SBS Transit Invests In the Future of Training With Rail Training Institute

Joining a new company has always been filled with anxious moments for 26-year-old Mr Justin Oh. Although he’s enthusiastic to gain new experiences, skills and knowledge, the avalanche of information can sometimes be a little daunting especially with the intensive training he received during orientation. He worries that he might forget some of the things he learnt as he might only work on some projects later in his career. But soon, Justin can look forward to enrolling in bite-sized courses and just-in-time training at SBS Transit’s Rail Training Institute, where he will be able to digest the lessons learnt quickly and put them into practice almost immediately!  

SBS Transit is investing $1 million in the Rail Training Institute to not just develop progressive training and development frameworks for rail employees, but also leverage innovative technology such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality to provide training on the go. Instead of making their way to conventional training centres, employees will be able to conveniently assess training materials using AR/VR during off-peak times that have minimal impact to operations. This will result in an efficiently trained workforce that’s able to jump into work quickly and effectively. 

Justin, a Signalling Assistant Engineer, said: “There are too many things that require our attention, be it at work or at home. With targeted training like this, I am able to focus on what is critical and put to use what I have learnt immediately.”

Justin’s supervisor, Effendy bin Ahmad Sata, an Executive Signalling Engineer, said: “Typically, it could take up to a year to fully train a Signalling Technician. With just-in-time training, we’re able to integrate the technician into the team earlier, and reduce training wastage as they may have forgotten what they had learnt earlier. This increases productivity.” 

Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Desmond Tan, officiated at the inauguration of the Rail Training Institute today at the Sengkang Depot.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was also signed between SBS Transit and NTUC LearningHub to jointly collaborate on the development and delivery of critical core skills programmes under the Skills Framework of SkillsFuture Singapore for land transport workers over the next three years. Under this framework, Bus Captains as well as bus and rail technicians will acquire new skills and certification in key areas such as “Thinking Critically”, “Interacting with Others” and “Staying Relevant”. The programmes will also result in passengers benefitting through better customer experience. 

Programme trainers and facilitators from NTUC LearningHub will be on the ground to participate in learning journeys to identify specific learning needs and develop contextualised training programmes tailored for the public transport industry.

Mr Cheng Siak Kian, Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit, said: “Our employees are our greatest asset and we place great importance on their growth and professional development. Providing them a progressive curriculum will help to strengthen their competencies and develop both technical and soft skills critical for a holistic career development. We’re committed to ensuring that they stay relevant and are future ready to continue to deliver high standards of operational and service excellence in the public transport industry.”