TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Competency requirements vary across business functions and the different businesses across the Group. Each of our subsidiaries has developed their own competency framework, structured for their own training and development needs. Across the Group, our competency development programmes focus on equipping our employees with skills in leadership and functional competencies tagged to specific job roles, in areas such as problem solving, data analytics, cybersecurity and project management. The functional competencies within the Company’s Competency Framework were reviewed in 2023. This ensures a current reflection of our business needs and helps to raise our employees’ learning and development capacity, yielding a more capable and agile workforce.

All new hires across the Group must attend their respective organisation’s Onboarding Programme, which aims to induct and integrate them into the respective organisational cultures.

Training Hours and Investments

Training Hours and Investments – Talent development is key in retaining and attracting top talents and developing a skilled workforce. In 2023, the Group invested over S$840,000 into training and development for our employees, with over 226,163 training hours and an average of more than four training days per staff.

In order to build up human capital, the Company launched several company-wide training programmes. In 2023, the Company conducted over 20 workshops covering topics such as sustainability, occupational health and safety, mental wellness, personal effectiveness, innovation and leadership.

CDL Group Employee Training Hours

Employee type No. of employees Total training hours Average training hours/employee Total amount spent (S$) Average amount spent per FTE (S$)
Total Employees 7,269 226,163 31.1 $846,487.56 $116.45
Female 3,248 102,408 31.5
Male 4,020 122,327 30.4
Manager 1,489 61,918 41.6
Non-Manager 5,459 159,302 29.2
Senior Management 53 1,307 24.7
Middle Management 1,167 39,892 34.2
Junior Management 700 23,164 33.1

Leadership Development and Succession Planning

Leadership development programmes are important to enhance leadership skills and capabilities amongst our talents. By investing in leadership development, the Group aims to cultivate a pool of competent leaders who can achieve strategic business objectives, inspire others, navigate complex challenges and drive innovation. The CDL Leadership Programme structure facilitates the development of future leaders by sharpening their leadership and management skills and enables them to become more effective leaders.

To help our staff achieve both personal and career development, the Company implements a well-designed job rotation programme to enhance employees’ competencies, as well as to increase job satisfaction. Structured talent deployment within the Group is part of HR planning, and it plays a major role in the following areas:

  • Career Development
    By providing employees with exposure to the various business operations or by expanding their skills and knowledge, employees can build both breadth and depth of experience and learning.
  • Talent Retention
    Developing a robust talent pool is crucial to strengthening the Company’s position as a leading property developer. Leadership and functional training programmes are organised annually to broaden skill sets, enhance engagement and ensure a productive talent pool.

Competency Development Programme

Under the Company’s competency development programme, we ensure our workforce is future-ready to navigate the complex business landscape in the next three to five years. Our employees’ development is supported via a group of mandatory programmes including relevant courses that are identified to deliver these relevant competencies to the various employee groups through Catalyst 1, 2 and 3 delivery pathways (Catalyst 1 refers to Junior employees, i.e., employee groups of seniority up to Executives), Catalyst 2 for middle management (Managers to Assistant Vice Presidents), and Catalyst 3 for senior management (Vice Presidents and above).

The programme is complemented by functional competencies which is department and employee-driven. Functional competencies refer to the skills required by the employee to perform the role. Each role is tagged with a specific skillset. The supervisor assesses the employee’s proficiency level of the employee – Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert. The assessment underscores the competencies gap of the employee and encourages employee-driven learning to stay relevant and abreast of the required functional competencies.

Through the competency development programme, the Company ensures that our employees remain competent and up to date with knowledge and skillsets in the changing business world to meet CDL Group’s future needs. In 2023, 100% of the Company’s employees completed the Competency Development Programme.

Please see the table below for the Group’s training and development initiatives for its employees (the table is scrollable to the right): 

Programme Name and Information
Management Trainee Education Sponsorship Leadership Development Programmes Career Conversion Programmes Internships
Corporate Office The 18-month Management Trainee Programme provides opportunities for promising young talents to learn about the Company’s various departments and operations, through a series of rotations at departments, with the potential for further leadership roles in the organisation.This allows trainees to acquire a broad range of skills and knowledge, equipping them to handle diverse responsibilities within the organisation. As a result, the program helps develop a skilled workforce capable of supporting the company’s strategic objectives The Company sponsors part-time courses relevant to the employee’s work, conducted locally by recognised institutions and universities.Sponsorships are based on relevant comptencies related to the organisation’s business focus. Through this, the organisation can ensure a skilled workforce capable of executing strategic initiatives effectively. Leadership development programmes are aimed to enhance leadership skills and capabilities. They provide the future talents with the knowledge, tools, and experiences necessary to become effective leaders.Investing in leadership development, the organisation aim to cultivate a pool of competent leaders who can drive the achievement of strategic objectives, able to inspire others, navigate complex challenges, and drive innovation

These programmes are seen as strategic investments that shape the future of the organisation

 The Company has a partnership programme with Workforce Singapore to upskill our staff.This helps the staff to stay relevant as the industry evolves. In 2023, there were 13 interns assigned to various departments in the Company.
CBM CBM offers a 4-year management trainee programme that provides opportunities for promising young graduates to gain exposure to the business of facility management and real estate services, through a series of job rotations within the division.This programme is also designed to develop and mould them to become a future leader of CBM. CBM recognises the aspiration of individuals to pursue further education such as diplomas and other higher qualifications, under its Work-Study Sponsorship Programme Policy. This offers employees higher job satisfaction, higher income, better employment benefits and more advancement opportunities.CBM will support such aspirations with work-study sponsorships to deserving staff to achieve their full potential through academic courses conducted by local tertiary institutions or equivalent. CBM has a Talent Management Plan, which involves identifying key talents within its organisation, developing their skills and abilities, and ensuring they are placed in positions where they can contribute effectively.By providing opportunities for employees with outstanding performance to further develop their skills and competencies, the organization can better position itself for future success and growth. CBM has partnerships with Workforce Singapore, E2i and Real Estate & Construction Academy (RECA) to upskill our employees.This will help our employees to stay relevant and enchance productivity as the industry evolves. CBM has local Internships with MINDS and APSN, as well as Institutes of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and universities.
M&C M&C Singapore offers a 2.5-year Work-Study Diploma Programme. In 2023, one employee was sponsored under this programme. In 2024, six employees will be sponsored under this programme. M&C provides opportunities for employees to upgrade skills and knowledge through training programmes, which are conducted by internal and external trainers.Sponsorships are based on relevant comptencies related to the organisation’s business focus. Through this, the organisation can ensure a skilled workforce capable of executing strategic initiatives effectively. M&C Singapore has a partnership programme with Singapore Hotel Association to help its staff to stay relevant as the industry evolves. M&C Singapore collaborates with many local institutions such as ITEs, Polytechnics and universities to offer internship programmes for students interested in the hospitality industry.