#MarketingExcellenceAwards spills: How NTUC LearningHub is future-proofing SG's workforce

Established in 2004, continuing education and training provider NTUC LearningHub sets out to provide engaging, meaningful, and convenient training opportunities for Singapore’s workforce. Most recently, to help Singaporeans upskill, NTUC LearningHub launched LHUB GO Infinity. Said to be Singapore’s largest subscription-based online learning platform, the platform offers on-demand access to over 75,000 bite-sized online courses. The platform has since garnered over 100,000 learners.

In 2020 amidst the pandemic, NTUC LearningHub had to shift its marketing initiatives to the virtual space and ensure that they are catering to the needs of the local workforce. According to See Wee Heng, head of marketing, NTUC LearningHub, some of these initiatives include transforming its physical roadshows to a virtual roadshow, as well as a campaign that focused on motivating workers and companies to upskill. NTUC LearningHub's efforts were recognised by the judges at the Marketing Excellence Awards 2020, and the organisation was shortlisted as finalists for the "Excellence in communications/public relations" and "Excellence in public sector/non-profit marketing" categories.

See (pictured) also shared with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE how NTUC LearningHub is preparing for the workforce post-COVID and working with companies to highlight the importance of training and upskilling. Read the full interview here:

What are some of the expectations your consumers now have for your brand?

See: As the pandemic impact looms over our economy and disrupts industries, the competencies required for business viability have evolved. Our local workforce will need to ready themselves for more than one career in their lives and embrace lifelong learning.  The national agenda to upskill and reskill has cast a spotlight on the importance of Continuing Education and Training (CET). It is more critical than ever to ensure that learning never stops, even beyond formal education, to enhance the employability and competitiveness of workers amid an uncertain economic climate.

Our customers look towards NTUC LearningHub for quality, relevant and affordable programmes and courses that address their career employability and progression needs.  With social distancing being the new norm, world-class training has to be made accessible online. Learners must also adjust their learning styles to keep their skills up-to-date or reskill to meet labour market demands.

As one of the leading continuing education and training provider in Singapore, NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) has transformed our training delivery to continue supporting our workers during the trying Circuit Breaker period. We transitioned over 200 courses from in-person training to virtual live classes (VLC), and we have trained over 400 trainers to be VLC-ready. We hope to press on building a ‘digital LHUB’ through different modes of training and anchor our programme curation decisions with market research to ensure we fulfil our social mission of future upskilling our workforce for future jobs.  

How has your marketing plans shifted this year?

See: Since NTUC LearningHub’s corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with renowned content partners from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to Wiley and John Maxwell to provide learning solutions in areas such as cloud, infocomm technology, healthcare, employability and literacy, business excellence, workplace safety and health, security, human resources and foreign worker training.

To communicate our full suite of programmes to corporate and individual learners, our marketing initiatives were shifted to virtual space as well. For instance, we transitioned from our physical roadshows to a virtual roadshow where learners can gain information on courses and funding, as well as speak to course consultants through virtual consultation sessions to develop their personalised learning pathways.

Additionally, the marketing campaigns focused on motivating more workers and companies to take the first step to embark on their learning journey by challenging their existing mindset towards upskilling and motivate them with relatable success stories. One campaign launched was our #FliptheSwitch campaign to help workers adopt the right mindset towards opportunities in the new normal, where a range of programmes are recommended for job seekers, employed professionals, self-employed persons, and more. Another campaign is the #InspiredbyYou campaign, where we encouraged learners to share their success stories and inspire more workers who have yet to embark on their lifelong learning journey.

We also forge partnerships and offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training solutions and work constantly to improve our training quality and delivery. In 2020, we also accelerated our foray into online learning through working with best-in-class partners such as IBM, DuPont Sustainable Solutions and GO1 to deliver asynchronous online courses.

One key initiative is LHUB GO, an online learning platform with over 100 free courses to support workers in their upskilling journey. The social initiative which lasts until 7 February 2021 has garnered over 100,000 learners to date.

What are some of the trends you see carrying on post-pandemic, and how are you readying your workforce to be ready with these trends?

See: To navigate the evolving environment, NTUC LearningHub has invested in research and thought leadership, known as our Think Tank, to conduct on-ground research with employers and employees in Singapore. These research include the top 10 skills required to keep businesses viable during the pandemic, the data skills gap in Singapore, as well as the dynamics across the six major industry clusters in Singapore, which helps NTUC LHUB identify trends and chart the path ahead.

Backed by our in-house research, NTUC LHUB will channel resources to build a digital LHUB through our digital offerings including virtual live classes as well as LHUB GO, a platform offering asynchronous online courses for bite-sized learning any time, any where.

NTUC LHUB will also continue to forge partnerships with best-in-class knowledge partners to develop a wide range of resources that are strategically mapped to the in-demand skills uncovered, providing a strong linkage from training to jobs for our workers.

To support companies in their transformation journey, NTUC LHUB will also focus on Learning as a Service (LaaS), providing companies with end-to-end learning solutions from operations-technology road mapping to skills mapping and analysis, customised training solution design, training delivery, and back-end support such as funding and claims.

What do you think makes for great marketing these days?

See: NTUC LearningHub never forgets our social mission – workers should always be at the heart of all that we do, from on-ground research to curriculum development, and marketing.

As a social enterprise, good marketing involves successfully nudging our customers to take their first step towards a brighter future and gaining their trust that we will always be supporting them when it comes to enhancing their employability and progression. This mission trickles down to the work we do – through survey findings that reveal skills in-demand that will help workers navigate a post-pandemic world and become employable, as well as campaigns such as #FlipThatSwitch and #InspiredbyYou, pushing mindset shifts and featuring success stories that strengthen the connection between training and jobs. This highlights the importance of NTUC LHUB’s initiatives in producing tangible outcomes through training even amid a gloomy market outlook.

We ensure that we deep dive into our consumers’ sentiments, preferences and needs before we market any courses. This is conducted through multiple touchpoints. For instance, from investing in on-ground research with employers and employees in Singapore to uncover the big picture, to our course consultants who provide strategic direction to each individual learner.  These are ways to build relationships with workers and bring our brand closer to them.

With these findings, we can then co-create by implementing initiatives with our union, government and community partners to provide both tangible and intangible values to our customers.

How are you planning for 2021?

See: In 2021, we hope to transition from helping workers and companies save today’s jobs to preparing for tomorrow’s jobs by re-assessing the market outlook, reskill to close skills gaps and reboot for growth this year.

NTUC LearningHub will continually scan the horizon to determine emerging trends. Workers and companies can look forward to more industry insights through our ‘pathfinders’, to better understand the nation’s jobs and training landscape and take action to emerge stronger.

We will also continue to facilitate industry-relevant skills training for existing as well as emerging industries to expand career possibilities and gain the first-mover advantage for tomorrow’s jobs.

Workers remain firmly at the heart of all that we do. NTUC LearningHub will continue to ensure that our programmes and courses remain high quality, relevant and affordable for everyone.