SIM Professional Development

Defining Dynamic Learning in More Ways Than One

SIM Professional Development (SIM PD) has been helping companies and their employees stay relevant and succeed.

Our wide range of executive programmes, business insights events and interest groups provide extensive professional learning and networking experiences for our community of learners to discover and achieve more.

Knowledge Sharing through Signature Events

SIM PD’s hallmark event, the Singapore Management Festival 2016 (SMF16) in its second year, focused on leadership and strategy across industries and cultures. Attended by over 1,000 business executives, the SMF16 theme was ‘Leaders of the Future – Passion. Purpose. Performance.’ The keynote speaker, Dr Marshall Goldsmith, an executive coach and Harvard Business Review #1 Leadership Thinker in the World and Thinkers 50 Top 5 Management Thinker, invigorated the audience on how managers can lead and drive change. Other speakers in the line-up included Mr Kevin Gaskell, the man credited for turning Porsche and various top brands and businesses around, and renowned corporate strategy and leadership speaker Professor Gordon Hewitt.

Into its 36th year, the Job of the Chief Executive (JOCETM) was attended by a group of 12 C-suite participants from a diverse mix of organisations and industries. Notably, the 2016 programme was supported by IE Singapore under the SkillsFuture Study Awards – International Business. Since inception, over 1,300 C-suite executives from over 40 countries had attended the JOCETM.

New and Enhanced Executive Programmes

The SIM Toolkit Programme, designed to equip professionals to lead themselves and others, was revamped to offer bite-sized modules with an emphasis on practice-based learning, in line with SkillsFuture.

The Job of the Manager programme was strengthened with the inclusion of a more comprehensive profiling report so as to help learners improve work outcomes and relationships with co-workers.

To update companies and executives on training and development options available to them through SIM PD, the quarterly Power Talk Series was introduced to provide an overview and advice on our executive programmes. We also launched TraiNet, a newsletter for trainers to share new initiatives, training tips and guidelines for improving training effectiveness.

Knowledge Creation

The Management Monitor survey, the fourth in the series, polled a total of 1,015 managers in Singapore to provide insights into what motivates and engages a manager. Key findings identified include recognition and appreciation for a job well done as the top productivity driver. The findings will also be used to inform the development of more relevant PD programmes for managers.

Another study launched in 2016 was a collaboration with Distinctions Asia, a talent development solutions provider to undertake a 15-year longitudinal research into the correlation between personality traits and performance of a manager in Singapore.

Connecting Professionals through SIM Membership

At the end of 2016, total membership stood at over 37,000 individual and corporate members, with a membership retention rate of 84%.

Membership Statistics

Individual Members No. of members
Honorary Fellow 7
Ordinary 1,553
Associate 1,369
Student 33,900
Silver (Retired) 55
36,884
Corporate Members No. of members
Companies with 1-100 employees 303
Companies with 101-500 employees 111
Companies with 501-1,000 employees 29
Companies over 1,000 employees 38
481

SIM Honorary Fellows

  • Dr Richard K M Eu
  • Mr Herman Hochstadt
  • Mr Ngiam Tong Dow
  • Mr J Y Pillay
  • Mr Shaw Vee Meng
  • Mr Wee Cho Yaw
  • Dr John Yip

Sharing Best Practices

Through our wide range of PD programmes, events and networks, we facilitate collaborations among PMEs so they can learn from one another and grow professionally.

Our 12 SIM professional Interest Groups (IGs) were also active in providing opportunities for members to connect and keep current with the latest and the best in their fields.

List of IGs
  • Business Management Group (BMG)
    • President: Tan Gay Hee, District Manager, AXA Life Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd

      BMG sharpens members’ business management skills and helps members tap their potential to improve performance

  • China Interest Group (CIG)
    • President: Susan Lim, Executive Director, Linden Industries Pte Ltd

      CIG provides a platform for professionals who have a common interest and/or investments in China. The group offers opportunities for establishing links, widening contacts and sharing first-hand experiences.

  • Human Resource Interest Group (HURIG)
    • President: Kim Toh, Senior HR Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

      HURIG promotes exemplary practices in human resource management and keeps HR professionals up-to-date with changes in the human resource field.

  • Information Technology Group (ITG)
    • President: Allen Lee, Managing Director, Genesis Networks Pte Ltd

      ITG promotes the use of IT in sharpening one’s competitive edge in the marketplace by providing a network for information exchange.

  • Innovation & Quality Management Group (IQMG)
    • President: Goh Hock Wah, Senior HSE Specialist, FMC Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd

      IQMG aspires to be a premier network of practitioners that embrace quality and innovative concepts and methodologies among organisations and individuals in Singapore.

  • Marketing Executives Group (MEG)
    • President: James Lim, Manager, Sita Information Networking Computing (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd

      MEG promotes the study and practice of the latest marketing concepts among members.

  • Organisation Development Group (ODG)
    • President: Francis Tan, Principal Consultant, First Touch Consultancy

      ODG raises the profile of the OD profession by helping members build skills in various aspects of OD and by sharing research and expertise among members.

  • SIM I Toastmasters Club (TMI)
    • President: Stephanie Lim, Associate Financial Planner, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd
  • SIM II Toastmasters Club (TMII)
    • President: Adeline Tiah, Vice President, Brand Comm Coro Marketing, United Overseas Bank Ltd
  • SIM Mandarin Toastmasters Club (MTM)
    • President: Zhang Jie, Financial Services Consultant, American Insurance Assurance Ltd (AIA)

      The Toastmasters Clubs help members to sharpen their communication, presentation and leadership skills through enjoyable and interactive programmes.

  • Strategic Management Group (SMG)
    • President: Keith Tan, General Manager, Energy, Z-Power Automation Pte Ltd

      SMG promotes the practice of strategic management in commercial, non-profit and government organisations among members

  • The Entrepreneurs Group (TEG)
    • President: Kelvin Nyang Fah Keong, Senior Vice President, Dealing, Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd

      TEG organises activities that are relevant to small and medium-sized businesses, and that help enhance entrepreneurial skills.

Enhancing Information Resources for Members

Key initiatives undertaken in 2016 were targeted at facilitating the seamless use of resources and services by members.

The SIM Library launched a mobile app that allows members to access e-resources and make transactions such as loans, room bookings and event registrations. We also introduced a device to display, in real-time, the availability of notebooks, iPads and camcorders for loan.