New training institute aims to improve rail standards
By Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 November 2009 1121 hrs

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SINGAPORE: A new training centre has been launched to help boost standards in Singapore's rail industry.

The SMRT Institute will have some 100 in-house trainers and facilities that can train up to 1,000 students a month in areas such as workplace safety and health practices, and team management.

The accredited institute is teaming up with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and Land Transport Authority (LTA).

SMRT and WDA will work on two Workforce Skills Qualification courses - the Certified Operations Specialist (COS) and Certified Operations Professional training.

ITE will collaborate with SMRT to develop a framework for a certificate-level programme in Railway Engineering, which will be known as National ITE Certificate (Nitec) in Rapid Transit Technology (RTT).

The institute also has future plans to build a continuous education pathway linking Nitec in RTT to a Diploma and eventually a Bachelor's Degree programme.

The LTA Academy will also work with SMRT Institute to develop joint marketing for and delivery of training and education programmes in areas such as train, bus and taxi operation and management as well as environmentally sustainable transport.

NTUC Secretary-General, Lim Swee Say, said: "This partnership between SMRT and WDA with the training institutions will actually lead to an upgrading of the employability of our workers.

"At the same time, (it will) enhance the productivity, the professionalism of the entire workforce, but more importantly, it will strengthen our competitiveness and the competency and the quality of the public transport system in Singapore."

With Singapore's rail network projected to double by 2020, SMRT Institute said the courses offered will help meet the increase in demand for specialised rail personnel, for example, staff in operational management roles.

SMRT Institute's director, Goh Sei Yi, said: "They (the courses) are designed to enhance both the technical and the management skills before they (workers) join the industry or to upgrade the current skills and competencies of professionals already in the industry."

The institute also hopes to serve as a resource centre for transport operators, corporations, institutions and government agencies hoping to design, build and maintain transportation systems, as well as educational institutes hoping to offer transport-industry related programmes.

Courses at SMRT Institute are expected to start from as early as next year.

- CNA/ir