the culmination of our rebranding efforts and new campus.
I am sincerely grateful to my fellow board members for their guidance and dedication in steering organisations to digitalise amidst this global storm and to our colleagues at NUS-ISS who have shown incredible resilience and adaptability to emerge stronger. The next 40 years will present even greater challenges and opportunities for our industry and for NUS-ISS. We take great pride in delivering learning programmes that help professionals and businesses reach their goals. No matter how daunting the challenges may be, we are always here to help build the bridge of skills to new opportunities. We are also always here to guide our learners as they cross that bridge – time after time, bridge after bridge.
This is what makes ISS special. This is ISS.