A*STAR-SWDA Graduation Ceremony 2026

"As technology reshapes industries, the way we work must evolve alongside it. For Singapore, the challenge is not simply to equip workers with new skills, but to create workplaces where skills acquired can be meaningfully applied. This calls for transformation led by enterprises, with workforce development at its heart. When companies adopt new technologies, they must also rethink how jobs are designed, how employees contribute, and how people can grow and embrace new opportunities.
 
At SWDA, we are committed to helping employers and individuals navigate this journey together. By connecting industry needs with relevant training and career development opportunities, we aim to build a workforce that is adaptable, confident and ready for change. Together with A*STAR SIMTech, ARTC and the Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO), SWDA supports individuals and enterprises build practical capabilities that can be applied directly in the workplace, turning learning into meaningful outcomes for the business and its human capital.
 
To our industry partners, thank you for investing in your people and supporting their development. Your commitment to creating opportunities for employees to learn, contribute and grow is essential to making workforce transformation a reality.
 
To our graduates, Congratulations! Your achievement today reflects your willingness to invest in yourself and shape the future of your workplace. I encourage you to apply what you have learnt, share your experiences and inspire those around you."

Ms Dilys Boey
Chief Executive, 
Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA)

"Singapore has invested in world-class research capabilities for decades. The true measure of innovation is not simply what we discover, but what those discoveries enable — stronger enterprises, better jobs and new opportunities for Singapore.

Bridging the gap between research and industry application remains a national priority. We need enterprises willing to embrace change, and people with the capabilities to turn promising ideas into practical solutions. At A*STAR, we strengthen this connection. Through SIMTech and ARTC, we work with industry to address manufacturing challenges, accelerate technology adoption, develop workforce capabilities and anchor high-value activities in Singapore. These efforts help translate innovation into tangible business outcomes.

I would also like to express my appreciation to our Distinguished Industry Training Partners and Workforce Transformation Champions for investing in people and driving meaningful change. Your commitment to workforce development alongside technology adoption sets an example for others and strengthens Singapore’s manufacturing industry.

To our graduates, your learning represents an investment not only in your professional growth, but also in the future of the organisations and industries you serve.

I encourage you to remain curious, challenge established practices and put your knowledge to work. Share what you have learnt and inspire others.

Congratulations to all our graduates, industry partners and champions. Thank you for helping shape Singapore’s manufacturing future."

Mr Beh Kian Teik
Chief Executive Officer, 
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

"Heartiest congratulations to all graduates and award winners on this significant milestone! Your achievements reflect your determination to grow, adapt and embrace new opportunities.

As technological advancements continue to transform industries and redefine the nature of work, continuous learning has never been more important. In advanced manufacturing, where emerging technologies such as AI and Automation are reshaping how we innovate, produce and compete, the ability to continually acquire new skills is essential to stay future-ready.

Congratulations, and may today’s achievements be an opener to new and exciting pathways in your professional careers. Keep learning and thriving!"

Dr David Low
Executive Director, A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (A*STAR SIMTech)
Chief Executive Officer, A*STAR Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (A*STAR ARTC)

"Bombardier’s Singapore Service Centre is the largest OEM-owned business aviation maintenance facility in Asia Pacific, providing maintenance, repair, refurbishment, and aftermarket support for Bombardier’s private jets across the region. Through these capabilities, we help ensure customers receive the seamless care, responsiveness, and convenience they expect, wherever they operate.

Our people are at the heart of this service: as technology and customer expectations evolve, a skilled, adaptable workforce enables us to continue delivering best-in-class support.

As our operations grow increasingly complex, our workforce remains central to driving meaningful and sustainable improvements. A clear, long-term roadmap is essential to aligning people across functions towards shared priorities, ensuring that everyone understands the direction, their role and how their contributions support broader business objectives and enhance the customer experience. Equally important is involving our people in shaping this roadmap, drawing on their operational knowledge and experience to identify opportunities, foster shared ownership and ensure that transformation addresses real business needs.

With a shared roadmap and ownership across our workforce, we can translate strategic priorities into practical initiatives. This has enabled us to begin developing digital capabilities, including automated digital management and production planning, to strengthen productivity and respond more effectively to customer needs. We thank A*STAR for their collaboration in this road mapping and workforce transformation journey. By equipping our teams with the skills and tools they need to succeed, we are strengthening our ability to provide customers with the exceptional care, convenience and support they have come to expect from Bombardier. We look forward to continuing to invest in our workforce, because new technologies deliver value only when our people are ready to use them."

Mr Wayne Simon Walter,
General Manager Asia-Pacific Region

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"At SAESL, we believe investing in our people is essential to sustaining excellence in aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul. As the world’s largest MRO facility for Rolls-Royce Trent engines, we continuously strengthen our workforce capabilities to keep pace with evolving technologies, customer expectations, and industry needs.

The year 2026 has been particularly significant. Having recently celebrated our 25th anniversary and delivered our 5,000th engine, we are progressing on an ambitious transformation journey focused on enhancing operational performance, strengthening competitiveness, and delivering greater value to our customers.

Our partnership with A*STAR SIMTech has supported this journey. Through programmes such as the Operations and Technology Roadmap (OTR), Intelligent Inspection for Digital Manufacturing, and OEE-LITE, our employees gained practical skills, fresh perspectives, and structured frameworks applied directly to the workplace. These programmes reinforced the link between technology adoption, workforce development, and business priorities, while fostering a stronger culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and 
lifelong learning across the organisation.

As SAESL looks toward the future, supported by a bold investment of approximately US$190 million in facilities, capabilities, and people, developing a future-ready workforce remains a key priority critical to achieving our long-term growth ambitions.

We are honoured to receive this award. This recognition reflects our employees’ commitment to learning and excellence. We thank A*STAR SIMTech and ARTC for their collaboration. Together, we are developing a future-ready workforce, advancing manufacturing excellence in Singapore, and strengthening our ability to keep aircraft flying safely around the world, powering flight and connecting people."

Mr David Then,
Vice President, Engineering

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"At VDL ETG Singapore, our ambition is to strengthen our position as a trusted advanced manufacturing partner serving the global high-tech industry, particularly the semiconductor sector. As our business evolves, we recognise that sustainable growth depends not only on investments in technology and infrastructure, but also on developing a workforce that can adapt, innovate and thrive in an increasingly digital manufacturing environment.

As automation, digitalisation, data analytics and artificial intelligence become increasingly embedded in manufacturing operations, workforce development has become a key pillar of our transformation strategy. To support this journey, we partnered with A*STAR SIMTech through the 
Digital Transformation and Innovation (DTI) Programme, bringing together leaders, managers and technical professionals from across the organisation.

A key outcome of the programme was the development of a transformation roadmap that continues to guide our capability-building and digitalisation efforts. The roadmap has helped us identify improvement opportunities, strengthen cross-functional collaboration and prioritise initiatives that support our long-term competitiveness.

Beyond technical knowledge, the programme reinforced a culture of continuous improvement and encouraged employees to embrace change, contribute ideas and take ownership of transformation. We believe transformation should create opportunities for our people to develop new capabilities, take on higher-value responsibilities and grow alongside the business.

We appreciate the support provided by A*STAR SIMTech and look forward to continuing our collaboration as we build a future-ready workforce and strengthen our position in advanced manufacturing."

Mr Chiam Sing Chung,
Managing Director 

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"At ams OSRAM Singapore, our Smart Factory vision goes beyond automation and digital technologies. As we accelerate this transformation, our operations need people who can apply data and AI to real production challenges. Technology may power transformation, but it is our people who make it succeed.

As lead for Innovation and Learning, I believe workforce transformation starts with a conversation, not a course catalogue. Before planning any training, it is critical to understand the needs of the people and their leaders — what is changing in their processes, and where do they need support? Their answers are what make learning relevant to each role.

Together with A*STAR SIMTech and the Advanced Manufacturing Training Academy (AMTA), we tailored training to our equipment and process challenges — from data mining for predictive maintenance to machine learning for supply chain optimisation. Our project teams continue to put their learning into practice, using production data to turn feasibility studies into real production outcomes. This is what paves the way for lasting workforce transformation.

I am honoured to receive the Workforce Transformation Champion Award, and deeply grateful to A*STAR and AMTA for supporting our learning journey. "

Ms Chin Chee Chien,
Senior Staff Specialist, Innovation & Learning
ams-OSRAM Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

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"Since 1972, OMS has grown from a machine shop into a manufacturing plant and, today, an innovation-driven company spanning precision engineering, additive manufacturing and digital tools. This evolution reflects a shift in how we produce: from making parts to order towards delivering higher-value, data-driven manufacturing for our customers.

As customers raise their expectations for quality, sustainability and responsiveness, our capabilities must keep pace. Building our team’s skills first gave us the confidence to adopt new technology and next-generation processes on our production floor. What began with training has since grown into wider deployment and collaborative R&D with A*STAR, guided by our belief that transformation must be led by people.

Over the next five years, OMS aims to become a best-in-class factory through Industrial AI, workforce redesign and advanced manufacturing, while investing in process and product innovation for tomorrow’s energy and industrial sectors.

We thank A*STAR SIMTech for its partnership, guidance and support, and look forward to the road ahead together."

Mr How Meng Hock,
Chief Executive Officer,
OMS Oilfield Services Pte Ltd

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"Wilsafe was founded to deliver reliable firefighting system solutions for the marine and offshore industry, building our reputation on engineering expertise, operational reliability, and a commitment to customer safety.

As our business evolved, we recognised that experience alone would not be sufficient to meet future challenges. Rising customer expectations, operational complexity, and rapid technological advancement called for a more structured approach to innovation, digitalisation, and business transformation.

Through A*STAR SIMTech’s STORM-LITE programme, we developed a five-year transformation roadmap covering innovation, digitalisation, workforce development, process excellence, and technology advancement. The programme helped align our organisation around a shared vision, providing a practical framework to translate ideas into long-term value.

A key lesson from this journey is that transformation begins with people. Technology is an enabler, but it is the knowledge, experience, and commitment of our workforce that drive meaningful and sustainable change.

Today, the roadmap underpins several collaborative initiatives with A*STAR, including next-generation firefighting technologies, SmarterX ITS for inventory visibility and traceability, and Digital Workflow Automation initiatives that support better decision-making, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement in safety performance.

Our journey has reinforced the importance of combining industry experience with innovation and capability development. We remain committed to investing in our people, strengthening partnerships, and embracing technologies that create practical value for our customers and the wider maritime industry.

We extend our sincere appreciation to A*STAR SIMTech, our collaborators, and our team — together, we are building a safer, smarter, and more resilient future for the marine and offshore sector."

Ms Setoh Peixin, Dawn,
Managing Director and Co-Founder, 
SPX

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