Singapore, 2 November 2018 – Singapore Institute of Power and Gas (SIPG), as the centralised training institute for the power and gas sectors, announced today the successful completion of its first Energy Managers Programme (EMP). The pioneer cohort of 19 energy sector professionals was recognised in a ceremony during Singapore International Energy Week 2018, witnessed by Dr Tan Wu Meng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The programme, which is under the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative, is designed to build a pipeline of strong leaders for the energy sector as they address issues and opportunities in today’s transforming and disruptive landscape. Building on its inaugural run, SIPG is opening its programme to participants from ASEAN utilities and other international companies in the energy value chain, curating a broader range of experiences, perspectives and real-world applications.

Mr Peter Leong, Principal of SIPG, said, “We customised this programme to help energy industry managers hone their well-rounded leadership skills through blended learning in the classroom and field trips to companies in Singapore and overseas. They have personally benefitted from networking with peers from across the value chain. They have also gleaned insights on driving advancement and innovation amidst the rapid industry disruption, in order to serve all consumers better.”

Spanning five months from February this year, the programme’s first participants were emerging leaders from generation companies and SP Group. Through workshops, dialogues with senior leaders from the energy sector and government, as well as a learning trip to China, the participants were exposed to pertinent challenges the industry faces, in Singapore and around the region. They also gained valuable insights from individual coaching sessions and working on action projects.

Mr Neo Bing Hui, Senior Operations Engineer, YTL PowerSeraya Ltd, said, “The Energy Managers Programme (EMP) has helped broaden my views of the industry in general, providing a different perspective of how challenges can be viewed in the energy sector. After going through EMP, I have gleaned more insights on my leadership style and how I can effectively improve communication with my team mates. I am excited to start applying what I've learnt from this programme.”

The pressing need to inspire the energy sector to groom the next generation of energy leaders is why the Energy Market Authority is supporting the programme. Its Chief Executive, Mr Ngiam Shih Chun, said: “For the energy sector to embrace new opportunities and challenges, there is a need to engage and develop tomorrow's energy leaders. They will need to be agile and adopt a growth mindset to lead their organisations forward. EMA supports SIPG in playing a crucial role in providing a programme to grow our future energy leaders.”

Nurturing engineering talent

In developing future engineering talent, SP Group also awarded two Energy-Industry Scholarships to students from institutions of higher learning – Ms Choo Wei Ming, 19, from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Mr Muhammad Syahiran bin Jamal, 20, from Singapore Polytechnic.

SP Group’s Chief Human Resource Officer, Mr Ng Seng Huwi, presented the scholarships to Wei Ming and Muhammad Syahiran, at a ceremony during the Youth@SIEW event earlier today.

The scholarship serves to nurture talent for the energy sector and support students with a passion for engineering in achieving academic and career aspirations. They will join SP Group when they complete their studies.

About SP Group

SP Group is a leading energy utilities group in the Asia Pacific. It owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses in Singapore and Australia, and district cooling businesses in Singapore and China. SP Group is committed to providing customers with reliable and efficient energy utilities services. About 1.5 million industrial, commercial and residential customers in Singapore benefit from SP Group’s world-class transmission, distribution and market support services. These networks are amongst the most reliable and cost-effective world-wide. SP Group also drives digital solutions to empower customers to manage their utilities, reduce consumption and save cost.

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