Chairman Bob Tan, Sentosa Development Corporation,

 

CE Thien Kwee Eng, Sentosa Development Corporation,

 

CEO Tan Hee Teck, Resorts World Sentosa,

 

Deputy Chairman Eugene Wong, NTUC LearningHub,

 

Assistant Chief Executive/Chief Sustainability Officer, Ong Huey Hong, STB

 

Sentosa Island Partners

 

Media Friends,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

INTRODUCTION

 

1. Thank you for inviting me to witness launch of One Sentosa Transformation and Equipping Platform (1-STEP). This is a pivotal collaboration between SDC and NTUC LearningHub (LHUB), with support from Resorts World Sentosa, for a new tourism-specific learning platform.

 

2. It’s an exciting announcement following launch of the inaugural Sentosa Learning Festival we saw in the video, which comprises workshops, panel discussions and tours tailored for colleagues in our hospitality and tourism sector.

 

3. Our tourism sector is dynamic. Tourism recovery has gained strong momentum, and we are poised for further growth. We must equip ourselves to capitalise on this recovery and growth, and elevate Singapore as a vibrant lifestyle tourism destination.

 

1-STEP

 

4.    1-STEP will help SDC level up Sentosa’s workforce. It will accelerate the transformation of Sentosa’s workforce by addressing key tourism problem statements. We will make 1-STEP available to SDC and our Island Partners, and our 15,000 workers on the island. This will allow businesses on the island to come together, as One Sentosa, to continue to upskill.

 

5. We will onboard marquee training partners to introduce courses on topics and trends that are increasingly important in the tourism industry. These partners have worked with established clientele and are specially selected to offer the most relevant courses for tourism, from Customer Experience Excellence, Wellness & Regenerative Tourism, Sustainability, to Data and Artificial Intelligence. For example,

 

a) The Global Sustainability Tourism Council (GSTC) will launch the Accessible and Inclusive Travel (AIT) Masterclass. This course will equip participants with skills relevant to sustainability and help them come up with innovative offerings across Sentosa that will make our island even more accessible and inclusive for all our visitors.

 

b) The Global Destination Sustainability Movement will also offer a course on Regenerative Destination Management. Participants will learn to discover regenerative business models that will help visitors leave the destination in a better condition after they leave. This will help us build communities that preserve and enhance Sentosa’s natural environment. It is an exciting area of work for our island businesses.

 

c) Sentosa is already green, and this course will help us become even more sustainable and inclusive. It’s not just the right thing to do, but it’s also what our visitors are looking for in a destination.

 

CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNERS

 

6. For us to achieve this, we all have a part to play as One Sentosa. Our employers, workers, unions and partners will help us transform and make the impact we all want to see. And we have a goal. 1 step, but 100 projects.

 

a)    Sentosa will launch 100 transformative projects and initiatives over the next three years, incorporating learnings from 1-STEP courses.

 

7. Sentosa, as ever is at the forefront, charging ahead along with employees to learn, innovate and identify offerings, products and services that visitors want. And inspiring others outside the island to do the same.

 

8. Beyond Sentosa’s shores, STB and NTUC Learning Hub will sign an MOU later, to equip our tourism workforce with skills in sustainability, service excellence and tech.  For industry certifications that NTUC LHUB and TACs codevelop, STB will provide the necessary support to enable such courses to be eligible for Skills Future Singapore funding.

 

CONCLUSION

 

9.    I love Sentosa. I grew up playing here. Enjoying Fort Siloso, the monorail, the musical fountain. My children grew up here. Luge, HydroDash, SEA Aquarium, Universal Studios, our beaches.

 

10. But what makes Sentosa special? What makes our tourism offerings special? It is the people who make these experiences magical for our visitors.

 

11. So as we recovered from COVID, so too we will recover from this latest setback and see through the plans that Sentosa will have to offer. Tiny Homes will be packed again, Wings of Time will fly again, I will again climb and jump through the Hydro-Dash obstacles and enjoy our beaches and water with my children.

 

12. Why will we again recover and make Sentosa even more magical? Because of Sentosa’s people. Our people are strong, resilient, dynamic. They learn and adapt continually, whether it be learning to work with driverless vehicles like the WeRide we are piloting in RWS, or building our new Oceanarium, or trying new tech at SensoryScape or HyperDrive, our people are ever ready and willing to learn and execute.

 

13. So I have no doubt that Sentosa will make full use of these resources that are now made readily available through 1-STEP, and take a thousand steps towards making Sentosa, and Singapore a tourism destination that Singaporeans and visitors will want to visit again and again and again.

 

14. Let’s take this step, together.