ITE bags top prize at HR awards

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) took home the top prize at the Singapore HR Awards on Friday, July 11, 2014, night by winning the Corporate HR Champion Award. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) took home the top prize at the Singapore HR Awards on Friday, July 11, 2014, night by winning the Corporate HR Champion Award. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) took home the top prize at the Singapore HR Awards on Friday night by winning the Corporate HR Champion Award.

The title is presented to organisations that have clinched the Corporate HR Award thrice in five years. ITE had won the title in 2012 and 2010, making it one of the leading organisations in the category, said the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), the event's organiser.

The prize recognises organisations that have "creative and proactive" human resource (HR) and people management practices, SHRI said.

ITE was also lauded for its achievements in nine other categories, which included employee relations and people management and strategic HR.

Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat told a 600-strong audience of HR professionals and businessmen at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, that HR professionals take on the role of teachers in the workplace as students graduate to join the workforce.

"The best place to do practical, applicable learning is really the workplace," Mr Heng said.

"Each day at work offers an opportunity unlike any other to learn on-the-job. I think we need to make a skills and learning breakthrough in Singapore - we must place just as much, if not more, emphasis on learning outside the classroom, in other words, learning on-the-job."

Participation this year was higher, said SHRI, with 115 organisations applying for the awards - up from 96 last year.

There was also a stronger focus on work-life integration, as the number of firms that applied for awards in that category doubled to 12 from last year.

Mr Erman Tan, president of SHRI, said more organisations were devoting resources to making the office a more conducive workplace.

"Employees who are motivated and engaged are more likely to contribute to the organisation," he said.

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