After nearly 40 years in the public bus industry, SMRT Master Bus Captain Lim Yew Poon, 64, remains keen to learn new skills. He plans to enrol in an artificial intelligence (AI) course, hoping to use the emerging technology to create more engaging training materials that help younger bus captains learn routes and safe operating practices more quickly.
Lim is one of this year’s SkillsFuture Fellowship recipients. Having entered the industry in 1986, he has extensive experience and is familiar with the operating systems of different bus models. He also actively contributes to efforts to improve bus safety, operational efficiency and service reliability.
Besides serving as a relief bus captain, Lim coordinates operations to ensure that buses on each route leave the depot on time. He is also one of the leaders of a team of mentors who prepare materials to train new bus captains.
Lim said his motivation to keep learning comes down to one word: responsibility.
“The way we work and technology are constantly changing, so I have to keep learning and improving myself. By acquiring new skills and combining them with the experience I have built up over the years, I can meet the demands of my job while finding ways to improve the company’s processes and fulfil my responsibilities.”
He hopes to learn how to use AI to produce graphics and videos to replace lengthy written training materials, making it easier for younger bus captains to understand bus routes, safety requirements and proper operating procedures.
He previously completed a safety operator course for commercial autonomous vehicles and took part in events showcasing autonomous buses to the public.
On receiving the award, he said: “This award recognises not just me, but the entire team of bus captains. I am grateful to the company for developing me over the years, giving me opportunities to keep upgrading my skills and keeping pace with technological developments.”
The annual SkillsFuture Fellowships and SkillsFuture Employer Awards ceremony recognises individuals and employers who actively promote lifelong learning, skills upgrading and workforce transformation. This year, 14 individuals and 28 employers received their awards from the guest of honour, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Since their inception in 2016, the two awards have honoured a total of 198 individuals and 234 employers for their commitment to skills development.
Speech therapist supports families with special needs over 16-year career
Another SkillsFuture Fellowship recipient is Janice Leong, 41, deputy director of development and innovation at Rainbow Centre, a social service agency that educates and supports people with disabilities. A life sciences graduate, she earned a master’s degree in speech therapy at the National University of Singapore before joining Rainbow Centre in 2010 to provide early intervention services for children with special needs.
The centre serves children with conditions including autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. The youngest child she has helped was just two months old.
After 16 years in the field, Leong finds that the most meaningful part of her work is accompanying children with special needs and their families through life.
Leong is also an Early Childhood Development Agency fellow. In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, she recalled meeting the mother of a child she had helped. Moved to learn that Leong was still working in special needs education after so many years, the mother told her: “I’m so glad you’ve been here supporting us all this time.”
“I was very touched. To some people, this is a job, but to these families, we could mean the world.”
Over the years, she has completed more than 650 hours of professional training. In recent years, she has also actively shared her expertise by conducting workshops on early intervention and special needs education for early childhood educators.
Reflecting on the award, she said: “I think it's a responsibility. When we learn right，it's not just about learning for ourselves and our own .What's more important to me is that we help others learn as well.”
She hopes to pursue further learning in change management and strengthen industry practitioners’ professional capabilities through training so that more people feel confident helping children with special needs and their families.
