NTU PACE College: Building digital skills at every level

It really doesn’t matter what you do these days – technology is going to play a part.

From tradespeople finding work and facilitating payments via mobile apps, to teachers utilising cloud technology to collaborate across lesson planning and assessments, almost every job, profession, and even every skill now has a digital element to it.

Keeping up with that technology is not easy, even for those starting out from a highly-functional skill base. The pace of change has become so rapid that employees – across industries and professions – need to be constantly looking to upskill and develop their understanding of the opportunities available through new technology.

Nanyang Technological University’s College of Professional and Continuing Education (PACE College) has kept this unique challenge in mind when developing its technology and IT course offerings for adult learners.

“Technology is as much about opening up new opportunities as it is about overcoming constraints,” Professor Ting Seng Kiong, Dean of PACE College, said. “Even a short bridging course or seminar can open up a whole new world of possibilities for busy professionals.

“PACE College has developed its course menu, and each curriculum within it, to give everyone the chance to seize the advantages that digital literacy can bring.”

The College has a wide range of courses and programmes that are relevant across professions and skill levels. In the digital sphere, for example, learners can elect to upgrade their skills in cloud computing or data analytics via short courses, semester-long programmes, and also e-learning modules.

By taking advantage of PACE College’s Skills Future Series Seminars, employees can even participate in small three-hour snapshots of Industry 4.0 subject areas such as Digital Manufacturing and Business, and Internet of Things Innovation Management. Participants that take part in at least three seminars within a series earn a formal Certification of Completion.

With the backing of Nanyang Technological University’s faculty and knowledge resources, PACE College also offers customisable, global executive programmes for industry leaders, senior executives, government leaders, and entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Never a better time

It’s not just the disruptive business environment and rapid pace of technological change that is pushing many employees – and even HR leaders themselves – into skills upgrading. It’s also the Singapore Government’s SkillsFuture agenda and the significant funding that is now available to subsidise training programmes.

PACE College has embraced this drive with a number of specially-designed courses in the subject areas being most talked about in business today. In addition to its regular SkillsFuture Series courses, PACE College is partnering with Delta – NTU Corporate Lab (a joint lab established by Delta Electronics and NTU with support from the National Research Foundation, Singapore) to equip professionals and enterprises with the latest Industry 4.0 skills.  The partnership utilises a mobile application learning platform which combines the latest information from industry and data generated from participants’ learning proficiency to create a customised content package that will enhance the overall learning experience.

“The platform is designed as a collaborative tool which will help participants connect and learn alongside others, exchanging information seamlessly,” Dr Jack Sheng Kee, Co-Director of the Corporate Lab, said. “It also provides multiple scenarios that match different levels of competencies and skills. ‘Interactive markers’ that function as bookmarkers and notes will help participants ease into the various learning scenarios.

“We keep on innovating Smart Learning technology with Industry 4.0’s content to help workforce to learn and work well in the changing economy.”

Embrace the disruption

The pace of change taking place across business models, consumer demands, and technology is like nothing the world has ever seen before. All industries are vulnerable to disruption – if the wave of change has not already affected them. And that means all professionals need to be across the opportunities and challenges that this new Industry 4.0 world is bringing.

Skills development has never been more important, but it is not an impossible hill to climb. With exemplary staff and teaching faculty, and a dynamic course programme that changes with the changing environment, adult learners can effectively embrace the disruption and lead their organisations through the ongoing revolution.

For more information, visit the PACE College website.