Dr Tan Bee Wan, Executive Chairman of Integrative Learning Corporation, reinforces the need for education and training to take us through challenging times.
Coming out of a pandemic, and into a series of challenging global and local situations — logistics issues, inflation, rising costs, workforce evaluation, disruptive technologies, clouded judgement etc. etc. — how will 2023 shape up?
STORM-ASIA talks to industry players about their observations and approaches to the new year. The interviews will be featured over the month of December.
Knowledge Is Empowerment
Integrative Learning Corporation (ILC) survived through the decades by pivoting our curriculum, content, methodology and outreach to remain relevant to our clients.
Reflecting on our critical success factors over 30 years, it is the small size of our enterprise which enables us to be agile, manage our costs, while consistently listening and engaging with our clients to meet their needs.
Many uncertainties lie ahead of us, so in 2023 managing cashflow will be key.
Macro and micro issues from politics to economic are closely intertwined as we have experienced the impact of the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. Uncertainty and anxiety of the unknown are going to drive decision makers and individuals in all 3P — People, Public and Private — sectors to be more cautious and hesitant on spending while prioritising needs and wants.
Training and learning development are needed to enable the workforce to progress and hence give humans the hope to forge ahead to deal with uncertainty. While this belief is essential for our well-being its immediate impact is intangible.
It’s like taking a paracetamol to get rid of your headache immediately versus discovering the source of your headaches for a long-term cure.
The biggest challenge for ILC is navigating with our clients to provide immediate short-term learning/fixes while tilling the soil to increase its capacity and manpower capability for sustainability.
How do you achieve the latter objective when the future is unknown and uncertain?
It’s a paradox that requires both mankind’s reflection on history of how learning makes a man and it’s the only differentiator that will enable man to drive technology as opposed to it driving us.
Uncertainty about the future drives us to learn and seek solutions to progress.
The future for training is positive and much needed for humane leadership to manage both technical and adaptive challenges. The question is the level of vision and motivation of training of learning providers and human resource practitioners — are we the salt of the earth or the lamp hidden underneath the bed?
ILC’s strong belief, faith and hope in education and training as the cornerstone of mankind’s survival and societal development will see us through the storms of uncertainty and anxiety. There will be good opportunities for learning and progress on behalf of improving mankind, to solve problems, promote inclusiveness, and continuously strive to bring the whole self to work.
Related articles:
Key Opportunities and Challenges in 2023 — Dr Stephen Riady
Framing His 2023 Vision — Yang Wah Kiang
Catch The Rising Sun Next Year — Ku Swee Yong
What Do The Signals Flag For Next Year? — Jamus Lim
Two Areas To Improve Legal Services — Adrian Tan
Connecting With People — Dr Sanjay Kuttan
Injecting Optimism Into The Aesthetics Business
In Search Of Cures — Jerome Boyd-Kirkup
Everything In Moderation For 2023 — Gerard Ee
2023: Another Year Of Uncertainty For F&B? — Anil Goswami, Loh Lik Peng, Thomas Choong, KF Seetoh
