1. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the launch of the Singapore Rail Academy (SGRA) this morning. The MOU affirms the commitment of both parties to attract, retain, and develop the local rail industry workforce.
 2.  As LTA works towards doubling our MRT network to 360km by 2030, demand for railway operations and maintenance jobs will increase significantly. With the MOU, SGRA and e2i intend to develop targeted programmes to enlarge and professionalise Singapore’s local rail engineering core. The MOU reaffirms SGRA’s function to partner public transport industry stakeholders to deepen the knowledge and skills of the local workforce in rail engineering, operations and maintenance.  It also enables e2i to collaborate with SGRA to attract, retain, and develop the local rail industry workforce through its programmes.
New CORE programme to up-skill engineers and technicians
3. SGRA has collaborated with e2i to develop a bridging training programme, the Career On-boarding for Railway Engineering (CORE) programme. The CORE programme aims to up-skill engineers and technicians as they begin their careers in the rail sector, and to support the transition of mid-career entrants into the rail industry. e2i will provide training grants to eligible CORE programme participants.
4. The first batch of about 30 engineers from SBS Transit, SMRT and LTA attended the inaugural three-day foundation module conducted from 9 to 11 Jan 2017. This foundation module covers industry-wide topics such as the regulatory and financing aspects of the rapid transit system in Singapore, design thinking in the upstream of the rapid transit system engineering lifecycle and public transport fare policy, and includes technical visits. The module is conducted by both in-house trainers as well as external experts.
5. The CORE programme will be the first of many learning opportunities that SGRA and e2i will work together on to support both new entrants and industry incumbents. SGRA is partnering public transport operators and Institutes of Higher Learning to develop and roll-out further modules which will cover cross-functional and domain-specific competencies. Such modules include intermediate and advanced level modules that are in line with a rail industry competency framework that SGRA is developing under the Singapore Skills Framework. SGRA will announce more details on the framework when ready.
6.  Mr Gilbert Tan, Chief Executive Officer of e2i, said: “SGRA is an important milestone for e2i, LTA and Public Transport Operators to develop training and placement for rail professionals. Through bridging programmes such as CORE to equip local engineers and technicians with knowledge and expertise, we endeavour to deepen rail engineering capabilities. e2i is committed to support PTOs to build a pool of qualified and competent workers and help Singaporeans join and progress in the sector.”