The Learning Professional Behind the LinkedIn Posts

Dear LinkedIn friend,

I am greatly delighted that you have decided to know me better! This article will give you a good overview of what I do professionally as well as who I am as a person.

What Do I Do Professionally?

I am currently a Senior Learning Specialist with the CapitaLand Institute of Management and Business (CLIMB).

CLIMB is the internal corporate learning institute of the CapitaLand Group which provides training and skills development programmes to employees of the company to help them grow in their personal and professional capacities.

As a Centre of Excellence for learning and development, our 8-member team services 2,400 employees in Singapore as well as employees who work in ASEAN. We offer programmes which are carefully curated and designed to enhance their capabilities, professional knowledge, managerial skills and leadership qualities.

What Are the Responsibilities in My Current Role?

In my current role, my responsibilities include the following areas:

1. Design and Develop Programmes. Programmes which I have developed include Performance Management and CapitaDNA - The Ten Corporate Principles.
2. Deliver Programmes. Programmes which I train in or facilitate include New Staff Orientation, Performance Management, CapitaDNA, New CapitaLand Managers, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Branding Through People, Supervising for Results and Contributing Towards a Learning Organization. I have acquired capabilities to deliver programmes in the classroom as well as online.
3. Conduct Training Needs Analysis (TNA). TNA is done with HODs annually or as and when needed to find out employees' skills gaps and development needs so that appropriate training solutions or interventions can be offered.
4. Develop Competency and Training Roadmaps. Based on employees' critical work functions, key tasks and the needed skills-sets, detailed roadmaps have been designed which clearly lay out the core, functional, adaptive and digital skills that they need to do their jobs effectively.
5. Programme Management. This will involve responsibilities like curating programmes, designing EDMs to market programmes, enrolling participants, administering programme evaluation, processing the consolidated post-programme feedback with trainers, and reviewing programmes.
6. Training Vendor Management. This aspect of my work will involve meeting regularly with training providers to understand what expertise they can offer, to assess the qualifications and experiences of their proposed trainers, to scope their programme content, to negotiate fees as well as to work with them to review their programmes based on participants' feedback.
7. Business Partnering. I work closely with the assigned business units and their HR to help them assess the training needs of their employees, advise training solutions or interventions as well as resource them in their other learning and development initiatives.
8. Plan for the Annual Training Directory and Training Budget. After the necessary TNA is done with the business units and HR and also considering senior management's directions, I am responsible to lead our team to put together a training directory which will comprise core, functional, adaptive, and digital programmes that employees can enroll in. Based on the directory, the training budget will be planned.
9. Learning Administration. This will include processes like approving learning requests by employees, tracking course enrollments, advising employees on their course enquiries, and approving training invoices in our SAP system.
10. Others. In addition to the above, other learning-related things that I do include organizing short talks, leading focus groups, organizing Learning Festival, and supporting corporate initiatives and projects (e.g., developing a leadership competency model, supporting the roll-out of core values, etc.).

What Were Some Achievements in My Current Role?

Some achievements would include the following:

? helping the company to develop a leadership competency model,

? developing training and development road-maps for various functions,

? leading a team to organize a group-wide learning festival, and

? consistently performing well in my classroom facilitation.

What Other Experiences Do I Have?

Prior to joining CapitaLand, I have worked as a Human Resource Officer with the Housing & Development Board, as a Senior Research Officer with the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs, and as an English language instructor with an international school based in Nanjing, China. For a season in my life too, I have also worked as a pastor in three churches (two in Singapore and one in England) and as a seminary professor.

Through these over 25 years of working experience, I have acquired, used and honed many important work and life skills. They include: leadership, management, communications, mentoring, coaching, counseling, facilitation, training, teaching, research and writing, project management, marketing, curriculum design and development, competency development, resilience, conflict resolution, and cultural and diversity management.

What Are My Educational Qualifications?

My educational qualifications include the following:

• B.A.(Hons., 2nd Class Upper), National University of Singapore, 1992;
• M.Div. (Hons.), Singapore Bible College, 1997;
• Ph.D., University of Nottingham, 2008; and
• Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, 2013.

How Would I Describe Myself?

I would offer the following: "A well-rounded individual with an analytical mind, a critical eye for details, strong administrative abilities, commitment to excellence, effective communication skills, strong ability to work independently as well as in a team, a friendly disposition, a passion for people development and who is always seeking to learn and grow both personally and professionally."

How Would My Friends Describe Me?

Friends who have worked with me have described me as follows:

• "diligent and thorough in executing work...a good team player...actively contributed constructive critique and ideas..." (Dr. Calvin Chong, Associate Professor, Singapore Bible College);
• "...has an immense ability to think critically...learn well and work fast...exhibit high emotional intelligence and strong communication abilities...has connected comfortably with people and fostered good relations, gaining respect from many who are drawn to his thought leadership and wise words...well-balanced by a humble character and compassionate heart..." (Ms. Serena Chan, Managing Partner & Business Director, ImageWorks Pte Ltd); and
• "...an able academic with a strong research bent...a competent administrator...an excellent communicator...an effective leader...self-effacing as well as a great team player...happy to play whatever role he has been entrusted...has a pleasant personality and gets along well with people who know or work with him..." (Dr. Danny Goh, Pastor, The Bible Church).

What Do I Enjoy Doing Outside Work?

Outside work, I enjoy solitude, connecting with close friends, traveling, listening to music, jogging and reading (on topics like leadership, management, human resource management, biographies, philosophy and spirituality). I also enjoy spending time sharing on and learning from LinkedIn.

What Do I Want to Do With My Life?

My life's passion and mission is to enable, equip and empower people to achieve personal and professional excellence through learning and development. I also want to live well and finish strong and leave behind me a goodly legacy.

Next Steps

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope it has given you a good understanding of what I do as a professional and who I am as a person.

To connect with me, please CLICK HERE.

To follow my LinkedIn posts, please CLICK on #BERNARDPOSTS.

You can also reach me at [email protected].

Other great hashtags to follow are: #LBFAlumni and #SkyHighTower.