Singapore Senior Leaders Are Less Likely To Learn Online
Despite highlighting the value of upskilling virtually and using online resources to reskill, senior leaders are not walking the talk.
It was one of the key findings in NTUC LearningHub’s recent “How Singaporeans Learn” report.
The report noted that senior leaders are least likely to upskill or reskill virtually.
The survey, which was conducted online in September 2020 with 450 Singaporean Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents who were users of the LHUB GO online learning platform, aimed to uncover insights into how Singaporeans learn in the COVID-19 era.
Overall, 84% of respondents say they learn online. Out of this group, 37% were ‘entry-level executives’ who also made up the largest segment. They were followed by ‘business owners/ self-employed’ (26%), ‘managers’ (15%), and ‘the unemployed’ (10%).
Only 4% of respondents who identified themselves as ‘assistant director and above’ said they learn online. In comparison, they preferred blended learning, with 54% asking for it, while 38% wanted in-person and 8% online modes of learning.
Two in three (62%) of them had never signed up for an online learning platform before the ‘circuit breaker’ in April 2020.
“In this new world order where new information and technologies are being fielded at an exponential rate, leaders must continue to learn to keep abreast with the times. Upskilling should be led from the top; only then would they have the necessary skillsets and knowledge to lead their teams in innovation and transformation in a rapidly changing climate,” said Kwek Kok Kwong, chief executive officer at NTUC LearningHub.
Even when senior leaders upskill online, they do it less frequently. The report noted that most are likely to upskill once every three months.
The primary motivator for online learning is to satiate curiosity rather than upskilling. Seventy percent are doing it to ‘gain a basic understanding of topics they are curious about’ instead of other reasons such as ‘upskill’ or ‘reskill.’
The top three topics they learn include ‘leadership’ (54%), ‘project management’ (54%), and ‘design thinking’ (46%).
Image credit: iStockphoto/Duncan_Andison
